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Hearne: Can the Pitch Survive Departure of Key Staffers & Dark Days of Print Publishing?
It’s way too easy writing about the difficult life and times of the Kansas City Star…
After reading the Star for something approaching a lifetime, writing about it while running the Pitch for several years and finally working at it for 16 years, I pretty much know the players and where the bodies are buried at 18th and Grand. Trust me.
Covering the Pitch however is a different beast. It’s been 20 years since I darkened its door as an employee, its staff is far smaller and the turnover has been great given all the regime changes.
That said, the Pitch is as far up you-know-what creek as the Star and any number of other print publications around the country.
Which is unfortunate, because in a perfect world, Kansas City deserves to field a first class alt weekly. Unfortunately, that’s seldom, if ever, been the case.
Hearne: Missing Baby Mom Expects to be Charged & Who’s Paying Lawyer Fees, Enquirer Asks
With the national news media game fully afoot, it’s little surprise that the National Enquirer is on the case…
"The noose is tightening around the mother of baby Lisa Irwin – the 11-month-old baby found missing from her crib in her family’s Missouri home on Oct.4," the Enquirer story begins.
Police aren’t buying tot mom Deborah Bradley‘s story, a source close to the investigation tells the Enquirer.
"Her family members, and even Deborah herself expect she will ultimately be arrested and charged with a crime," the Enquirer says.
"Now that Bradley has lawyered up, authorities are even more convinced that she has something to hide, sources say," the Enquirer continues.
Star Search: Star Sends Mixed Message on Likely MU Move to SEC
Life goes on, right?
In the wide world of cliches, they don’t get much better than that. The girlfriend dumps you, a parent dies, the cat takes off – you’re bummed. So you cry in your beer for a bit, take stock, suck it up and get your ass back in the game.
That’s pretty much what Star sports scribe Sam Mellinger attempted to do today re the all-but-inevitable departure of Missouri from the Big 12. For weeks, Mellinger wrung his hands and cursed the sky, lamenting how bad it would be for Kansas City. Over and again, like a dude getting dumped. he tried to rationalize and/or guilt trip MU into not leaving.
Like that was going to work.
Having more than exhausted that theme, Man Sam decided today to go from grieving to grooving.
Starbeams: Outage at KCI, Hollywood Coming to Legends & Kemper Arena on Death Row
Terminal B at KCI was closed yesterday after it experienced a power outage. Lines went the entire length of a football field.
Or, if you’re a Raiders fan, you call that a PIPE DREAM.
The outage was caused by an air traffic controller who plugged in one too many margarita makers.
Passengers were unable to go through security scanners and the pilots were unable to go through the breathalyzer.
Airport traffic was so backed up crop dusters were forced to land at the downtown airport.
Hearne: Sleeping With The Enemy; Star Hops in Sack w/ Dealsaver Rival Groupon
Yesterday was a good day for a funeral…
Or just about any outdoor fun. However, funeral day it was for scribe Craig Glazer‘s brother Jack. Not that I didn’t notice that enticing Groupon email offer for the Kansas City Star.
Hold it! The Star just went into competition against Groupon a few months back, what’s the deal?
Ever since the Groupon phenomenon took off here two years back, the money hungry hombres at the Star have been licking their chops to get in on on the daily deal loot. And it is, now that the newspaper’s dealsaver.com game is afoot.
Leftridge: Tales from the Tweet: Chiefs Streak, Artest’s Taco Meat and King Carl to the Rescue
So the big news ‘round these here parts over the past few days has been the lopsided Chiefs’ victory in Oakland. Though it wasn’t a pretty victory at times—10 penalties for 98 yards is damned awful—the defense shined. Derrick Johnson was unstoppable and our secondary feasted on the deliciously terrible Kyle Boller and a rusty Carson Palmer, picking off the duo a remarkable six times. Javier Arenas scored a rushing touchdown out of the Wildcat and Jon Asamoah’s jiggly-ass fell on a loose ball in the end zone. A complete victory.
What did Twitter think?
@Mellinger (Sam Mellinger, columnist, Kansas City Star)
“Most stereotypes are wrong or exaggerated. The one about the #Raiders parking lot is not. #chiefs”
“Just saw a guy sell a toke of his blunt. There’s a cop maybe 10 yards away.”
Leftridge: Who Lost? Who Won? Who Got Cleated in the Eggs? Weekend Recap
In every contest, there must be winners, and there must be losers. It’s an irrefutable, scientific fact. Sometimes, it’s difficult to differentiate—there are levels of grey that force deep evaluation. Other times—this weekend, for example—it’s brilliantly obvious.
For no particular reason, let’s start by looking at the winners.
Tim Tebow/ Denver Fans/ Christianity
Look, I don’t know why people want Tebow to fall flat on his handsome face. Perhaps it’s his humble nature that people misconstrue as smugness. Maybe it’s because he seems to have some deep connection to God that most of us can only dream of. Regardless of reason, I don’t know that there’s a more unwarrantedly polarizing figure in the NFL. Some people—grandmothers, Coloradans, Floridians, preachers—love the ‘Bow. Others—NFL fans everywhere but Denver—detest him.
Hearne: Pitch Editor Claims ‘Best Of’ Awards About the Writing, Not the Counting
"Everybody’s a winner," spouted carnival barkers of old…
These days the king of cashing in on that concept is local alt weekly the Pitch. Year after year it dishes out unsubstantiated plaudits to anyone and everyone it can think of.
Best cupcakes, handyman, hair removal, pedicure – best T-Bones player, moving company, place to buy a scooter. Is there no end to it? In a word, no. You name it, they got it. And that’s just for the 250-plus reader-picked winners. Add to that 35 pages of picks by unnamed Pitch writers, ranging from best workaholic and best mom to best place to pretend that you’re employed.
Which by the way was the H&R Block employee lunch room.
But do the Pitch readers really think the best place to meet men is Oklahoma Joe’s?
NEW JACK CITY: Holy Cornholio; The Boneheads Are Back!
Beavis and Butt-Head ruled MTV between 1993 and 1997…
Beavis’ HnHnHnHn and Butt-Head’s UhhhUhhhUhhh became signatures of a generation.
And we all know how they fared….
For years now MTV’s been trying to get creator Mike Judge to ressurect his knuckleheads. But Judge showed little interest. After all, he’d sold off his ownership of the series to the network and gone on to other projects.
There was KING OF THE HILL and 4 feature length movies that followed including his animated BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA and one of my all time favorites, the cubicle-comedy OFFICE SPACE.
Then there were the controversies that surrounded the series.
Donnelly: KC Boy Matt Besler Delivers, Sporting Win East
What a perfect ending to Matt Besler’s third MLS regular season.
After becoming "harder" in the offseason – something head coach Peter Vermes puts a helluva lot of stock in – Besler was chosen as an All-Star for the first time in his young career.
As consistent of a performer as KC has had all season long, Besler locked down the center defense, which has plagued the squad the last few years and seen a cast of thousands swing through to try their hand before inevitably being cut.
Pablo Escobar anyone? Man, that seems like a million years ago, doesn’t it?
Saturday night in DC, Besler put the cherry on top of it all, scoring a nice left footed goal that won the game against DC United 1-0, and won the Eastern Conference outright for Sporting.
Can I type that again just for my own enjoyment?
SPORTING KC WON THE EASTERN CONFERENCE AND LOCKED UP HOME FIELD FOR THE MLS PLAYOFFS!!
Hearne: Star Parent Suffers 3rd Qtr Earnings Hit, Locals Brace for More Possible Cuts
In its struggle for survival, the Kansas City Star‘s owner slapped yet another coat of red paint on its 3rd quarter financials…
"A slump in advertising showed no signs of easing for McClatchy Co. in its latest quarter," the AP reports. "The newspaper publisher cut expenses, partly through layoffs this year, but advertising and circulation revenue declined."
How bad was it?
Earnings down 21 percent from a year ago and ad revenue off 10 percent. More than peer newspaper rivals Gannett and the New York Times. Overall ciurculation was off by 3%.
One line in particular from McClatchy chief Gary Pruitt may be unsettling to surviving local newsies:
Today: Stanford’s Jack Glazer Killed in Car Crash
Then there were two…
Stanford & Sons main man and KC Confidential lightning rod Craig Glazer’s little brother Jack Glazer was killed last night after his car went left the road on I 435 on his way home from the comedy club. The 55 year old Glazer worked at the comedy club with brothers Craig and Jeff Glazer.
"Jack was going home from work last night and ran off the road on 435 in Missouri," Craig Glazer says. "His car hit a tree and that crushed the car and killed my little brother Jack. He had worked at Stanford and Sons for many years.
Hearne: Lose the Crying Towels, Mizzou Alums Say MU Has No Choice
Parting is such sweet sorrow, then again…
For two of Kansas City’s biggest supporters of Missouri football and basketball – Missouri Tiger Club of KC honcho Joe Zwillenberg and PR wildcat Will Gregory – bailing on the Big 12 for the SEC is simply a no brainer.
"It’s stability," Zwillenberg says. "Oklahoma and Texas tried to get into the Pac 12 but they couldn’t get in, so they came back to the Big 12 and said, ‘We want to be here.’ But dude, it just doesn’t work that way, because you know eventually they’re going to screw you and contracts don’t mean crap nowadays. So I think Missouri’s doing the right thing."
Gregory agrees.
Glazer: Scribe Shivers, Then Waxes Humbler as Pro Pics Get Tougher
Week seven, ALREADY….
As America’s top game picker with just over a 90% correct pick rate, let’s delve into who’s best right now.
As always, college first.
Again, college has been a tad easier than pro ball this season. And usually that’s the case. It looks like the top teams will scream PLAYOFFS by season’s end with as many as five undefeated football teams repeating in unison, "We got jacked!"
Everyone wants to play in that championship game, but only two will get to. So points really matter in college, less so pro.
Style points, that is..
Leftridge: Tales from the Tweet: Canseco’s Return, Bulldog Needs Neutering & Arenas Pops a Zit
Another week, another batch of moist, delicious Tweets, just like your grandmother used to make. This week had a bit of everything, from deep, dark personal confessions of love, to an undying need to Tweet about nature’s most fascinating creature, the common squirrel.
The big news in the NFL this week—aside from Donvan McNabb’s benching—was the Hail Mary, desperation signing of rouge QB Carson Palmer by the ghost of the recently departed Oakland Raiders’ Head Warlock, Al Davis.
@sportsguy33 (Bill Simmons, sportswriter, ESPN/Grantland.com)
“Oakland traded 2 first round picks for Carson Palmer? Al Davis is still alive!!! I knew it!!!”
@bobfescoe (610 am)
“Why does everyone think the #raiders were dumb? they are a winning team that lost a qb and has no legit back up. desperate times.”
Sounds Good: Das Racist@Granada, Fourth of July@Jackpot
The days are getting shorter…
So you know what that means? No more sun dresses, for one, which is a total bummer. A severe rise in the suicide rate.
What else? KU basketball is right around the corner – that’s a good one.
But what I was thinking of is a bit more obvious – shorter days = longer nights.
For those of you who batten down the hatches and lie dormant through the blustery months, read no further!
But for those creatures of the night, please, read on…
Hearne: The Unhappy Departure of McClain’s Bakery from its Longtime Waldo Home
What do out of towners say about Kansas Citians?
Having interviewed hundreds, what I’ve heard most is how polite we are. To which I’d like to add, on the surface. That’s one reason we see so few edgy stories in the local media. Because outside of outright murder or mayhem, few folks are willing to speak their peace…in public, that is.
It’s poor form.
Behind closed doors or "off the record" though, character assassination is alive and kicking.
Take the recent departure of Waldo institution McClain’s Bakery from its longtime home at 74th and Wornall. When the local news media came a calling to report on McClain’s move, they served up a watered down tale of how McClain’s merely wanting more parking and a larger space.
Hearne: Starker’s Reserve Owner’s Suicide Sparks Debate
To report or not to report, that is the question…
After confirming that Starker’s owner and chef John McClure took his own life yesterday, I reported the news here. Much to the chagrine of a handful of commenters, even though I tried to do so as delicately as possible.
"Was that necessary to post right now when people are just learning of his passing???" asked LJ. "Perhaps some sensitivity to his family or friends who have not yet heard. This is deplorable."
"How dare you Hearne! Have you no tact, no soul??" added Jenn Tosatto.
Then going by % said: "It’s journalism. It may not be what people want to read, particularly if they knew the deceased, but it’s still journalism."
"So wait… I missed the part where Hearne killed the chef… as far as I can tell, McClure killed himself," said TruthSpeaks. "That sucks, and I feel bad for the terrible sorrow his friends and family must be feeling, but come on, a lot of these comments are a shining example of misdirected anger."
Bottom line: Reporting on suicides is a tricky business – even when delicately done – and most are afraid to do it.
Jack Goes Confidential: ‘The Three Musketeers’—All for One and One for 3-D
How many times can Hollywood remake a classic?
When it comes to THREE MUSKETEERS movies I stopped counting at about 15.
And that’s not even going way back to 1921’s silent version which starred Douglas Fairbanks.
But then, this newest addition doesn’t really qualify in the count. It’s not a Hollywood offering but a German, French and British co-production filmed primarily at Berlin’s fabled UFA Studio now called Studio Babelsberg in Munich, home to such cinematic gems as METROPOLIS and THE BLUE ANGEL.
Here movie maker Paul W.S. Anderson takes time off from the RESIDENT EVIL series to devote his talents to THE THREE MUSKETEERS.
Today: Starker’s, Barrio Owner Found Dead, Victim of Apparent Suicide
In a sad twist of fate, Starker’s owner John McClure was found dead today at his home…
Sources say Starker’s staffers discovered McClure at his home today after he failed to show up at the Plaza eatery and could not be reached. The unofficial word being that it was an apparent suicide.
Kansas City Police say there appears to be no foul play but are investigating.
McClure, 36, was from Tescott, Kansas and studied culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America. He was also a chef and described himself as "Head Taco Maker at Barrio," a new Latin eatery poised toopen in Westport at 4141 Pennsylvania.
