They say, what goes around comes around…
We may soon see, given that Kansas City Star editor and main man Mike Fannin recently took a 3rd trip to the DUI plate. Add to that a felony conviction for assault prior to him moving here, and you start to get the not-so-pretty picture of what passes for a local civic leader.
Former Star publisher and corporate overlord Art Brisbane told me years back that Fannin never would have made the cut for the position he now holds, but times are well past difficult at the once highly profitable daily newspaper.
The $64 million question: can Fannin survive this latest ethical collapse?
“I don’t know, we’ll see,” says one former higher up at the Star. “Or will we ever know? I would guess he would be let go, but it depends on what their lenience is. They don’t have the ethics they used to have. Look at the journalism; it’s a fraction of what it was when I started there in the ’80s.”
Another Fannin misstep overlooked by management, went down when then Star sports scribe Jason Whitlock called him out for having an out-of-wedlock affair with sports editor/subordinate Holly Lawton. A situation that culminated in Lawton’s departure from the newspaper and divorce 10 years back.
All of that said, these days daily newspapers exist more to survive and provide tax breaks for the companies that now own and run them…as opposed to setting ethical standards for the communities they serve.
That said, not everyone looks through that lens.
“The guy needs to spend time in jail before he kills someone,” says Westport businessman Bill Nigro. “He runs a newspaper that is so righteous; he fuels racism; he’s bad for this town. It’s time for him to move on. Are you kidding? Anybody else in corporate America would have gotten canned long ago, after his second DUI.”
Stay tuned…
Nothing succeeds like success; and the inverse also. The Star is on a one way road to failure, and people like this are just speeding up the process. A shame, KC once-up -on-a-time, had a nationally recognized and respected paper, that’s done. Maybe the STL Post will start up a replacement. 🤦♂️
Don’t hold your breath!
Holy Moly mark this date, I agree with Bill Nigro 100%
No, really Mike Fannin should have been shown the door a long time ago. He now needs to be shown a jail cell door with a cellmate like Wild Bill Wharton to share it with. Makes you wonder how he is so juiced in at the Star? I love to read and if the Star had something worth reading I and many thousands of others would all still pay for that honor.
Bill will be thrilled!
The Star just confuses me. I have always liked that the “print” journalism business is chock full of eccentric types with demons all their own. They often get tolerated because of their talent and they “sell papers.”
Just not seeing that here.
You’re not alone, Rainbow…
Unfortunately, we live in somewhat trying times when it comes to getting anything close to unbiased reporting. And there’s so little money involved that they can’t even afford to be halfway entertaining.