As The Augusta Press continues to grow, we want to grow in the right direction. Sometimes, the best thing to do is just simply ask the folks who read the newspaper what they would like to see more of.
So, we’re asking, would you like to see more coverage of auto racing?
I must admit that I am not a “traditional” car guy. I own a basic Chrysler that has the horsepower of a moped. My garage does not contain a cherry 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Fury that I rebuilt myself.
Alas.
However, while I cannot change a master cylinder, I have always been fascinated with cars. Several months ago, I proposed the MotorHeadline column as part of that fascination. The fact that I am friends with Taylor Bryant, who can take a BMW apart and put it back together with hand tools and who is a college professor with great writing skills certainly helped get the weekly column into print.
MORE: MotorHeadline: Beware of new tax credit scam when shopping for electric vehicle
Back in the old days of newspapers, it was almost impossible to track what stories people were reading. It is always difficult to know the interests of such a large and diverse community like the CSRA. However, in today’s computer driven world, it is easy to see how many people click on a story and sometimes we are pleasantly surprised at the reaction and other times we are dismayed at the fact that so much work went into a column that no one read.
The MotorHeadline column was one of those pleasant surprises.
Not only is the column widely read, but the real car guys (and gals!) out there that read the column are quick to correct both the writers and the editors when the slightest detail is missed.
One reader commented something as such:
“The headline says “turbo,” but the picture is of an air-aspirated vehicle.”
That kind of feedback is priceless.
One of the first things The Augusta Press was lacking in the beginning of our publication was sports coverage. As it turned out, one of the biggest strengths that our Managing Editor, Charmain Brackett, brought to the table was not her floral writing skills or her constant demands for attribution as an editor, but her knowledge of covering sports.
Under Charmain’s leadership, our organization’s ability to cover sports has expanded greatly, so much so that our sports photographer, Mike Adams, won five awards from the Georgia Press Association back in June.
“I’m the mother of our Sports Department; I birthed it,” Charmain told me.
So, it came as no surprise to me when Charmain called and told me that The Augusta International Speedway Preservation Society is having its annual banquet on Oct. 21, and we needed to cover that. And then she wondered out loud if people might be interested in NASCAR or other race coverage.
MORE: MotorHeadline: The second death of the muscle car
A sad side note to the Preservation Society is that this will be the group’s final event, according to a Facebook post.
Let us know, as a reader, would you like stock car racing covered more in this newspaper? Post a comment or send us an email. Tell us what events specifically you would like to see covered.
If so, that might mean that The Augusta Press may have to cough up the money to pay for a ticket to a few NASCAR races.
I won’t get the tickets though, Charmain will, she gets all of the fun gigs!
See ya on the roadways!!
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
