New York Times Blames Junior For TV Ratings

Over the years, I have written a number of letters to The New York Times. They have all been in reference to the same subject. That would be NASCAR.

The only professional sport that ends its season with a big New York City celebration is also the number one failure for the New York Times Sports Section. That would be NASCAR.

Let's face facts, the New York Times treats NASCAR like Superman treats Kryptonite. They admit it exists, but avoid it at all costs. Despite the fact that the NYT uses credible NASCAR reporters, the profile of NASCAR at the NYT does not fit the popularity of the sport in the nation. It has been this way for decades.

Over the years, my letters have been met with the stony silence of the Manhattan skyline. Once, an email was actually answered, and then published on the NYT website. The sports editor who responded told me in glowing terms of the expanding presence of motor sports at the Times and their assigning of reporters to "cover NASCAR."

One quick check of the nytimes.com website reveals something altogether different. In the Sports Section, there isn't even a category for NASCAR or motor racing. NASCAR is banished to the "other sports" clearance bin.

This weekend, reporter Viv Bernstein writes an "advancer" piece about Dale Earnhardt Junior. It is listed with stories on women's downhill skiing, Don King promoting a boxing match, and harness racing at the Meadowlands. On the same page, there is a guy in a bat suit that thinks he can fly. That one even has video.

Ms. Bernstein's story, which can be read by clicking here(free sign-up), tries to blame Junior's failure to have a good season as a key reason for the declining TV ratings. Basically, she uses the easy way out by saying that "as Junior goes, so goes the sport." Perhaps, other drivers with names like Stewart, Gordon, Busch and Johnson might have something to say about that point.

Everyone knows that if a popular athlete is in the playoffs, things are a bit more exciting. The issue Ms. Bernstein and the entire NYT sport staff has never grasped is the popularity of NASCAR nationwide.

Had Ms. Bernstein chosen to address the ratings issue head-on, she had a golden opportunity to ask the NASCAR TV partners what they would be doing in 2008, and who would be doing it.

Instead of getting a TV ratings opinion from Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage, she could have been asking ESPN President George Bodenheimer or Fox's David Hill if they thought Junior was the problem.

Like many newspapers, the NYT is transitioning to a website format with blogs attached. Needless to say, just like there is no Sports Section category for NASCAR, there are also no staff or reader blogs on NASCAR or racing.

Bernstein's last NASCAR story was November 19th, reporting on the NEXTEL Cup Championship. That says a lot about the commitment of the NYT to continue to cover NASCAR during the off-season. This is similar to the fan complaints about ESPN.

Unlike other professional sports, where the coverage shifts to human interest stories and tries to catch-up with the athletes and teams that struggled during the year, many big media outlets simply surrender to college and pro football the second the winning car crosses the line in Homestead.

TV ratings are a sum of many parts. Aside from the quality of the competition, and the consistency of the TV coverage, there is one other key ingredient.

That is the acknowledgement in the national press that this sport is important, exciting and popular. The current lack of New York City media coverage is exactly what Mr. France was trying to cure when he put the biggest NASCAR banquet right in the middle of Manhattan.

While Junior has to deal with things beyond his control, like racing luck and gas mileage, Ms. Bernstein and her partners at the NYT have no such problems. They can simply commit right now to making NASCAR a full time sports partner for 2008.

The inclusion of NASCAR text and video reports from February through November may lead to an entirely new group of readers seeking out the nytimes.com for the first time. Unlike the current NYT opinion of NASCAR fans, they are actually some of the most tech savvy when it comes to keeping up to date on the sport.

With three national touring series racing coast-to-coast and a multi-billion dollar TV contract on four different networks, NASCAR deserves much better from the New York Times than being plunked between Don King and the guy in a bat suit.

There are now four weeks to the 50th running of the Daytona 500. No timeline has yet been released for the bat suit jump.

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Recap of Recent Columns

Just click on the title for a direct link to these recent columns and stories:

"John Kernan Comes Out Swinging" from 1/18/08

"ESPN Silent On NASCAR Changes For 2008" from 1/17/08

"Open For Benny Parsons Comments & Stories" from 1/16/08

"SPEED Wraps Daytona Sprint Cup Testing" from 1/16/08

"The New NASCAR TV Buzzword Is Convergence - Updated" from 1/15/08

"Larry McReynolds Leads The Pack At Daytona" from 1/14/08

"Ken Squier Kept The Excitement High" from 1/14/08

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by and read The Daly Planet.

John Kernan Comes Out Swinging

Normally, we do not cover a lot of the NASCAR radio scene, but this story deserves a little bit of attention. It certainly got ours.

A while back, we wrote about TV and radio veteran John Kernan moving to Chicago for some very positive personal reasons.

After hosting The Driver's Seat on Sirius Satellite radio, the decision was made that Kernan could not continue the show from the Chicago area, and would be let go.

In a Sirius Backstage Forum entry from late November, Kernan said "I did not get scooted out. I did ask about the possibility of continuing to do The Driver's Seat from my new home, but it did not fit PRN's (Performance Racing Network's) plans." He want on to add, "I'm OK with that."

As most fans know, PRN is a radio group controlled by Bruton Smith's Speedway Motor Sports Inc. The other radio production group is MRN, the Motor Racing Network, which was founded by the France family and is a NASCAR/International Speedway Corp. entity. Between those two, they dominate the radio coverage of the sport.

The final player in this scenario is Sirius Satellite Radio, the NYC-based company that has the satellite radio rights to the races, and provides 24 hour NASCAR programming. It should be mentioned right here that I have been a guest on Sirius without compensation over the last season. Just to keep things square, I even paid for the phone call.

About two months after Kernan's fond farewell in the Sirius Forum, he returned. This time, there was definitely no joy in Mudville. It was January, and Kernan was not a happy camper about what he was hearing. Below is the content of his first post, on a thread that he originated.

"Now some of you may think this is sour grapes, but I left The Drivers Seat of my own free will, almost. But, has anyone else noticed that the three daily (Sirius NASCAR) shows are now dominated by MRN, which is owned by ISC, which is controlled by the France family, which by the way controls NASCAR?" asked Kernan.

"I've been listening to all the shows and at the risk of never working in a NASCAR related field again, has anyone else noticed that the slant has changed?" he continued. "I mean, now the top 35 is all good, NASCAR never does anything wrong and they even floated the trial balloon this morning for pay-per-view. As I said in another (forum) thread, I'm glad I got out while the gettin' was good!"

As if things could not get any stranger, Kernan closed with this comment. "One of these days I'll reveal what really happened with my departure, but not right now."

Needless to say, Kernan's words soon attracted some comments from the other Sirius contributors. You may recognize the first one, his name is David Poole.

Here is Poole responding to Kernan's comments about journalists working on the radio and "trained broadcasters" being the victims.

"As the only newspaper reporter currently working as a full-time host on Sirius, I guess that is primarily directed at me. As far as I know, John, you and I have never competed for a job in radio. But, if somebody is looking for a radio broadcaster they should hire you. But, if somebody is looking to put a person on-the-air who has knowledge about the sport to share with people who're listening, then I am willing to put myself up against you on that score any time, any place."

But, Kernan was not done. He challenged Poole and his broadcast partner about their on-air "slant" again, which Kernan believes is now pro-NASCAR. Poole responded, "don't try to stake out any kind of moral or ethical high ground on me, John. I promise you, that's a battle you won't win."

Next to drop-by was Dave Moody, the MRN and Sirius veteran. He was not happy about having his credibility questioned. This is his response to Kernan.

"It's not enough to impugn people's integrity based on how it appears on the surface. You owe it to the good and conscientious people that work on Sirius NASCAR Radio to have your facts straight before making this kind of allegation," said Moody.

"You imply that I and the rest of the Sirius NASCAR Radio hosts are being controlled by NASCAR; a groundless charge that is categorically untrue. You hosted a program on Sirius NASCAR Radio for 12 months; a program that proudly called NASCAR on the carpet whenever you deemed it necessary. In all that time, did anyone from either NASCAR or Sirius attempt to silence you? Were you ever told that you could not talk about a specific topic? Were you ever forbidden from expressing an opinion? If not, you've got a lot of nerve accusing us of being handled any differently."

"It's insulting, John, and we deserve better. I find it curious that you were an enthusiastic supporter of Sirius NASCAR Radio, right up to the point where your own personal deal went south," said Moody. "A look through your previous posts proves that point, beyond all doubt. And yet, you now accuse your former colleagues of being nothing more than corporate mouthpieces for NASCAR and the network. Was this your true opinion all along? If so, you're a bigger sellout than you accuse us of being. And if not, you're the victim of a sour grapes overload."

Wow, who knew such things happened in NASCAR radio land? You can click here to read the whole thread, but the broader picture revealed by Kernan's comments is fascinating. Just like the TV networks who have to "play nice" in the NASCAR TV contract, the radio guys seem to have their own lines drawn in the sand.

PRN is located up at the Lowe's Motor Speedway, while MRN has just relocated from Daytona to Concord, NC. If the name of that town sounds familiar, it should. Just down the street from the new MRN facility...is the Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Kernan was clear in his assertions that he is now just another listener, and will come back and post again when he wants to voice his opinion. Moody and Poole were clear in saying that if anyone from NASCAR ever tries to make them say or not say something, they will walk. They were also clear in their views about Kernan.

All this is happening days before the Charlotte Media Tour, hosted by the gang at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. It will include ESPN, PRN and MRN personalities. For the first time, it will also be televised by SPEED.

It should be interesting to see if this issue is covered by SPEED or ESPN, and how all of the personalities and companies involved handle it.

So, we have the former host of a PRN-produced popular national radio show calling out the MRN personalities over their NASCAR credibility on Sirius. And to think we were all wound-up about whether Tim Brewer would be back pointing at lug nuts in the Tech Center.

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