I don’t want to get into "blogger beef" because it never really helps anybody. However, I feel it’s important to take the time and make myself EVER CLEARER when it comes to the subject of Former Star reporter and current blogger Jim Fitzpatrick and his big money donations to Kansas City Mayoral Candidate Mike Burke.
Before this blog reported it, Fitzpatrick’s donations were simply marked with a tiny, brief and very easy to miss note that he contributed to Mike Burke. They didn’t appear on every post, they were part of his overall support AND they were REALLY easy to miss.
But I didn’t miss them. I found that the first significant note Fitz made regarding his Mike Burke love and a detailed contribution disclosure was on Valentine’s Day a week before the election. If you’ve got a link to something earlier with a full dollar figure. Post it. If you are inspired to go looking that you’ll find is a bunch of parenthetical asides that don’t provide any detail at all. Or at least not the same detail Fitzpatrick asks from The Star when he debates which page they should post their corrections on.
And then there’s the subject of blogging, where i would be happy to educate Mr. Fitzpatrick.
See, JimmyCSays hides behind a rather effective comment wall and won’t allow any negative feedback to come his way. That’s not blogging, that’s not internet discourse. That’s straight up fear.
I, on the otherhand, invite you d-bags to try and prove me wrong and what usually ends up happening is that you show the world that most of your thought is nothing more than reactionary racism and envy of my awesomeness. But I digress.
Recently, JimmyCSays answered my post that CLEARLY IDENTIFIED his donations by simply avoiding the question.
He said: "Not sure I completely understand that sentence, but I guess I get the drift."
Don’t worry, I’ve dealt with white dudes condescending to me my whole life and I’ve developed patience.
So I’ll try and make myself clearer. Here is the point that I’m making:
If JimmyCSays ends up getting a job, appointment or even a cabinet position with the Mike Burke Mayoral Administration then he simply used his blog for nothing more than a paid promotional tool and you suckers who defended him have been played.
Now, Mike Burke is the favorite in this race, funny thing here is that I agree with all of the good things Fitz has written about Mike Burke. I think he really is a great candidate and will be good for Kansas City. But I’m not betting any money on it, mostly because I don’t have any cash for the cause. However, I think the "overloards of Journalism" i.e. Charlie Rose would be on my side when noting that an old school media institution like a daily paper or even (gasp) The Star wouldn‘t allow even their columnists to donate such big cash to a campaign and still write on the subject. Sorry, but I know I’m right on this one even though defending white people is pretty much the vocation of every Internet commenter.
And let’s not confine this discussion to Burke. Take a look at Fitz noting all the negatives of Mayoral Contender Deb Hermann and NOT ONCE declaring that he had big money riding on Burke.
Now, there’s still a chance at redemption: If Fitz is willing to accept NOTHING for his big money gamble then he really is civic benefactor and his heart is pure. Remember, I think that Fitz has more integrity in one keystroke than I do in all of my chubby goodness.
But let’s not be children and deny that the question about the real motivation behind such big donations made by a former hard nose newsman is now in play.
There are a lot of things to watch in this Mayoral Race and in the ensuing fallout. This is another way to see if things have really changed in City Hall or it’s itls just the same old pay for play.
We’ll see . . .
Tony the Troll
So your sour grapes have fully soured, and you want to drag this JimmyC guy into your endless maze of debate?
He didn’t publish his contributions in inch-high headlines?
His followers have been “played”?
He has a hidden agenda? (What about YOU?)
I’m bettin’ he lets you sit under your bridge and fume in your own self-hating, sleep-deprived, misery.
Tony’s dainty sensibilities have been bruised, for he has now been exposed to the incredibly shocking reality about politics: The winners appoint as their aides people who have supported them–sometimes with lots of hours of volunteering, sometimes as paid campaign work, and sometimes as financial donors.
Maybe Fitzpatrick will get a staff job, maybe he’ll remain happy in retirement and he had disposable income to donate to causes he believes in. Maybe Burke has asked him already if he would be interested in working in a Burke administration; maybe he’s too smart to get so far ahead of himself. Either way, the criticism of Fitzpatrick is weak and directed at him only because he used to be a Star reporter. Again, once he stated directly and in lots of detail on his blog that he was supporting Burke and why, that gives readers everything they need to know to assess the value of his judgment and his campaign writings.
I think the point Tony is making is that
He acted as if he was a neutral party reporting on the campaign when he had an agenda all along. Only revealing it a week before the election when the campaign donation figures were being released.
Pot, Meet Kettle
So when Hearne or one of his staff writes a positive piece about one of the advertisers on this site, or even better, a prospect he is trying to get to advertise, that’s not a problem. But when someone else writes a positive piece on another site where he may be compensated for it in some way in the future, that is? Sounds hypocritical to me. It seems to me that Tony’s view of journalistic ethics sways to and fro depending upon whom he is writing about.
Fitzpatrick is no better than Steve Rose, who did same thing
8 1/2 years ago, Steve Rose, as columnist and part owner of Sun Publications endorsed Annabeth Surbaugh for Chairman of the JoCo Commission (BOCC) –yet failed to mention he was her campaign fundraising chairman!!
People like Rose, and Fitzpatrick and yes, Yael Abouhalkah who gave $1million in free ink to elect Funkhouser 4 years ago–don’t always want a job. More often, they want to be power players. They want to say, “I put you there. Respect me.” This harkens back to the days of Colonel Nelson and the Kansas City Star. Journalists and wanna-be journalists (like Rose) want to feel important.
Fitz almost slobbered over himself in his blog about how he “delivered” Charley Wheeler’s endorsement of Mike Burke…with the cranberry muffin post.
Rock, paper, scissors: Self importance trumps all.
Tracy Thomas
Tracy,
You write for KC Business, a publication that regularly fluffs advertisers. I don’t think you have much room to say anything in this discussion.
That’s a little presumptuous for a guy without a name. I’ve been writing about many of the people who advertise here long before this site existed for one reason: they’re players on the Kansas City landscape and what they do – at times – is newsy, interesting and/or entertaining. Many of them also advertised on the Star and still do.
There’s a difference between writing informative, entertaining, often light-hearted column items and writing hard news with the intention of swaying public opinion in a major election.
My advice to Mr. Doe: Kettle, stay away from the pot. You’ll think clearer.
I’m not guilty of fluff writing, trust me!
Hey, %, you anonymous coward. I write my opinions. I print my name. And yes, I have been a political columnist for KCB Magazine, and what they are mad at me for is–being too critical! I name names, including Larry Winn III, who works for Polsinelli as a development lawyer, and that upsets the magazine, because Polsinelli is often an advertiser. So I don’t know if I’ll be invited back to be a columnist there. Thus, your dismissal of me made me smile.
Think of me as peanut butter, sometimes surrounded by marshmallow fluff. But you can count on me to remain the peanut butter. That’s one thing I fight, even here at KCConfidential on some of my posts. I like to name names and state facts.
I urge you to keep reading and keep commenting, %. But grow a set of balls and next time, publish your real name.