Talk about head scratchers…
Describing the past 10 years of working at the Kansas City Star as daunting and disheartening for its news staff would be a massive understatement.
Death row denizens have lead less stressful lives. Hey, the average time on death row is 15 years, whereas 90 percent of the Star’s staff that have gone for dirt naps over the past 10.
Yet the “jobs” page on the newspaper’s website boasts it’s the “place to work if you are looking for a thrilling, leading-edge work environment…fast paced, fun work environment in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District.”
Talk about grotesque exaggerations…
But times are tough all over in newspaper land, as noted recently by USA Today:
“In a cost-cutting move last year, The Denver Post relocated from the city’s downtown, where the newspaper had been based for more than a century, to quarters in its printing plant in a neighboring county. Reporters and editors found that their new workplace had the feng shui of a run-down casino, with no windows to let in sunlight and a constant ambient hissing from the presses.”
Sound familiar?
Like last summer when the Star sold its historic downtown home, retreating to a makeshift space in a press plant never intended to house the news staff.
And as was the case with the Post’s journalists that “hoped the move represented an end to the bloodletting that had occurred at the newspaper,” the Star’s move was followed almost immediately by further staff cuts of 3.5 percent.
For the following reason…
“As the audience has shifted to digital products, including online news, the unrelenting trend has ravaged profits from print circulation and advertising. Increasing digital subscriptions have not easily offset print’s legacy profit sources.”
Not even close.
But while USA Today zeroes in on “what happens when the hedge fund comes for the newspaper in your town,” it’s become painfully obvious that the newspaper companies themselves have proven more capable of butchering their staffs sans any help from the hedge funds.
The bottom line being, there’s no obvious fix, short of paring down to barebones staffing a tiny fraction the size of what they once were – and are even today.
That newspapers like the Star exacerbate matters further by pursuing news and editorial agendas that run contrary to the views of a large percentages of their readership doesn’t help.
In fact, it hurts…
But that’s what you get when you let the inmates run the asylum…the same inmates that have dragged the ship of state down to the sorry, current level.
To be sure, newspapers are fighting a losing battle – one that may only be “won” when there are precious few people left standing and a profit can be made.
And clearly we’re a long way from there…
However if the purpose of a “newspaper” is to report news – not to color and spin it as is currently the practice – we’ve got a long way to go before what passes for modern day yellow journalism goes away…if it ever does.
Quick question and asking for an opinion…I take a subscription to the Star and have for 19 years. Perhaps for different reasons than you think. I take it to work and after done reading (granted it does not take long) it gets shuffled around to other co workers who also read it. As a former small town newspaper writer the hard copy is in my blood.
That said how long till: (A) one or two days of printing are cut and we have a 5 day a week paper (B) the KC Star goes completely online and stops printing the paper copy. I know it will come, but some seem to think 5-10 years out at a minimum…I am not to sure…thoughts?
Sure…but give me a day or two and I’ll pose your question and answer it more fully!
Thanks, Dee
This winter, the Star is snuggled under the covers, staying warm with local Progressive, tax and spend politicians that have ensured their existence by way of tax benefits other business’ find out of reach. The Star’s continued parroting of Progressive Socialist Shibboleths in the face of the unambiguated failure of same in the real world may confuse those readers with above room temp IQ, but, not the folks in accounting.
Politico reported today that Hunter Woodall, who covered state politics in KS & MO, has taken a position at the AP that’ll be based in primary-obsessed New Hampshire. So there’s one who escaped the asylum.