Journalistic integrity, anyone?
I don’t know if IKEA advertises much in print publications like the Kansas City Star, but I suspect they may. I’ll tell you this though, the advertising department at the Kansas City Star and the publisher know and judging from the blow job the newspaper unleashed Sunday on Merriam’s about-to-open IKEA store, they’re hoping to cash in on that advertising.
Which likely explains why the Star ran a total fluff piece – not even written by an actual journalist – on the cover of its house and home section Sunday.
Once upon a time – not that long ago – the Star prided itself on, at the very least, the veneer of objective journalism. There was always the freedom for columnists like me or interested parties from various organizations with vested interests to weigh in with opinion pieces here and there.
And at least they were identified as such. No mas.
All bets are off for a company that’s gone from more than 2,000 employees to 600 and change in the past decade.
The dirty little secret being that pretty much the entire time that the Star was more-or-less taking the high road in terms of objectivity when dealing with companies that advertise, it was really mostly an illusion.
Now they can’t even afford to pretend to be above board objective.
That said, Sunday’s puff piece by news source -turned-contributor Dan Maginn – the managing partner of El Dorado, a local architecture and design firm – majorly kissed up to Merriam’s new IKEA store..
For one thing, IKEA doesn’t really need the quote/unquote ink.
Because pretty much anybody and everybody likely to race to the Swedish retailer that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture and discount-priced Scandinavian home accessories is already well aware of its splashdown here.
And rapid fire word-of-mouth will take care of those who are not.
Make no mistake, at this stage of the game, Kansas City getting an IKEA store is every bit as big as it was getting a Starbucks in the mid-late 1990s. Or Trader Joe’s a couple years ago.
I know that sounds remote today, but landing the first Starbucks back then was considered a huge “get,” for the Cowtown and Star business reporter Joyce Smith was literally beside herself at the time worrying that I might scoop her.
Speaking of which, FYI section columnist Jeneé Osterheldt wrote a somewhat embarrassing, rah-rah column two years back when Chick fil-A first came here. It was so lame that Pitch editor Scott Wilson countered with a column describing her as the newspaper’s “longest-serving intern” and the “city’s worst writer,” adding that Chick-fil-A “doesn’t need your help.”
Kinda like IKEA doesn’t really need the Star’s help, but the newspaper desperately needs IKEA’s ad bucks.
On and on the Star story went to describe the “adventures in shopping” the new IKEA will bring and encouraging readers – tongue-in-cheek, lets hope – to practice their Swedish and sharpen their pencils. After all, shopping at an IKEA store is “like a tiny vacation to an exotic island.”
Seriously?
More like the vacation package KCC movie guy Jack Poessiger was offered when he called into the Star recently to complain for the umpteenth time that he had not gotten his newspaper that day.
As a laid off former Star staffer, I have to apologize.
Because there’s virtually no way an actual journalist would have written Sunday’s story about IKEA that would have prompted those kind of headlines.
In an actual journalistic outing, there would have been a bit of an examination of IKEA – good and bad – that transcended the overblown flattery that “house and home” anted up . A story that would have looked into how the business fares – good and bad – in other cities.
And what the critics of IKEA have to say about the company as well as its fans. That and bold-faced bullet points that went beyond IKEA’s press release marketing points, telling readers about things like “preparing for your visit,” “disposing of the kids” and”navigating the showroom.”
Disposing of the kids?
Look, we all know money talks and times are tough in the big city newspaper biz, but how about at least a smidgeon of journalistic integrity?
Or maybe just give the PR shill or marketing rep at IKEA the byline and let him or her write the story so the public at least has a shot at ferreting out that the story’s journalistically bogus.
Or better yet, just label “house and home” an advertising section like the Star does its real estate and automotive sections.
You know, truth in advertising.
When I first read it, I thought “Disposing of the kids” sounded rather sinister.
Now that you mention it, I agree, Lydia.
I visited IKEA in California just over a year ago and wrote about how mundane the experience was.
Far funnier though was when The Pitch’s Steve Vockrodt wrote a slightly critical piece about IKEA this past April and got hammered in the comments section.
“Poor little Steve Crotchrot didn’t like Ikea – i’m sure he only shops organic and local. So where does he find local manufactured buttplugs?” read one.
Good thing the Star didn’t farm out the puff piece cover story to Steve. He’d probably have to leave town and the newspaper wouldn’t make a dime on IKEA advertising
every media does it hearne…tv runs stories on the companies who advertise
and do promotional stints with those who buy time…radio stations tie
into their morning shows and on the air people with advertisers all the times…
every media does this…its not new…its not wrong….it’s the way of doing
business now.
watch and listen….Theresa thousand examples of it everyday….you might
wantto get up with the times and the newworld. thanks.
I understand the way the game is played, H Man…
However, the Kansas City Star – unlike the loosely run television news shows – has a long record of answering to a higher calling. And farming out a front page blow job with little to no actual reporting or balance by a writer who basically is in biz to make money kissing up to other businesses is a departure.
At the very least an intern could have turned out this attaboy and at least it would have the appearance of objectivity.
Not much, but a little.
There are tons of stories out there that basically liken IKEA to Walmart. Selling cheap furniture at low prices for our disposable society.
No hint of any of that here, because the writer set out to court IKEA’s favor in a manner usually reserved for in-house PR departments, not major metropolitan newspapers.
That you don’t get that is on you.
“navigating the showroom…”. I’d be more concerned about navigating the surrounding streets and parking lot(s) – especially if you’re trying to visit one of the OTHER stores there. clusterfk it will be, yes.
I was in Merriam Saturday, mike T, and noticed that the giant parking lot for the now defunct K-Mart store on Shawnee Mission Parkway had a sign identifying it as “IKEA parking.”
That’s a pretty decent hike.
I went to two different IKEAs in California and while they were both pretty busy, there were no outlandish parking concerns. Not much different than Nebraska Furniture Mart
yep, heard that about the old Kmart lot on the news this morning and the shuttle Ikea is bringing for the overflow. but the comparison to NFM isn’t accurate in my mind. NFM built out in a planned developed that expected the big crowds featuring a parking lot that damn rivals Arrowhead (I exaggerate of course), and with ingress and egress that doesn’t cause any major back-up issues. Ikea on the other hand built into a development that wasn’t designed for huge numbers of people, in an area that suffers from traffic issues at times.
I expect once the ‘newness’ of the places wears off it won’t be as much of an issue. but you have to wonder when they’re letting people line up outside TWO days before they open. idiots in my book.
KC media as a whole did the PR work for Shitterbaum’s flying water slide. Story after story after story promoting the park.
They also promote western Wyandotte county to the point of making me want to puke.
Just got my letter from the Merriam police department. It basically told me to stay home on Wednesday. They are even calling it a clusterfuck. Not is those terms mind you, but…the neighborhood streets may be changed to one ways to handle the traffic. The back up on I35 will be fun. When the police warn you to evacuate the city…(not really but might as well). There will be helicopters, panic, oh…the humanity!!
randy… might be fun to find a perch and watch the train wreck tho’!
My crtique of The Star isn’t so much that it’s liberal as much as it has always, at least from the days of Art Brisbane, been a whore for the establishment. How many times have we seen front page stories touting the secretive Civic Council’s goals without ever telling anyone who the Civic Council was, or why anyone would care what its goals were?
How many times has The Star stepped forward to endorse the establishment’s slate of candidates, integrity and ideology be damned.
And how many times have they stepped up to praise the latest homage to JE Dunn, or the latest forever tax in Johnson County? One of my favorite Star moments was reading The Star endorsement of Karin Brownlee when she got on board for the latest establishment project in Johnson County. If the writer of that column wasn’t stoned when they wrote it, they should have been.
The Star was one of the profit centers in McClatchy’s fleet during Brisbane’s tenure and yet he was little more than a lawn jockey at the River Club. Do we really expect Ms. Parrish to play a different role now?
For the record Art left when McClatchy took over and a succession of publishers have since run the show – three to date
So where do I get in line for my boiled horse testicles?
well, depending on which way you’re coming from, you could start at I-35 and Antioch from the north, say SM Pkway and Antioch from the south, somewhere along Johnson Drive west of I-35 from the west, and maybe somewhere west of Metcalf from the east.
That does not help much in my search for genuine boiled horse testicles.
well then, try this – one of them may have horse:
A Testicle Festival is an event held at several small towns in which the featured activity is the consumption of animal testicles, usually battered and fried.[1] The oldest such festival takes place in Byron, Illinois,[2] and features turkey testicles. Similar festivals are held in Deerfield, Michigan; Olean, Missouri; Oakdale, California; Huntley, Illinois; and Clinton, Montana, some of which feature cattle testicles.[3][4] The three-day Testicle Festival in Fargo, North Dakota was the site of a 2001 riot, leading to seven arrests.[5][6]
The Montana State Society has held an annual ‘Rocky Mountain Oyster Festival’ in Arlington, Virginia since 2005.[7]
Every year in September the villages of Ozrem and Lunjevica in the municipality of Gornji Milanovac, Serbia, hosts the World Testicle Cooking Championship. [8][9] The festival serves up a variety of testicles, including wildlife. It also gives awards for “ballsy” news makers. U.S. President Barack Obama and pilot Chesley Sullenberger won awards in 2010. [10]
I think Brisbane left before McClatchy took over. I think Mac Tully was publisher at the time of the sale. I’m relying on my memory on this, though. Don’t have any verification tools readily available right now.
I looked at the IKEA catalog that came in the mail. BFD.
You’re probably right, Les…
He was one of the fortunate ones who got a hefty buyout. The came Mac, who imploded after having an unseemly affair that cost him his happy marriage, his new KC manse and I believe a lake/vacation home.
One of his kids was graduating KU, another was about to get married. It was just too much and he skedaddled, opening the door for Zieman and now the hottie.
Art did fly in early on with Tony Ridder to dedicate the new printing press, remember?
Seems like a thousand, million years ago!
I’ve talked to 20 people in various parts of the metro. I can’t find one who has not received their catalog. That’s an enormous marketing expense. Has to be a $2 piece times EVERYONE in the city? (I’m sure a couple zip codes were eliminated)
waaaahhhh…. I’m in the right Zip and I didn’t get a catalog. probably something else in my demo they didn’t like.
Poor, mike t
Maybe Wilson can take up a collection, he mentioned that he might be snuffing his KCPT and Bridge donations because KCPT added Tony to Ruckus part time.
I got one, Paul…here in Lawrence!
plus one here in lee’s summit.
paul…these ikea guys are very very successful. I’m sure when all is
bought and paid for that catalog is well worth it.
already probably 3 million in free publicity…and its bringing in
tax dollarswhich as you know we need really bad in Kansas.
ikea….greatthat it fills that empty spot….more tax revenue for Merriam so
they can built another visitors center !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Funny, H Man
It does undo the nightmare of that Ghost Center and I imagine all the pols and city employees in Merriam will be voting themselves pay increases.
Wonder what Dan Leap has to say about all that?
That’s a lot of passion for the front page article of…. The House and Home section.
Do you really expect hard-hitting journalism in that section?
No, not hard hitting…
Not usually, although I think from time to time it might be appropriate.
I do expect – or lets just say, hope for – at least honest journalism, written by actual journalists…at least when it comes to heavy duty, front page stories.
Is that too much to ask / hope for?
Ayep.
This is teh new Star hearny. Journalism be damned.