E-Media Tidbits

Blacknell, via Flickr (CC license) Winners of this year's CSC Invitational bike race in Arlington, Va.

The increase in coverage for the 10th annual CSC Invitational in Arlington, Va., Saturday was remarkable. None of it came from mainstream media -- which all but ignored this popular community event that draws some of the world's best male and female professional cyclists along a spectator-friendly one-kilometer course located right at the Clarendon Metro stop.

I was one of several bloggers (see the Triple Crankset for my coverage) and numerous photographers on hand, among about 20,000 spectators on a hot, muggy but thoroughly enjoyable day. I give Arlington Sports (the event's organizers) a lot of credit for understanding that the nature of media coverage has changed: It no longer necessarily includes traditional, mainstream media.

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For example, the Washington Post ran an item advancing the event in its Weekend section but provided no coverage in print or even online. If there was television coverage, I wasn't able to find it whenever local television stations might have provided it.

From personal blogs like my own to YouTube to Flickr, the coverage for events like this is there now. For fans of niche sports and interests, it's a real and welcome revolution.

It's interesting to compare 2006 and 2007 online coverage of the CSC Invitational. Last year, except for a couple YouTube videos and the usual coverage on VeloNews.com, there wasn't much online coverage -- let alone local mainstream media coverage, of the race.

This year coverage really blossomed. I think we have passed a watershed mark -- and that mainstream media has really, really missed the boat. Sure, they could partner with grassroots coverage of such events, but they don't. Why?

In my opinion, they just aren't passionate about local coverage. And they are not sufficiently connected to their local communities.

Am I exaggerating because I'm interested in some silly local cycling event that attracts about 20,000 people?

Well, that same day in Washington D.C., an estimated 45,000 showed up for and participated in the Susan G. Koman National Race for the Cure. The Washington Post thought that race was worth some page 3 Metro section coverage. It also got some TV coverage. So at least that race wasn't ignored. Still, non-mainstream coverage (especially online) of the Race for the Cure far outstripped mainstream coverage.

I don't believe the problem is (just) budgets. I do think it's misapplied priorities. So the opportunity is there for mainstream media to work with sites like Steve Outing's Enthusiast Group.

On Sunday, the Post ran an interesting story on local/niche blogs, but I wonder if anyone there put 2 + 2 together and realized that those very blogs mentioned could be working in concert with the Post to provide more in-depth local coverage.

Personally, I think the Post "gets it" in theory but not always in practice. I just don't think everyone at the Post really cares about the local scene beyond what they traditionally have seen as necessary business. Ultimately, they will lose this business because they will lose the community. They certainly are losing the cycling community -- and there had to be some folks involved in the Race for the Cure who were none too happy with their "local" paper and media on Sunday.