As much as I’d like to be a bastard, I’ve taken a special interest in the backstory surrounding one of the many people The Star recently laid off.
Julie Rehm was The Star’s letters editor and she’s been with the company since 1995. Now it seems she has been cast aside in yet another stupid decision that takes aim at the Star’s presence in the community and not the mostly useless middle-managers or blathering columnists. Yes, Mike Hendricks we’re all looking at you.
In any event, friends of Julie are disheartened by the choice to let her go and the seemingly endless string of bad decisions that have marked the downward spiral of The Kansas City Star. Worse still, the circumstances of the lady editor’s layoff are lamentable. Take a look:
Rehm reported her firing to her Facebook friends and received an outpouring of support with more than 50 comments.
Trooper that she is: She starts thinking about her upcoming job search right away and seeks advice.
“Stop feeling like life is over” might be a bit dramatic but it certainly captures the internal turmoil of Star staffers facing the obsolescence of the print media career path. Let’s not forget that in this digital era there’s really not a reason for a “Letters Editor” now that the vast majority of the Star’s comments and feedback are handled automatically through Internet scripts and comment moderation.
Clearly, the prospect of searching for a new job seems daunting for anyone at this stage of the economy. But Rehm seems to know that there’s simply no alternative but to stare The Great Recession in the face.
Unfortunately, this last entry from the former Star staffer shows the true colors and compassion of this town’s local paper-of-record:
The Great Recession has taken its toll on everyone especailly those folks clinging onto jobs in dying industries and also facing health issues. It’s horrible to think that they couldn’t have found some place else for this seemingly nice lady while the organization seems so top heavy by all counts. Nevertheless, throughout the economic turmoil of these past few years The Star has played cheerleader for a failing economy and only now does it seem that their cast away workers are going to have to do some first hand research on what its like to be broke.
Tony Botello
McKay Strangler
So you decide to use this woman’s grief as grist for your shitty, bitter, over-the-top grudge against The Star.
Classy. Real classy.
Y’not Pali
Thanks for the lesson in new journalism 101: Mine people’s Facebook profiles.
JOJO
explain your comment..
“:the star has been a cheerleader for a failed
economy”
what does that mean…I’m not in the know so
explain with instances of where this has occurred.
gecko
Jojo you need spell check. But I like your spirit. Keep on rocking in the free world, because nobody is paying for journalism.
Julie Rehm
Gee, I was blindsided and in a state of shock when I wrote those posts. Sure, I’m scared, but I’m also starting to see the upside of my situation. I had no idea my comments would end up on a blog. Live and learn.
Emily
Anybody who knows Julie knows that she’s far from defeated. Good grief. What a stupid article.
Ptolemy
“Gee, I was blindsided and in a state of shock when I wrote those posts. Sure, I
Mike Wazowski
ANYONE who posts on facebook is an idiot. Why would ANYONE give away details of their real life?
LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU ALL!!
as for whats-her-name, oh well, for the “princess of which letters were printed, and which letters were cast aside”, now she know how it feels.
I stopped writting letters to the biased Star long ago, what a bunch of ego maniacs, they get what they deserve. Maybe if thay had some scruples, they would not be in this position.
Kansas Blogs |
[…] Confidential looks at one womans fall.
rick
Maybe she can get a job at Haywoods. Hear they are opening up a new location.
rick
excuse me. Haywards.
Bone up
…then I looked down, and noticed ….. HEY, WOOD!!!
Dixie Vogel
Jesus Christ. Nothing like exploiting someone reaching out to FRIENDS for support during a painful moment, to take advantage of the opportunity further a personal agenda at her expense.
Yuck.
Save Face
When ANYONE posts to face book, they deserve what ever they get. There is real life, and then there is this stupid interNUT.
If you lean on interNUT friends for help, you are BEGGING for trouble.
FACE BOOK IS FOR IDIOTS.
Ptolemy
“Jesus Christ. Nothing like exploiting someone reaching out to FRIENDS for support during a painful moment, to take advantage of the opportunity further a personal agenda at her expense.
Yuck.”
Ever heard of email dumbass?
Jake
What’s the big deal? It’s not like the star and everyone else in the
media doesn’t traffic in other peoples problems, layoffs, etc
can’t say
Hearne thank you for pulling JOJO’s posts. This shows you believe in mercy and don’t support cruel and unusual punishment. We readers LOVE YOU!!!!
mermaid
First of all this blog should have never been written. Second she was grieving and needed support from friends which she is entitled to do. The internet and facebook has become like it or not a way of connecting with people. Do not call her names because she tried to connect through facebook. Why is everyone so vicious on this site? Julie I hope if you read this that things have brightened up and that you have moved on to a new chapter in your life.
Mermaid impostor
By the way Craig is a jerk. Rick is scum. And I hate everyone but I can’t understand why everyone is so vicious on this site? Coffee calling kettle black. Mermaid practice what you preach. If you go a 3 months without slamming anyone we’ll do the same. Peace out.
Monsters Inc
RRRARARARAAAAAAAARRRR!!!
kitty!!! : )
Hi Boo.
PS
There is a moral here, and I am not even sure if it is intended.
The moral is, STAY OFF THE INTERNUT!!
There is no one out here who is nice or kind or supporting. Do not tell people your problems becasue 90% DO NOT CARE, and the other 10% are happy to hear of your misery.
If you are lucky enough to have real humans in your life, maybe share with them, but probably not. It is a cruel world, and humans suck, and they suck even worse on the internut.
A great example of this is when one happens to post something kind to a person on the internut, IT WILL GET NO REPLY …. but by gosh, if you post something petty and crappy ,,,, you will have 20 replies.
The internut is nothing but a method to draw you in, trick you and then fuck you over. BE CAREFUL!!!
Do you know how many people are in prison ( for one reason or another ) becasue of this fuking internut? Had it never been invented, they would NOT be in prison, but the bait was set, and they took the bait, and now they are locked up.
BE CAREFUL!!!!!
You know that “permanant record” thingy thay always talked about?? …… WELL ….. THAT IS THE INTERNUT.
And now this person who was fired from the Star will have this on her record too. If you search her name, this article will come up too.
I might ask hearne to delete the whole thread, it really servers no purpose, and can only do harm.
and yeah .. I think I am one of the few out here on the internut who is a good person, I try to do some good but it may seem that I work in strange ways but I have a purpose, maybe … who knows?
Susan Rehm
Hearne:
Were you having a slow news day or something?
I am Julie’s older sister and I know that she worked very hard for many years to edit your column. While she was too professional to ever discuss what you submitted, I can only imagine the fact-checking and verification that she needed to undergo to keep The Star from being sued. (This being that I, too, went to J-school.)
If I recall, you were in a similar situation a few years ago, when your column was no longer carried in The Star.
That fact that you would exploit somebody who was laid-off, is deplorable. Especially from somebody you worked closely with.
And for you letters to the editor assholes, who are criticizing my sister for either declining or editing your letters. Fuck off!
Consider the volume of mail she receives and with a skeleton staff.
Do you really need your “15 seconds of fame” that badly?
Hearne, you truly are a waste of space and those of you who are hurt and disappointed that you comments weren’t published — get a BLOG. Now, if you want you want your opinions aired, send them to The Star.
Now, STFU and leave my sister alone — ALL OF YOU!
Do the right thing
Another moral to this tale may be; IT is best to ignore this stuff like. That may be much better than putting your real name and your real words on the public record.
If you ignore it, it might go away, turn to nothing, but when/if you tirade, who knows who might see it and/or may or may not make decisions based on it.
I am not associtaed with any of this and I am not trying to mess with freedom of the press, but I would appeal to hearne to delete this entire thread, it might be good karma, not to mention ….. hell hath no fury ….
Loss of privacy
This is a great example of why facebook may be wrong about their new policy regarding privacy.
Here is an article debating the issue of privacy on facebook.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7038087/Facebooks-privacy-changes-the-real-reason-behind-the-move.html
Emily
Noone should ever take nasty vicious internet comments seriously. Anyone who creates a fake name to anonymously slam someone is a coward. I’m talking to many of you who have posted to this article. Anything you say just means nothing. Period.
Mermaid impostor
Susan I like strong women. You sound hot. Meet u on facebook?
can’t say
Color me confused. This column was written by Tony why is Hearne getting heat? Should Hearne start censoring what his writers want to write about. Especially when they take public material from a public forum. Will Julie get mad if she puts revealing photos of herself on public site and then another site publishes them? Also why all the anger it seems like Tony was sympathetic to Julie? Again I’m confused? Susan you really felt you were doing your sister a service by your post? You come off as just very bitter and for unknown reasons towards Hearne. Would you like to blame him for Haiti, teachers that sleep with their students, the failed space program also? And for those that were supportive of your sister…well its nice to know you said STFU-ALL OF YOU. What a great sis.
ALF
Monsters Inc says people are bad and don’t care. That is true. But I’ll give anyone a hug.
midtown miscreant
I’m not sure I understand the outrage. The post itself wasn’t slamming her. She put the info on face book, not exactly a bastion of privacy. She worked for the Star, a business that thrives on the misery and personal info of people. Since her sister tossed out the J school line, and journalists make a living spilling the beans on complete strangers, the outrage seems a little misguided. Or is it a case of whats good for a J school grad, or a Newspaper, is off limits to everyone else? Next time try emoting your angst and self pity through email or over the phone.
mermaid
To Mermaid Imposter you know what F OFF! I am sick of people posting negative comments toward me. I will F in say what I want to say and that’s that. And Rick and cant say you F OFF too. Sick of all of you!
Uncle Dick
Good luck to you Julie. A very wise man told me once that sometimes the best decisions in our lives are made by others for us. I’m sure you will find something ten times more rewarding than your previous gig. And good for you too, Sister Susan! My sis would stick up for me if she could. Mermaid, I think you’re great, no joke. I never take it personally when you slam me, my posts are written in fun.
John Mark Eberhart
Julie:
Keep your COBRA going. Health insurers, whether you buy an individual policy or become part of a new group, CANNOT impose a pre-existing condition clause as long as you can offset that clause with a Certificate of Creditable Coverage. That is, take this scenario: You get a job (which you will, my friend) and the new group insurance has a contract with your new employer saying there is a six-month period in which pre-existing conditions are not covered. All you have to do: Produce a Certificate of Creditable Coverage, which your insurance provider MUST give you, according to HIPAA, and if you’ve been insured for at least six months WITHOUT more than a 63-day gap, they cannot impose the pre-ex waiting period. If any of this sounds confusing, drop me a line and I’ll explain further. HIPAA became law partly to ensure that workers could change jobs and have “portability” when it came to health coverage. Certificates of Creditable Coverage can be obtained whether the previous insurance was group insurance, individual insurance, COBRA, Medicare and Medicaid. FURTHERMORE: If you did not receive treatment for the condition in the six months prior to the new health coverage taking effect, then the new insurer cannot impose the pre-existing condition even if you DID have a 63-day-plus gap in coverage. Again, let me know if my phrasing is confusing and I’ll try to explain it better.
The point is that people now have more rights than they did prior to HIPAA. And it’s good for businesses, too — without the HIPAA protections, employees often felt discouraged about seeking new opportunities because of the worries over all this.
I’m pulling for you, Julie.
John Mark
HARRY S TRUMAN
Mermaid-Can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen
Y’not Pali
JoJo — you speak the truth about HC, but why do you (and others who protest his morals) keep coming to this site to post comments?! Don’t you know that page views are what pays the bills here? I assure you, HC is happy to see all the comments adding up because it drives visitors to a site that sees little traffic except during times of Star layoffs.
And JME, valuable information, but don’t you think it would be best put in an e-mail (i.e., not for the whole world to see)? Anytime a potential employer considers a job candidate, they google the person. Thanks to HC’s helpfully tagging JR’s name to this item, this will come up on google searches.
rick
Well Mermaid if I had to choose between F ON you or F OFF, I would choose F OFF. That being said you are just pissed because you continually get called out by posters for your hypocrisy. You attack people then whine when you get slammed back. I have no doubt a week from now after you’ve told all these people to F OFF and they blast you back. You’ll be crying again about being attacked with negative comments. Maybe your latest “woe is me” and “I’m tired of everyone saying negative things about me” is a sign you are leaving. But doubt it. And YES we know you will say WHATEVER YOU WANT and then complain when others say WHATEVER THEY WANT. Your double standard shows loud and clear. You can dish it out but can’t take it. we got it.
And Mermaid Impostor she was unable to go 3 days without slamming someone so please don’t expect her to go three months.
Uncle Dick, one of my favorite posters, stop sucking up.
Midtown. You and I are on the same page.
Uncle Dick
Guess you can’t say something nice without getting slammed. Rick, did some of jojo’s DNA contaminate your blood when you were bonkin’ his wife/girlfriend/sister? Next time, use a condom.
Sister in Shawnee
Hearne did not write the post, Tony did,so anger against him is unwarranted.
I found the post sympathetic, and shared with another former star staffer;
Julie should know better than to Facebook her misery.
Julie’s sister needs a chill pill. I get that she is defensive, but she is also obnoxious about it.
I don’t find that Hearne has more animus around the Star letting people go–now the Pitch and Hal Brody–that will get his histamines up!
I learned some great facts from John Mark Eberhardt, so I’m glad he shared publicly, as it will help us coach other friends in the same situation.
JoJo–you are just a mean person. When can we expect you to say ANYthing positive?
And yes, the more we post, the higher the ratings, so the joke is on the negative people, they are supporting this blog with all their venom!! Rock on!
Julie Rehm
Tony,
I owe you a note of thanks. In the last few days, the one thing that drove home to me that my layoff was not my fault was your line: “Let
rick
Julie class act. More later.
Uncle Dick-Funny
John Mark Eberhart
Y’Not: my comments were intended as general advice for ANYONE who gets laid off or even changes jobs voluntarily. I learned some hard lessons in dealing with health and then life insurance companies on behalf of my late wife, Sherri. My point here was that many insurers will do WHATEVER they can to keep money in their own pockets.
Uncle Dick
John Mark, thanks for your post. It is refreshing to actually read something posted by a literate person. My brother in law’s employer’s insurance company raised their group health premiums because of my sister’s cancer treatments, his co-workers resented him for causung their premiums to skyrocket, and then had the nerve to call him and ask when his wife was going to die.
can’t say
Y’not Pali JOJO continues to post on this site because this is his interaction with people. This is his socialization. He has no other outlet. Hearne could delete 97% of his posts and he would continue to post. The vast majority of people can tell him that he is a jerk (which they do) and he will continue to post. This is all he has. Which based on his posts is understandable.
NONE of you be fooled about his post about where he tries to come off caring for Star staff. He just wants to slam Hearne. He only cares for himself. Oh that and he has an interest in fake breasts and male on male activity. One sick puppy.
jojo’s mom
I’m really sorry. I now realize I should not have done drugs when I was pregnant. The cocaine was very good, and when I realized that Andy Dick was probably the father, I did try to get an abortion, but by that time I was too far along and could’t find a truck driver who would trade a blow job for a ride to Wichita.
rick
Julie I understand why you might want the blog taken down but I would vote no. You were being real. You were vulnerable and hurt. Yes 10 years from now looking at this may be like someone looking at their high school photo from the disco age. Kim with her Farah hair and Bob with his plaid jacket. It’s a little uncomfortable but…..it was you. Do you want life to be the glossy photo or the untouched one. I can tell you this and you should know this from the support you’ve gotten on facebook. You have the chance to share and grieve with many other people. And isn’t that the point? We don’t want to feel we are alone in whatever we are dealing with? Blessings to you.
mermaid
You were telling her to “get a job at Haywards” and now you are going back on that and trying to be nice. You are a piece of work rick. Take the lithium and seroquel everyday not every other day.
rick
(sigh) Humor Mermaid. Something you would have no knowledge of. As usual you don’t get it and misquote people. My guess is your ever changing positions/lies makes you think others are like you.
rick
I think that’s called transference.
rick
Also I know you are one of those “I think I’m better then everyone else people.” Working at Haywards is a good job. This may shock you but decent, honorable, and hard working people are in the restaurant industry. And the fact that you automatically assumed telling her to get a job at Haywards was a negative says way more about you then me. It must be tough being you. Sad.
OZ
THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ SAYS: Come see me Mermaid and I can give you a sense of humor.
Rick
Oz, if you could just give her sense of any kind that would be good. Get ready folks for……SHUT the F UP OZ, Rick, blah blah blah,….
can’t say
Typical Mermaid. And then you wonder why you inspire so much negative feedback. How many mirrors do you need in your home since you are two faced?
John Z
Hearne, funny that you’re always throwing shit at The Star…you’re just pissed because your “brand” died when you were fired. When are you going to go to J School? Are you suggesting we read the Sun? ha..ha.. what a joke! go suck-a-dick!
can’t say
What happened Mermaid cat got your tongue? Or you finally growing up?
oz
Maybe she’s extinct?