NZ Dirt Track passed its use by date? (Read 3,948 times)

[johnf]

Perhaps you should all reread or read for the first time just what Lynda's objectives and aims were.

[nogrip-31gm]

i like it the way it is..
however if i think about what could be covered-if possible it could be huge..

think of how many tracks/clubs are out there
all the different classes
how many drivers in each class

thats alot of stuff that could be covered.

now i dont know how its run or anything like that,but if you have a person or 2 at each track around the country at every meeting taking notes etc,then compile a nice monthly write up on what the club/track has been doing,and note any notable talent or new faces in the grids then we can have a varied read in our hands..

it would give the public an opportunity to get to know names all round the place,and not just the guys winning the big meets.
sure it would be a pregnant dog for the bigger tracks who race every weekend to get something on paper,but then you could limit it to feature races etc..

if they were to decide to go glossy i wouldnt mind,as long as it doesnt get filled with crap selling clothes/cellphones/cd's and junk thats not related to the sport.

the bonus of going glossy would be a more professional/organised layout.
quality photos,more content.
of course it would be offset by the price,but what isnt these days?

any changes would be made for the good of the sport i guess..
think of it from a non speedway person...

your walking past the mag rack in the supermarket and you spot the current mag,just looks like a t&e...if it wre glossy i bet it would actually catch your eye,so would it be a safe bet to say that it could encourage new blood to the sport?or atleast more supporters??

something to think about anyway..
well im out of brain gas,so ill putter off and leave yas to it...

paul
31gm

[41ford]

Cmon we live in modern times here, yes keep it paper not gloss but move with the times.
I looked at one on the stand the other day and thought why would a young person crab this to read. Only reason I take a look is back when a kid my old man got every copy.
Now he saying its not appealing enough.
You don't have to go changing the whole lay out but Yes bigger font size would help alot.
I totally agree with driver profiles on up and comers they the future of the sport look after them and they will carry on for many years.

My 2 cents worth

[YankeeClipper10H]

I had a look for the NZDTR magazine today and after visiting the FOURTH STORE I finally found a copy(s) albeit sitting on the bottom shelf of the magazine display 75% obscured by some women's magazines that had been tossed on top of them.


Prices on other magazines to compare by and NZDTR is the most expensive NZ based publication ..................

NZ Rodder - 63 pages - $7.00 = 11 cents per page

NZ Hot Rod - 108 pages $8.50 = 8 cents per page
(Bumper Issue)

NZ Classic Car -112 pages $9.00 = 8 cents per page

NZ V8 - 94 pages $9.00 = 10 cents per page

NZ V8 - 156 pages $9.00 = 6 cents per page
(Bumper Issue)

NZ Speedsport - 104 pages $9.90= 10 cents per page

NZ Beaded Wheels - 54 pages $5.95 = 11 cents per page

The Dirt - 112 pages $10.00 = 9 cents per page

NZDTR - 32 pages $5.90 = 19 cents per page


NZDTR the most expensive magazine per page.

All rates have been rounded up to the nearest cent.

All magazines except for NZDTR were full colour on glossy paper.

I did like the NZ Speedsport format and enjoyed seeing the six pages of speedway it had to offer with good size photos and covering reports on stockcars. saloons, midgets and sprintcars.

Is it time for a change and a better less expensive read for the speedway fan ??

[Higgins]

YankeeClipper, have you made any allowance for the advertising component when calculating these costings? I purchase magazines etc for their news and editorial component and judge it by that and not by the total amount of pages, many of which could be dominated by advertising.

[YankeeClipper10H]

The other publications that I have menioned are not domintaed by advertising.

If you want to read magazines that are dominated by advertising then take a look at the likes of the American publications such as Circle Track and Stock Car Racing as they are full of it.

NZDTR is good BUT it probably needs to take itself into the better/best category.

I used to buy NZDTR but stopped buying it years ago because the articles from some contributors quite frankly were becoming (had become) nothing but dribble.

Higgins, I'm sure NZDTR could retain its news and editorial component that you buy it for but present itself in a more up to date and modern forrmat.

I was surprised to be able to find NZDTR in only ONE out of FOUR stores that I went to today. All other publications that I have mentioned were available in all four of the stores.

All of the other publications were well displayed in the magazine rack compared to NZDTR being on the bottom shelf of the stand ie about 4" to 6" off the floor.

IF it was a glossy then I'm sure it would be better displayed in the stores and therefore not just forgotten about left amongst all the other "newspapers" on the bottom shelf.

Correct placement of product in stores sells more product !!!!!

Higgins, these prices are what the consumer buys the magazine for.

[urmama]

What I would love to see is nice colour gloss posters of different cars everymonth to cover my garage walls, in the centreof the mag(paper)That would be awesome and make it worth the money.

[YankeeClipper10H]

The NZ V8 magazine also had a full colour fold out poster

[Deleted]

Answer to original question, Yes. Superseded by Macgors. Far more interesting, even with the "drivel" that has been attacked in the mag. We get a copy now and then, more out of loyalty to speedway than anything else. Found articles in the paper that have been discussion points on MacGors, in fact some of the text, anecdotes, remedies etc come directly from here, kinda like"heard it all before" stuff. However Speedway in NZ deserves to have a printed periodical and NZDTR is it till something better comes along. Could it be better? Could it be cheaper? It comes down to the individual reading it. Would prefer it to be a web based publication myself, might even subscribe to it, but not worth searching round town for. No disrespect intended.

[nogrip-31gm]

Dec 27, 2008 14:36:23 GMT 12 urmama said:

What I would love to see is nice colour gloss posters of different cars everymonth to cover my garage walls, in the centreof the mag(paper)That would be awesome and make it worth the money.

that would be slick indeed.... ;D

[Bulletfan]

more storys less photos thats what the nzdt should be about

[pumafan]

Just bought the latest copy out !
I for one still enjoy the mag, just as it is.
Price rises have been subtle over the years, but so has everything else.....you still pay the asking price for a dozen at the local huh !

Cheers Bazza

[drew]

I would love to see NZDT mag:

Go glossy, in a standard mag format the likes of Street Machine, NZV8, Performance Car, Hot 4's etc..

Have focus articles on speedway cars
(like the mags above do with their chosen vehicle type..)

Have a monthly poster - my shed is covered with Street Machine mag posters...

Have a monthly tech article, How To.. (car setups, installing something)

Project cars, like NZ Hotrod currently does..

Track profiles / maps

I believe the mag could be much more than it is at the moment...

Drew

[modsprintsnz]

An interesting thread....and as posted before one that was touched on and debated for quite some time last year () Looks very much like this one could go the same way........

Hmmmm - heres some of my thoughts (not that they count for anything ;D) why change it to a glossy look? Nzracer used to be a "newspaper" now its glossy and in my opinion half the mag it used to be!

One benefit of the NZDTR is that it covers what WE want to read about and that's speedway - no wading through circuit racing / boy racer toys and Formula One - if I want to know about those I will by an international motorsport mag....I want to know about whats happening here in New Zealand Speedway - and NZDTR offers that without the other guff!

And to those who seem to want to call articles "dribble" or what-ever, I await your articles to be published!!! I have submitted a couple of articles in recent time (I'm sure some of you will call them "dribble") but it's about informing a speedway fans about the goings on and NZDTR is the outlet for speedway articles....if it wasnt for the myriad of writers the magazine would look very sad indeed - lets not forget writers use their own time, and getting a good article can use a lot of it.........

And sure just like this very forum some of the information potrayed in NZDTR may not be 100% accurate, this could be put down to either the "one mans view" theory or the fact that the reporter has been "mis-informed" about happenings.

Lets be honest though NZDTR is not at the cutting edge as far as todays magazines go (glossy etc.) - yet it serves a purpose and does it well!

SDemon

[generalnuisance55i]

I think sdemon says it all. The nzdt mag is just fine the way it is.
It covers Auckland to Invercargill & i enjoy reading what my mates are up to all over n.z Dont change what is working just fine the way it is

[DTM1]

NZDTR obviously appeals as a publication to the majority in this thread.However,its not contributors to this thread in support of the publication that really matter,its the speedway fans who dont purchase it that should be of more interest and those in this thread who dont buy it,all have the same common reason...the quality,of both printed product and overall content.......and its these non purchasers that should be paid attention to,as anyone who is a member of an online speedway forum is obviously passionate about the sport,so in effect we are the TARGET MARKET and rightly or wrongly its those who dont buy it that need to be listened to,especially if the publication wants to continue as a viable proposition.

[Deleted]

Sdemon, its not the articles in the DTR mag that are drivel, it is something that was printed in the DTR that stated that the speedway internet sites contained a lot of drivel.I found that to be a silly thing for a magazine to say because it is those people who follow speedway, and purchase the magazine who are invariabley on the web sites and contributing to them whether it be drivel or not. Nice way to treat your own customers.
Heres another doozey from DTR talking about Clive Elliot, December issue, (only a lttle bit late) in the editorial section, quote, the first many in the speedway fraternity knew of the car, the project or Clives condition was when it was documented on the television programme Close Up, unquote. We all know where Tony Mac went to get the whole thing publicised to the speedway community, you guessed it, the internet site that previously had contained a lot of drivel !

[nzf2stocks.]

My 2c, A slight format change so that the articles arn't spread out over several pages would make it easir to follow, and not miss some smaller columns.

The hardest thing for any publication is content, as I understand it NZDTR relies heavily on articles from contributors, and if they dont supply the goods the editor has to fill the pages herself; not a bad thing as Linda has her finger in a lot of speedway pies. My belief is that each track should have a media specialist or journalist contracted to write up reports and releases for thier track. Each writeup can be of three or four different sizes, one for newspapers, one for the next programme, a more in depth one for the mags, and a full lenght one for the clubs website. They only have to write one report then edit it to the correct length for each media. Then Linda would be able to choose the length that would suit the space available. Then there are the people who can type with more than one finger (ie not me) who can write up thier experiences or views and submit them for consideration, isn't this how Mad Marty became a household name

As for the profiles etc, how many of you racers has taken the time to fill out the form and send it in? Takes all of 20 min's.

[BarryB]

It's getting more and more difficult to not only find suitable contributors, but any kind of contributor in some instances. To have a point of difference from the websites, for example, major meetings now virtually need to be written from the pits. But most writers would not give up their seat in the stands, let alone miss a few races to get the full story.

Historic and in depth driver profiles are extremely time consuming, and many tracks just have one person (some don't even have one) doing all of the writing for them, including programmes, newspaper, website and the likes of NZDTR - and their time is getting stretched thinner all the time. What Lynda does not need is a report that has already been printed elsewhere, as that would leave the magazine offering nothing different to readers at all.

There is definitely still a place for printed stories, but they do need to evolve with the times. Not always an easy task when you're relying on a couple of dozen other writers to put things together for you to edit........

[The Godfather]

When the Canterbury Racer mag became the NZ Racer I stopped getting it, even tho it was free!!

At least it is dedicated mostly to speedway, thats why I buy it.
Dont see the need for the USA stuff, IMHO, but like some of the others have said if the editors dont receive the reports something has to go in there.