This guy used to matter…
But former KCTV reporter, turned Kansas City Star writer Dave Helling has morphed into a something approaching a disappearing act since joining the newspaper’s editorial board.
As Channel 5’s “truthwatcher” Helling was a cutting edge, keep-the-pols honest kinda dude. Toss in a hint of hipness and you’re there. He even logged a stint writing a “Hell Raiser” column for the Pitch.
That was all then.
These days Helling’s all but disappeared, having mostly blended into a daily drumbeat of endless Star editorials on every topic under the sun…
For example:
“Missouri is shrouding medical Marijuana in secrecy.” “Here’s how Kansas lawmakers can improve schools, reform foster care and expand Medicaid.” “Records show Josh Hawley’s hypocrisy.” “For 33 minutes, KC police made 64,000black males into suspects” “Here are the questions all 12 KC mayoral candidates need to answer.” “Congratulations, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly. Are you ready to work with Republicans?”
You get the picture – no matter the subject – this fun-loving mashup of know-it-alls have all the answers…all the time.
Leaving Helling to bob for stray topics like, “Rural lawmakers keep interfering in cities’ affairs.”
Hardly what one would call cutting edge.
Fact is, the Star could use a “hell raiser” like the Dave Helling of old right now…
An Art Brisbane, meets Jason Whitlock meets, uh, me.
Somebody to comb the town for edgy, funny and/or interesting people, places and things – newsy stories rather than force fed advice.
Hard to say the reason for Helling’s retreat from the news frontlines…most likely job security and a paycheck – both of which can be fleeting these days at a daily newspaper.
Ah, but those of us who remember the younger Dave Helling – the dude who struggled with the ups and downs of staying thin enough for the TV cameras – that was the real Dave Helling.
He looks like he just drank G. G. Allin under the table.
Gotta admit, Chuck…
You had mer on that one. Dude was in the band MURDER JUNKIES and died in 1993 at age 37.
And Dave looks that wasted to you?
Not only that, he is obviously baked out of his skull on some Cambodian Red.
“Where’s the Doritos dude?”
I went to school with Helling back in our SMSD days and if you had known him then you would have wondered how he ever became what he did. Shocked the hell out of me when all of a sudden he was looking out at me from the television. Seriously, I was jabbering, “No fucking way this is that Dave.”
Mean, what…Super Dave?
Just curious.
As a kid he was a kind of a strange dude, a little more stranger than most kids but not a Craig Glazer kind of strange. Not to really outgoing either as I remember. I remember one day in typing class……..well it isn’t a one time at band camp type story, but let’s just say what happened in typing class, we’ll just let it stay in typing class.
C’mon Super Dave, share!
I’ll show you mine first…
The thing I’ve noticed over the years – even before I started working at the Star but was working with reporters at the Star, Business Journal and Sun, was that most of them were the shy, bookish, nerd type kids in school.
During our get to know each other exercises, when they introduced themselves to our work groups, the most common theme was that they were shy and introverted growing up and journalism gave them an excuse – a reason – to reach outside of their comfort zones and interact with others.
Now many of the TV journals are far more outgoing, but Helling’s never been the wildly outgoing type.
Case in point, they experimented with Helling as an anchor for a bit before demoting him.