Ein Internet-Branchendienst bekommt als einziger ein Interview mit dem Mann, den gerne alle sprechen möchte: VW-Markenchef Wolfgang Bernhard. Zu gerne wüsste ich, wie es dazu gekommen ist (und ich werde die Kollegen in Übersee gleich mal anmailen). In den Agenturen entdecke ich gerade, dass VW-Markenvorstand Wolfgang Bernhard zum ersten Mal dementiert hat, dass er den Konzern verlässt.
Das Besondere: Er sagte das der Online-Branchenplattform The Car Connection.
Und diese Tatsache ist – „Wie, so ne Online-Klitsche kriegt nen Interview mit Bernhard? Warum haben wir den nicht?“ – den Kollegen bei Dow Jones so obskur, dass sie betonen müssen:
„Offenbar ist dem Internet- Portal ?TheCarConnection.com? auf der Automesse von Los Angeles ein Exklusivinterview mit dem VW-Markenvorstand gelungen. Das ?Wall Street
Journal? schreibt, Bernhard habe ursprünglich verschiedenen Medien Interviews geben wollen, doch habe der VW-Konzern ihn nach den Berichten über seinen angeblich geplanten Rücktritt aus dem Rampenlicht genommen.“
Nachtrag: Der Chef von The Car Concept hat superschnell auf meine Mail reagiert. Hier seine Erklärung:
„I will have to keep this short, I’m afraid, as I am off for the airport momentarily, racing off to Africa for a test drive of a critical new product.
To answer your question, I must note that I, as a journalist, am a bit of both the pioneer and a hybrid of sorts. I was one of the first to successfully give up the corporate grind and become an „independent“ journalist (I prefer that term to freelancer). Since 1979, I have written for hundreds of publications in almost all media, print, radio, TV, book, and more recently, online. I launched TheCarConnection.com in January 1997 as a way to take advantage of what I envisioned would be a very powerful new outlet. I had no idea, as things have evolved.
As an independent, I have always struggled with staying on the radar screen of the industry’s powers-that-be, but the number of outlets I publish in — typically 40-60 at any time — and the quality of those outlets, such as The Economist, has helped make me the so-called „A List“ journalist and gotten me access that few covering the auto industry can enjoy. In the early days, TheCarConnection.com „got no respect,“ as comedian Rodney Dangerfield might have put it. But as our traffic has grown, as the Internet, overall, gained power, and as I slowly shifted my personal identity to being publisher of the site, TCC has, in turn, become a force to be reckoned with. Having a network of strong contributors helps, of course. It’s not all just me.
Would TCC have gotten the interview with Bernhard without me? Probably not. Having TheCarConnection.com as a prime outlet probably also made it easier for me to get to Bernhard. In fact, they called to offer me the interview.
I still think that the folks controlling media access in the auto industry aren’t sure what to make of the internet. And for good reason. There are countless sites covering things automotive. But there’s no question that the most credible online outlets are becoming as much a must-have as traditional print or broadcast publications.“
Kommentare
Hans Axnix 5. Juli 2007 um 12:53
***Hier stand ein werblicher Kommenar, der nichts zur Diskussion beitrug.***