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First let’s wonder aloud about those recently announced layoffs and/or cutbacks at the Kansas City Star...
Department heads were told of the coming cuts three weeks back, so the deed could go down any day. As in tomorrow, Tuesday. That’s because the newspaper tends to lower the boom at the beginning of a pay period. TLastt Friday being payday and today being a holiday – Martin Luther King Day – Tuesday could be Blues Day.
Remember, cutbacks and/or layoffs are triggered at McClatchy when quarterly targets are not met.
So while the Star more than likely made money – radio advertising and retail sales were all up – remember, this is an ailing industry. Print circulation and readership continue to spiral downwards and this is a trend a healthier economy cannot unto itself cure.
Yes, an end to this recession would lift all boasts, but as former Star publisher Art Brisbane noted two years back, when the dot com recession went away, the Star‘s bottom line improved but classified advertising did not come back. And some of the newspaper’s largest remaining advertisers – grocery stores and car dealers – all continue to look and find more contemporary and cost effective ways to reach their target audiences.
And while the Star boasts of the readers it reaches online, unfortunately that’s not where the all-important big profits are.
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ROCK CHALK REVIEW
Let’s back up a bit from the recent KU Ticket Scandal news…
To an email that went out last month and got lost in the holiday shuffle. A cautionary missive from Kansas Athletics, specifically the Kansas Athletics Compliance Office.
Bleak as things were and still are, a beleaguered Jayhawk wrist slapping squad mustered its sense-of-humor and sent out an email blast headlined thusly:
"HAPPY HOLIDAYS from your Kansas Athletics Compliance Office Elves"
And while the ouster of KU sports head dude Lew Perkins followed by the parade of Williams Fund and KU Ticket Office rip off artists may be no joking matter, it’s notable that the campus cops found it so.
"Dear Jayhawk Alumni, Boosters and Friends," it begins. "All of us take great pride in the success of Kansas Athletics and certainly do not want to do anything that would tarnish the accomplishments of our Jayhawk student-athletes on and off the field. In an effort to encourage you to communicate with our office, we want to take this opportunity to remind you with a few NCAA reminders this holiday season."
Loosely translated: No under the table Christmas bonuses for the boyz in blue!
To hammer home their point – in massive lettering ran the following headline:
"As a Booster, you MAY NOT:
"Provide an extra benefit to a student-athlete. This includes, but is not limited to, Christmas, holiday gifts, free/reduced services, money, etc…Provide a meal or entertain student-athletes or their family and friends outside of your home, i.e. restaurant, tailgate, etc."
No schmoozing, right? Got it.
The flip side of that equation: "As a Booster, you MAY:
"Employ a student athlete! (note the exclamation point)…Obtain student-athlete’s autographs, however you may not sell the item for personal gain."
At least not while they’re at KU, right?
And finally, the Compliance Elves caution: "Ask Before You Act."
Sounds like KU’s Elves are walking on pins and needles.
Any Interest?
Seriously, is there a single reader of this blog that has any concern about the Star layoffs? This simply isn’t news to those of us who aren’t employed by McClatchy.
Chet …
It’s Hearne’s obsession. He just can’t seem to move on.
Why hearne cant handle the stars rejection…..
hearne…you wrote a great piece about oil and the troops. Thats whats great.
Again…forget the star…move on…we’ve all been kicked out of places before…
its easy….the anger must end….it will eat you up inside. Forget it…
now make this site better on your own. This is now your “baby”.
Also…why did you pull glazers article on his father. I think you opened
up[ a can of worms there because in this city stan is not very well liked
by many not only in the gneral commuity but almost everywhere.
sometimes saying no is the best way to go.
Funny that you’re disinterested enough to leave a comment. Methinks the anonymous poster doth protest too much…
Funny that you’re disinterested enough to leave a comment. Methinks the anonymous poster doth protest too much…
Methinks …
that is one of the most over-used quotes ever.
Methinks you have so little understanding of your own web site that you leave the same message twice.
Methinks you are the least talented writer on your own web site.
The comments remind me of McClatchy Watch
Every day trolls would come on to tell people how uninteresting the content was – every day. Never did they dispute a single point, just that it wasn’t interesting. The thing is, is that it is interesting. We want to know if they finally got around to cutting duds like Barb Shelly and Lewis Diuguid and Miriam Pepper, or is this another round where actual worker bees get the axe, making The Star even more unreadable than it was before. Who didn’t rejoice when Laura Scott got axed, and who hasn’t bemoaned the results of letting all the copy editors go (along with many a fine reporter)? The Star has an impact on our community, just like a corrupt politician, it’s fate is a part of our lives and news about it is highly relevant.
Wrong, Altevogt.
It’s only relevant to dinosaurs like you and bitter former employees like Hearne, who is one of the “duds” you reference.
Now, Cliffy…
Relax, dude. Everything is gonna be just fine. Really
Oh yeah, almost forgot…
Methinks
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