Integrity of automotive journalism and its use for marketing purposes

Abstract

The lines between automotive journalism and marketing have blurred. Motoring publications relying on revenue from advertising are more than ever dependent on automotive manufacturers, in order to produce relevant content. At the same time car manufacturers are cutting costs on journalistic events while producing their own content, thus diminishing the journalistic aspect, in favour of marketing. The aim of this research is to determine whether or not, due to the abovementioned process, automotive journalism has been compromised. Or is journalism simply adapting to the new environment, thus adopting some properties of marketing? In order to answer the research question, after defining the two supposedly intertwining fields – marketing and automotive journalism – six interviews were carried out, with individuals involved, formally or at present, in automotive journalism, marketing and/or other peripheral to automotive journalism, or the automotive industry. The results from their interviews and their correlation to the automotive journalism and marketing industries suggest that automotive journalism has a mixed perception across the board, but it does not mean, it is compromised. Although there have been records of unprofessionalism across automotive publications, we can conclude that automotive journalism has not been compromised. Rather, due to the dynamic change in audience, media and the automotive industry itself, automotive journalism has adopted a model, closer to that of the marketing industry.