Nothing new: Before reporters and bloggers treat NASCAR’s announcement of getting into “the news business” or the “content-generating” business as something new or revolutionary, let me say (in my day-role as a custom media developer), the “concept” of what they’re doing is about as old as a dirt track. Corporations, associations and other institutions have been in the “news business” forever.
In fact, technically speaking, NASCAR can’t “get into” the content business, as it’s already in the “content business.” Their business model is advertising, sponsorship and ticket sales and related raceday revenues revolving around the “content” of cars revolving around an oval.
I’m not going to recount the history of corporate entities creating their own “content machines,” but they’re called “soap operas” for a reason, and the Christian Science Monitor and the association magazine you get and that magazine that comes from your alma mater can all be traced back to someone getting into the “news business.” For that matter, every corporate communications department or PR firm can trace its lineage to someone wanting to get into the “news” business.
The fact is, everyone today is in the news business; everyone is in the “content-generating” business.
And that’s a good thing.
Update: Should NASCAR consider this David Geffen quote? “I wouldn’t go into the entertainment industry [if I started again] today.[Content] is too expensive to produce, and it’s getting more and more difficult to find home runs.”
