Fixed Ops Journal - December 2022 - F4

H
Turning the page on Fixed Ops Journal
anging on a wall in my home
office is a framed copy of the last
Sunday magazine The Dallas
Morning News published,
featuring a cover story written by me. Framed
along with it is a tongue-in-cheek letter from
the executive editor at the time saying it
couldn't be officially determined whether my
excessive freelance writing for
the magazine led to its demise.
I was a woefully underpaid
young reporter (a redundant
phrase, to be sure) at the
Morning News and would try
to pad my city desk salary by
taking extra work writing for
the magazine.
Thirty-some years later, here
I am again witness to another
magazine ceasing publication.
After a lot of discussion at
Automotive News, the decision
was made to stop publishing
Fixed Ops Journal. This issue
will be the last.
But unlike the Sunday magazine, there is a
DAN SHINE
dan.shine@crain.com
Fixed Ops Journal editor
second act for Automotive News' coverage of
service, parts and collision. More about that
in a minute.
Difficult decision
The decision to cease publishing Fixed Ops
Journal was not made lightly. It is a
publication that is highly regarded in the
industry and has become a must-read in the
service department. For the 18 issues I was
editor, I heard countless positive remarks in
person and on social media. I know how
important this publication is to you - for not
only informing you but also for shining a light
on the back end of dealerships, which can
account for half the profits but not enough of
the accolades.
Tailoring delivery of news
But at Automotive News, we've adopted a
more " audience-obsessed " mindset -
meaning we factor in how our readers are
consuming our work when making decisions.
What we've heard through surveys and
personal feedback is that many of you never
see the magazine, never hold it in your hands.
Instead, it's typically delivered to the office
of the dealer principal or general manager
and almost never makes its way back to
service. As a result, many of you
read it on autonews.com.
Additionally, many of you
told us you'd like to see service
and parts coverage more often
than the every-other-month
cadence of FOJ. It's an
important coverage area for
you; therefore, it's an important
coverage area for us.
Future plans
Beginning in January, there
will be a service and parts page
in Automotive News every other
week. Previously, there was just
one page per month.
Additionally, there will be an email newsletter
delivered to your inbox every week. That's an
increase from the once-a-month e-newsletter
in the past.
In addition to the latest news, the weekly
newsletter will feature a video interview with
some of the best service and parts minds
about challenges they're facing and how
they're overcoming them. The newsletters
also will include some of the regular features
from the magazine such as Legal Lane,
Feedback and Service Counter.
In both Automotive News and in the
newsletter, our coverage focus will not
change. We'll continue to explore personnel
issues such as training, recruitment and
compensation. We will examine management
strategies - how to ditch the silos and work
with other dealership departments and the
best way to market a dealership's back end.
We will interview the brightest minds in the
business, gleaning the processes and best
practices that make their departments profitable
and keep their customers coming back.
Mission remains
What won't change is our unbending
commitment to quality journalism conducted
under the standards and ethics Automotive
News demands. We will continue to leverage
the talents of the Automotive News staff as
well as a stable of professional freelance
automotive journalists to bring you news and
features to help you operate more efficiently
and profitably.
Founding editor Dave Versical, in his first
Fixed Ops Journal column, talked about the
inevitability of an auto sales slump and how
" those who don't have the fixed side of their
business in shape are going to hit the rockiest
road. "
The goal of the magazine, he wrote, was to
" help smooth your ride through the next
slump, too, as well as through all the peaks
and valleys beyond. "
A final thank-you
Before signing off, I have to thank the
incredible Automotive News staff who have
helped bring this magazine to you during the
past seven years and 40 issues. Please take a
look at their names in the staff box on Page 3.
The copy editors who fact-check the work and
write tremendous headlines. The steady
professionalism of Mary Beth Vander Schaaf,
our senior director of editorial operations,
who won't let this magazine go to the printer
without everything being just right. Reporter
Richard Truett, who has been a trusted
sounding board and a guy who knows his way
around an engine. The stable of talented
freelancers. And Design Director Steve
Massie, who has lent his creativity from the
first issue to the last - and constantly calmed
my nerves when I was convinced we'd miss
our deadlines.
And a special thanks to you for reading all
these years. Keep reading - there are great
things ahead. n
PAGE 4 DECEMBER 2022
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Fixed Ops Journal - December 2022

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