Scott Shakford, editor of the Desert Dispatch newspaper in Barstow, Calif., wrote an interesting editorial today about folks coming through town on cross-country Route 66 stunts and the newspaper’s coverage of them (or lack thereof):
We do interview some of them, if we think Barstow residents will find their stories interesting. […] In our efforts, though, to focus on stories directly connected to the Barstow community, our reporters are sometimes too engaged in local coverage to interview these passers-through. Some of them have gotten upset at us for declining to publicize their trip, which makes us question the real reason for the stunt.
Many of these travelers have connected their stunt to some charitable cause or other. […] There are others though, who are taking this trek to “raise awareness” about some issue or other. These are the ones who give us pause, because they appear to be as much interested in self-promotion as education. They aren’t actually doing anything besides their trip. These are the ones who get the most upset when we don’t report on their visit.
Shakford later tells of someone who was walking Route 66 for cancer awareness. The individual, however, wasn’t raising money for any particular group, nor did he contact anyone at the newspaper before arriving. He stormed out when informed there would be no coverage. Ironically, he was passing through near the time of Barstow”s Relay for Life cancer fundraiser — a prime opportunity to get involved locally. However, that person apparently didn’t know about it.
As the grand poohbah of Route 66 News, I can relate to Shakford’s dilemma. I’m betting at least two dozen people drive, walk, run, cycle or whatever on Route 66 during any given year. It’s a bit wearying to learn of yet another well-meaning but naive person who claims to be “the first” in tackling some sort of Route 66 feat. The Mother Road is more than 80 years old; chances are high the stunt’s been done before.
With more than two decades in the media, I can provide advice for those wanting to tackle a Route 66 feat:
First, make sure your feat is unique. This spring, we had a fellow from France who was walking Route 66 on stilts. That struck me as truly novel. He must not have been concerned in media coverage, which is OK if he did it for fun. But that leads me to my second point …
In a high-tech era, there’s no reason a Route 66 stunt can’t scare up its own publicity. Newspapers and TV stations are dealing with declining audiences and slashed budgets, so you can’t count on them. But with blogs, Twitter, Facebook and the exceptional capabilities of smartphones and laptops, people on Route 66 can truly reach a worldwide audience. And in the chance a newspaper or TV reporter wants to reach you, make sure you have a readily accessible e-mail account or cellphone number.
Print, radio and television ruled the mass-media roost just a few decades ago. Now, many other avenues can reach an audience. If you aren’t getting a newspaper or station’s attention, there’s no sense in whining about it when you’ve got so many other alternatives.
I was thinking of Steve Vaught in 2005 and his Fat Man Walking epic, about half of which went right down Route 66. He didn’t seek pub but sure found it and kept it up for about a year or so.
Vaught was just walking to get his head together after some bad life experiences and, then, hoping that karma would lead to his changing things and, eventually, losing some weight.
Vaught made it and went home to San Diego. Today, he has no PR and could probably walk into Barstow again no one would notice him.
Manu from France, walking on stilts, planned his trip with three people. Manu, a support vehicle with a driver, and one other person. The third persons job was to to document, translate and assist with media communications. The third person had to cancel his trip. Only the two individuals were able to try to navigate without an essential element of the team. Manu is a great athelete who was a pleasure to watch gliding down the road. Pure entertainment.
While this story focuses on those performing “stunts” on 66, and the relative merits of media coverage of the same, I am perhaps more mystified by the lack of coverage on the part of local media around the value of what Route 66 brings to their communities, and often the specific lack of coverage for Route 66-themed events. Route 66 was partially created as an economic engine for smaller, rural communities it was routed through, and that role carries on to today. In my hometown of Flagstaff, AZ. Route 66 is the second largest tourist draw behind the Grand Canyon- and more of those identifying their reason for being in Flagstaff as being Route 66 will do things relating to Route 66 (eat in a diner, drive the road, stay in a historic motel, buy souveniers, etc.) than those here because of the Grand Canyon and who will actually visit, or do something at the Canyon (this information by the way comes from a graduate Geography thesis done at NAU in 2007). Meanwhile Flagstaff’s media and business community seem relatively indifferent to what the road brings to the community in rvenue and jobs.
Perhaps we need those “stunts” to remind us of the value the old road still has today!
Interesting reply. Sean, you say that Route 66 is the second-largest draw in Flagstaff. Is that quantifiable, or is it just anecdotal? If it’s the latter, you probably need hard numbers to get local businesses and media on board with Route 66.
Also, the local media tend to tailor their content to — you guessed it — locals. For instance, it’s probably safe to say that an auto advertiser is a lot more interested in targeting his message to residents than someone who’s going to be in town only a day or two.
The thesis in question was done by one Michelle McNulty and the title is: The mystique of Route 66 and the image of Flagstaff, Arizona. Ms. McNulty worked out of the Flagstaff Visitors Center and her data was derived from several hundred surveys completed by tourists that listed all state, local national parks and monuments rated against Route 66.
Your point about local media is dead on. Flagstaff’s Route 66 Days celebration is coming up on Sept.11-13 and while we’re not having any trouble getting cars for the car shows, vendors, or sponsors- getting the media interested is another story!
Have a great weekend-
I suppose one persons “adventure” is anothers “stupid stunt”. But, when someone says, “I’m gonna be the first person to cruise Route 66 on a _________! Look at me!” I think it’s just a stunt.
I never tell anyone when I’m going someplace. I just go and enjoy the trip.