Hearne: Kansas City Star’s Jason Whitlock Goes Legit (or does he?)

You got it, you repackage it, you still got it…

With Kansas City Star layoffs just around the corner – you read about ’em here first on KC Confidential – it’s interesting to note that popular sports columnist Jason Whitlock will be practicing his craft in the newspaper’s Opinion section on a regular basis.

There are far fewer bodies at 18th and Grand these days already and filling the newspaper with content people care about is increasingly vital.

Not to mention difficult.

And with venerable nice guy-but-a-bit-wacko Opinion writer Lewis Diuguid defanged and demoted, the opening was there.

Why not take an already known-quantity Whitlock – who’s been bumping around black-white politics for years already – and try get more eyeballs aimed towards one the the newspaper’s least read sections?

Whitlock’s first foray into the views-about-news world was a simple exercise; demonizing far righters Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh along with black spokesmodels such as Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Clearly those were easy cards to play.

But while Whitlock’s essay is interesting, it brings little if anything new to the table in terms of content or opinion. And while Palin and Glenn Beck may be newcomers to the conservative talk radio movement, the techniques and style they employ is but an evolution of the right wing banter that’s been going down on the airwaves the past 20 years.

Hey and it’s not like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are new on the scene either. And everybody under the sun has scrutinized, second guessed, analyzed and taken shots at their sundry antics over the years.

The question remains. Can Whitlock evolve beyond merely taking potshots at the usual suspects and consistently deliver without playing the same race cards he’s being shuffling in his sports section deck for 15 years?

And if indeed Whitlock wants to play the Credibility Card, why stress in his first column that he’s never bothered to vote or have any sort of “ideology”? It’s merely a showcase for whatever knee jerks him in the daily news?

Stay tuned…

http://www.mb-kc.com/
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14 Responses to Hearne: Kansas City Star’s Jason Whitlock Goes Legit (or does he?)

  1. Anonymous says:

    bschloz
    I applaud Jason for taking a shot….also good work by the STAR. Hope this can be a catalyst for some more innovation.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Brian in PV
    That’s “right-wing banter,” not “banner,” in graf 8 above. Always happy to proofread.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Ptolemy
    Yeah! And Diuguid can start writing about sports! That’ll stir the pot alright. The only difference will be the amount of weight distributed.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Rainbow Man
    I started reading his political column when I came upon him writing that he has never voted. I stopped reading.

  5. Anonymous says:

    JayhawkTony
    “…venerable nice guy-but-a-bit-wacko Opinion writer Lewis Diuguid…”

    Wacko, abso-freakin-lutely. Nice guy? How’s this. At one time (and maybe he still is), Lewis was in charge of the Star’s diversity “education” for its employees.

    Let me tell you something about ol’ Louie. He’s the biggest hippocrite when it comes to diversity. The guy was probably THE most racist mother-f’er I’ve ever met. He should be on the chopping block and should have been long ago.

  6. Anonymous says:

    smartman
    Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one and most should not be viewed in public. This is just STUPID. JW doesn’t have the intellectual capacity to formulate unique much less interesting points of view. Give him his his 40 acres and a mule, check that, 40 acres and a pool and send him to Nellyville.

    Glenn Beck is no newcomer to Conservative talk radio or TV. Been around a while. Comparing Palin to Beck is like comparing Paris Hilton to Al Pacino. Like him or not Beck throws down some vital and heady lessons every day and no one dares come on his show or any other credible venue to refute his info. He has pretty much paralyzed the left with his point of view.

  7. Anonymous says:

    -jl
    Hey,Brian in PV: What’s a “graf”? Always happy to proofread.

  8. Anonymous says:

    jojo
    smartman is a dumbman>
    Beck…intellectual?
    Have you heard this guy?
    Have you listened to his theories on those
    chalkboards.
    The guy makes more factual errors than any other
    commentator…and when he cries….
    he compare progressives to nazis then claims
    that george bush was a progressive?
    His audience just lost 40% in latest ratings
    nationally. Advertisers have abandoned him
    for his hateful messages. Only reason he gets
    that audience is fox news forces most cable
    operators to put competing news channels at
    hhigher tiers.
    You are a fool to believe this guy.
    As fore whitlock going to op ed pge…tht
    is fantastic for his career. He does have some
    opinions that people want to read…he does
    have insight…and since sports commentry is
    dwindling he could have an incredible new
    career as a news commentator/writer/
    I wish him luck..its always great to see loca
    l talent expanding/improving/adjusting their
    scope of work….way to go jason.

  9. Anonymous says:

    Tracy Thomas
    Jason has some ‘splainin’ to do. About not voting. It is NOT that he never “bothered”, there needs to be his full explanation of his so called thought process. Otherwise, we will never bother to read him.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Lauren
    Lauren wants to know…
    exactly what is this demotion of which you write, about the not so pale pallindrome, one Duigiud, Lewis?

  11. Anonymous says:

    smartman
    Hey jojo, if you’d like to go on the Glenn Beck show and discuss his factual errors just let me know.

  12. Anonymous says:

    jojo
    I would just like to go. At my age the prostate is acting up. I would just be happy if I could go all together.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Johnny Utah
    liberal column on the star opinion page? stop me if you’ve heard this one…

  14. Anonymous says:

    MandDShagger
    Holy Shit! This is the publishing equivalent of replacing Anna Wintour at Vogue with Lindsay Lohan.

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