Jump to content

Leftlanenews ends... is automotive journalism far behind?


Recommended Posts

The website leftlanenews is being shuttered and will no longer provide reviews and articles on all things automotive. It’s a sad day for me, because this was my go to site for reasonable reviews of new products and comparisons. 

 

It is is mentioned in the article that a couple other automotive sites are shuttering as well. Which makes me wonder, how much longer will we have a wide selection of online automotive news. Magazines have already, mostly, gone by wayside. 

 

https://leftlanenews.com/2019/07/29/lane-ends--merge-right/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember in the late 90s, it was predicted that microtransactions would save journalism from the scourge of the expectation that information on the Internet would be free. Forego obtrusive ads (this was the dawn of the pOp-up) and intrusive user tracking by charging some amount too small to refuse - say, a nickel, which is far more than ad-impression revenue - to read a full article, which would be aggregated by a clearinghouse to monthly payments from the customer, to the content creators.

But no, they all want subscriptions. 

So journalism dies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Noah Harbinger said:

So journalism dies.

IMO it has been dead for a long time-the shock/click bait headlines along with a complete lack of editing and whatnot has contributed to this. The revenue model they are using is broken and the only people getting rich is Google Adsense. 

 so if you're a regular reader of Motor Authority or The Car Connection, well, I have some bad news for you.

Guess they are going away too. Part of this is oversaturation of the market and the rise of things like Facebook. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, SoonerLS said:

I think he meant that he'll be writing for them. 

Correct, the whole sentence gives context...

Quote

I (along with Drew) will be joining some of them over at Internet Brands,
so if you're a regular reader of Motor Authority or The Car Connection,
well, I have some bad news for you.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't necessarily believe Automotive journalism is dying, it's just changing. Self-made men and women are on youtube making decent money and getting hundreds of thousands of views reviewing cars with their GoPro. I think the days of a handful of sources for your news, reviews, or any type of journalism is behind us. We have youtubers reviewing the new Aviator, and doing a great job at it, before Motortrend and all the major outlets publish anything. The internet continues to change our world and how we consume information. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Willwll313wll said:

I don't necessarily believe Automotive journalism is dying, it's just changing. Self-made men and women are on youtube making decent money and getting hundreds of thousands of views reviewing cars with their GoPro. I think the days of a handful of sources for your news, reviews, or any type of journalism is behind us. We have youtubers reviewing the new Aviator, and doing a great job at it, before Motortrend and all the major outlets publish anything. The internet continues to change our world and how we consume information. 

So true! Currently the only auto “journalism” I view on a consistent basis is on YouTube. Specifically Doug Demuro, Hoovies Garage, and all the TFL channels.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, mnm said:

So true! Currently the only auto “journalism” I view on a consistent basis is on YouTube. Specifically Doug Demuro, Hoovies Garage, and all the TFL channels.  

Yeah! I used to visit Car & Driver/Motortrend/Autoblog every single day! Now I am on youtube and blueovalnews ?. Journalism is far from dead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Willwll313wll said:

Yeah! I used to visit Car & Driver/Motortrend/Autoblog every single day! Now I am on youtube and blueovalnews ?.
Journalism is far from dead.

 Maybe so but I think expecting direct payment from viewers is and i really feel for the guys
that tried to keep the doors open with a free website.

Edited by jpd80
Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, Anthony said:

As I noted on Twitter, there is some weird stuff going on behind the scenes that even the ex-editorial staff don't know about.  (I don't either mind you, just noting it)

The whole situation sounds like a big cluster f***

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, rmc523 said:

Hm.  The link in the original post doesn't go anywhere?

The original article has been removed from the website. Guessing the owners of the site didn’t like the dirty laundry being aired out. 

From all accounts of the staff, everyone was blindsided by the decision and not given any real answers. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...