NASCAR Scene and SceneDaily.com layoffs

apparently there were some big layoffs today over there. Jeff Gluck posted on twitter that he was one of the victims

 

Their season starts in just a few weeks.

Damn economy.

 

It's a long list of REALLY good people. With the cuts that came down today, I'd be surprised if they planned to continue doing the magazine. The cuts reek of a place going online-only that thinks it won't need nearly as much manpower to do that.

 

So who got the ax?

 

In all seriousness, why do publishers and editors believe they can produce a lot of copy and quality information with fewer resources with an online presence compared to print?

Eliminating resources and staff hurts, no matter what the product is for consumers. If you need five sports writers to cover your area for print, why do you believe two can get the job done the same way for the web?

It's just fucking stupid.

 

A lot of very good journalists, and most of all, good people. I visited their office last April while doing a series on the history of Charlotte Motor Speedway -- and guys like Steve Waid and Ben White sat down and chatted with me, then allowed me to dig through their storeroom filled with cardboard boxes of back issues.

Lee Montgomery hinted at the Truck banquet that this was a real possibility, that the company had met earlier in the year to discuss the dire financial situation. Very sad for those folks today.

For Bob Pockrass and the others still there, hang in there and hopefully we'll see you at Daytona.

My prayers ... and best wishes.

-- Mark

 

There is going to be some severe backlash over this in the NASCAR community because every one of those people was respected. Rea and Ben were the nicest people, period; Steve was one of the funniest; etc.

Basically, what Mark said. There wasn't a group that loved the pure sport more than them.

I know guys like Bob are happy to have a job, but that place will be bad without those wonderful people.

 

Aww, fuck. LOT of really good people on this list. Dammit.

 

Another great pub goes down the crapper -- or at least begins circling the rim. Shit.

 

This.

The list I have, which may or may not be complete. And a lot of my best times in media centers were spent with some combination of these people.

Lee Montgomery
Rea White
Jeff Gluck
Mike Hembree
David Exum
Jared Turner
David Griffith
Ben White
Steve Waid

 

Wow ... that's a LOT of their editorial staff ...

Waid was one of the paper's founding staffers .... Ben White had been there nearly 20 years ... Hembree is an award-winning writer, as was Rea and Lee ...

Sounds like that leaves, what ... 3-4 people left on the writing side?

 

By my count, Pockrass, Kenny Bruce, Kris Johnson and Jeff Owens.