Chrysler Extends Press Credential to Bloggers at Last

Well whaddya know! Chrysler's "Firehouse" blog sent me press credentials today. That wouldn't be a big deal, except a year or so ago Chrysler got into the very bad graces of some very major bloggers by refusing to acknowledge bloggers as press.

Chrysler PR chief Jason Vines is still one of the Firehouse writers. He's best remembered for calling Steve Hall of adrants, which is arguably the most influential advertising publication in the world, a "cowardly anonymous poster" for writing about Daimler Chryler's hairbrained idea to lock bloggers out of the company's ill-named Firehouse blog. Apparently he hadn't noticed that Hall signs all his posts.

Anyhow, sales at Chrysler and all the rest of the auto industry are in the toilet, and I guess they figure they could use some friends in the media, even if it's riff raff like bloggers. I'm happy to accept the invitation, and glad they finally decided not to turn tail.

They've been busily blogging, even posting to YouTube and generally trying to be Web 2.0, with Mike Ellis doing a great deal of the writing. Ed Garsten is listed as Editorial Director. They're trying, too hard, to provide feature material. But at least they're trying.

Now if they could figure out how to make an SUV that gets 40 miles to the gallon, they'd really have something to brag about.

B.L.: Think DCX opened up TheFirehouse.biz to bloggers awhile ago. I've had permission to log on and read, comment, etc., since at least late 2005. Maybe just now, instead of being open to bloggers, DCX is inviting bloggers?
Mike

They turned me, and *many* other bloggers down when we asked for logins. That's what my earlier posts were about if you click through to them. They were creamed in the blogosphere. that's why it was worth a post now.

I remember Steve Hall/Adrants and others blasting DCX. Though, there's nothing wrong with a "private members-only" type blog.

Maybe I got in after the bruhahah?
Mike

It's called a group media blog. But they excluded blogs as media. It is NOT called a members-only blog.

Then they selectively gave some bloggers logins.

Thanks for all of your comments, pro and con re TheFirehouse.biz.

An update--Mike Ellis, formerly a business writer with Reuters for more than a decade, and the Detroit Free Press, took over from me as editorial director in August, 2006.

I now run Chrysler Group's newly formed Electronic Media Communications team, which includes the blog.

We opened up TheFirehouse to bloggers within weeks of launching. Did we make some mistakes at the outset? You bet.

This was a new medium for those of us who cut our teeth in the conventional media, but we've taken the time to learn.

Since then, we've given full access to TheFirehouse.biz to virtually every blogger who applies and have never refused to post a comment, positive or negative. The blog's been a great tool for us and we continue to look for new ways to make the best use of this great communications outlet.

Ed: You may have stepped down in 06, but your name was still listed as editorial director the day i wrote the post.

Hey, a delayed reaction is better than none. You opened the Firehouse to SOME bloggers within weeks of launching. I certainly was turned down and so were many other bloggers who applied.

If there is anything I would hope you'd have learned by now, it's not to lie.

Aw B.L., you've gotta lighten up. I admitted we made some mistakes when we launched the site. We at first granted access to automotive-oriented bloggers then widened access to virtually all. You might have just gotten caught in between. If you haven't already tried to register, go ahead. There's really nothing sinister going on. We've taken great pains to learn from our mistakes, keep in close contact with bloggers and invited a group of influential bloggers to our headquarters to educate our communicators. I think we've been quite transparent about those clumsy, early days of TheFirehouse.biz, and hope we've learned about how to use the medium more appropriately and strategically. We're still learning...and that's no lie.

Ed: Case in point - I wrote this post in MARCH. This is June. You're here because you saw the link to my blog at another post about blogger credentials.

While my readership has since doubled, when I was turned down the first time, I was already one of the top 25 business bloggers in the world.

You invited "influential bloggers" to your HQ. Really?! How interesting. What do you call influential I wonder.

Regarding applying again: read the post above.

A word of advice: it's a great idea to do an ego search on a regular basis so you know which influential bloggers are writing about you. And you'd even know what the ones who you think are nobodies are saying if you did that.