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Hearne: 610 Sports Nick Wright, Star Editor Bust Blogger for Journalistic Missteps
There’s a difference between news sources and news stories…
Between tweeting rumors to a handful of people and gathering facts and reporting a story through a major media outlet to a large audience. Anyone can tweet a rumor. Running down the story and reporting it responsibly is an entirely different animal.
So it is that 610 Sports host Nick Wright took umbrage at being called out by local sports blogger Greg Hall.
"Nick Wright Claims Chiefs Scoop That Was Not His To Claim And He Knew It," Hall’s headline reads.
Three problems…
First, Hall assumed Wright had read a bare bones tweet last week from a local with fewer than 40 followers.
Glazer: My Love / Hate Affair With The Long, Hot Summer
I love the summer…
It reminds me of the end of school, the pool, cars with the top down, wind blowing in my face, the sun, the fun and all those dreams. Hey, my business is strong in the winter and slow in summer. There’s too much else going on out there. Still I can’t help but enjoy those summer days and nights.
These past several weeks have been by far the hottest in our city that I can remember.
We must have had more than 20 or 30 days of 100 degrees or higher. All I could hear from people was, "Man, I can’t wait for it too cool off – this is awful – it’s too hot."
Well, in a few weeks you’ll get your wish. And God forbid, in a few months, it’ll be cloudy, there’ll be drizzle, snow – it’ll be hard to drive anywhere. Hard to see at night with snow pounding the windshield. Bitter cold out. Remember? Yep, we all do.
Then we’ll dream of those 100 degree days and wish they were back.
Fitzpatrick: Star’s New Columnist Lineup – Money-Saver or Bold Stroke?
The Kansas City Star is now three weeks into its new rotating metro columnist system, and, while it’s far too soon to judge the success or failure of the initiative, it’s a good time to take a closer look at the concept.
Personally, I think it’s going to be difficult for any of the six new columnists (there are three carryovers, C.W. Gusewelle, Steve Kraske and Mary Sanchez) to gain traction with readers. That’s the whole idea of columnists, you know — to have them become trusted, if controversial, voices whose work becomes a destination point for readers.
Maybe this is an experiment designed to cull the reporting ranks for a new, marquee columnist or two, but this move strikes me as more of a money-saving mishmash, a cheap alternative to hiring or promoting at least one new, permanent columnist to replace the two being replaced.
But I certainly don’t claim to have a perfectly clear perspective on this, so I sought the views this week of two top, former editors who have deep wells of experience in newsroom leadership and organization.
Sounds Good: Steely Dan@Starlight, Zappa Plays Zappa@Midland, and TV On The Radio@Crossroads
A lot going on this weekend…
Not only am I personally recommending three really great shows featuring some unique and legendary artists, there’s also some great local music happening in Lawrence and KC, as well as the Chiefs on Friday night and Sporting KC on Saturday night.
Yep, it could be an epic several days if everything goes according to plan.
Thursday it’s some chill rock with Steely Dan, Friday we get a little weird with Dweezil, then Saturday it’s off to LIVESTRONG to watch Sporting keep climbing the ladder. But no after-game beers this time because it’s a bee-line for Crossroads to catch one of the cooler live acts around on Saturday night, TV On The Radio.
Who’s with me?
Starbeams: Songwriter’s Death Reminds of When KC Still Mattered, Chivas-SKC, Light Rail
Songwriter Jerry Leiber, who with longtime partner Mike Stoller wrote, "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," "Kansas City " and dozens of hits, died Monday. He was 78. Once again, our top story is about people used to write about Kansas City.
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The much-anticipated date for Chivas Guadalajara’s visit to Livestrong Sporting Park is set. Sporting Kansas City will play the storied Mexican club on Oct. 12. That’s bad news for the Roeland Park Walmart’s sales on October 12.
Glazer: Time for Matt Cassel to Prove Himself or Get The Hell Outta Town!
Location, location, location…
That’s what they say about buying real estate or opening a restaurant. In the NFL its quaterback, quarterback, quarterback!
So lets get right to it Chiefs Nation. Thus far, Matt Cassel, THE FRANCHISE, ain’t doing so hot.
I’ll admit that I loved it when we traded/bought/ stole Matt from New England.
Hey, tons of teams wanted the Matt Man. After all, he was schooled by one of the best quarterbacks to ever play, Tom Brady. Matt had a huge year in 2008 for the Pats. THE FRANCHISE had a quarterback rating of 89.4, threw for 3,693 yards, 21 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. He won 11 games. Damn.
Yes, he had a strong team, but he even hit mini bombs in the snow. IN THE SNOW FOR GOD’S SAKE.
I made sure I was Nick Wright’s first guest that day we stole the FRANCHISE.
Donnelly: KC’s Best Pro Team Wins Again, Does It Vermes’ Way
Remember when Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes was considered a dead man walking?
It seems so distant, but in reality it was about two and a half months ago. Sporting was mired in a horrific road trip and struggled to earn any points. Players worked hard, but confessed that always being “the enemy” was starting to sap their energy.
After a particularly lackluster showing, club president Robb Heineman called in unannounced to 810 Sports and admitted live and on the air that the team was underperforming. He stopped just short of calling SKC’s performance embarrassing, but he did mention that anything short of the playoffs could/would result in heads rolling.
That was then…
Hearne: Olive Branch Alert; Warring Festivals Render Buzz Beach Ball a Beach Bust
About Friday’s Buzz Beach Ball at Livestrong Sporting Park in KCK…
Sources say the concert was a stiff, likely losing in the neighborhood of a quarter million bucks. Which comes on the heels of reportedly seven-figure losses the promoters of Kanrocksas, suffered 12 days earlier. (By the way, word on the street is Kanrocksas may return next year. The idea being that most big fests don’t break into the black until the second or third year.)
But face it, it’s been a long, ridiculously hot summer and entertainment times have been tough. With some exceptions, Arrowhead and Farm Aid to name two.
According to freelancer / blogger Noah Homola – who reviewed Beach Ball for the Star – there may have been, at its peak, 10,000 people at Livestrong for Incubus. In other words, half a house.
(By the way, Homola did a nice job covering the fest. Not to mention bringing a 30-year-old’s perspective to the review party rather than the newspaper’s usual 50s and up suspects.)
Now here’s what the entertainment community is saying about the red ink churned up at Beach Ball and Kanrocksas…
New Jack City: Sin City Sex, Part Deux—Leaving Las Vegas
Last week I passed along the do’s, dont’s and misconceptions of just how open Las Vegas actually is these days—and nights…
"Babes To Your Room," billboards proclaim – but not for sex! They’re entertainers. And that’s basically what they’ll do for you: ‘Entertain.’
And be careful – ever since the recent mayoral campaign Vegas vice squads have become more vigilant and increased sting operations have turned many a bachelor party into nights in the slammer!
So what are your legal options?
Today: Trash Talking Local Writer Takes the Measure of Kanrocksas
As concert reviews go, writer Hampton Stevens coverage of Kanrocksas in The Atlantic was something of an anomaly…
"A Rock Festival, as Seen for its Trash," reads the headline.
"On a sweltering night five days ago, the thick, newly-trampled grass of the Kansas Speedway was glazed by multicolored confetti, fallen steamers, shards of popped balloons, and luminous, half-spent glow-sticks," Stevens begins. "The white stage lights were glinting off the hundreds of aluminum cans and plastic bottles that once held water, soda, sports drinks, liquor and beer.
"This was the waste of the inaugural Kanrocksas Music Festival, which boasted an impressive lineup that included Eminem, Muse, Flogging Molly, Primus, Kid Cudi, A Perfect Circle, D12, Okay Go, Cage the Elephant, and Ween."
Stevens even bestowed a Kanrocksas "prettiest trash" distinction on The Flaming Lips – a "high honor…made even more impressive by the presence on the bill of Bassnectar and Girl Talk, whose audiences also know a thing or two about popped balloons and glow sticks," Hampton quipped. "The Lips’ trash was so pretty, in fact, it was almost a shame to see the janitorial teams from City Wide Maintenance come to clean it up. But come they did, just as their crews in red tunics did after every one of the almost three-dozen performances at the two-day event."
The flip side of all that, uh, "pretty" trash: The porta potty action.
New Jack City: ‘THE HELP’ Needs None!
THE HELP has done what very few films ever achieve…
It opened big—and then got better with age.
Based on Kathryn Stockett‘s best-selling novel and starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Chris Lowell, Cicely Tyson and Sissy Spacek, the picture opened just semi-wide Wednesday, August 10 to impressive boxoffice numbers. But when Fox’s tentpole RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES hit practically every theatre two days later on Friday, August 12, THE HELP ended up in second place for the weekend.
That all changed this weekend when the Mississippi based drama pulled a major upset.
Hearne: Star Closes Comments Section on Lame Plaza Kids Curfew Cover-up Story
We all make mistakes…
And some of you like nothing more than to document mine. Be it a lowly typo or spelling error. Fair enough. But within reason, KC Confidential has been reasonably transparent about allowing readers to have their say. Even against our/my better judgement.
That said, how lame and transparent is it when Kansas City’s paper of record writes a story about a prickly subject – a curfew aimed at young blacks on the white-as-can-be Country Club Plaza – and puts it to bed tonight sans the ability for readers to register a comment.
Not one.
Glazer: Forget The Plaza, “Black Kanrocksas” Descends on Westport Tonight!
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On the heels of last Saturday’s shootings on the Plaza comes tonight’s Young Jeezy festival in Westport….
I didn’t know about it until a friend of mine, Chocolate Becky, of "Little Dick Bitch" fame on Johnny Dare called and told me she’s going to the show. She said it’s the same crowd that would go see Lil Wayne who played Sprint which draws a young, black, hip-hop crowd. And she was surprised Westport was having it given all the problems on the Plaza and Power & Light District.
She wanted me to meet her afterwards at Boulevard Nights on S.W. Blvd. but she’s afraid there’ll be violence there. She was also surprised that this show is at the Beaumont Club. She thinks it should have been at Sprint."
Hearne: Forget the Media Hoopla, Tonight’s Plaza Curfew Likely to be More Snore Than Gore
We’ve got a funny news media in this town…
And I’m not just talking about the Star – Kansas City’s 800 pound gorilla – although count them in. The situation with young black kids hanging out in mostly white areas where they’re not wanted has been going on for years. More than 10.
None of this is new. And with rare exception, It’s not about buzzwords like "flash mobs."
I covered this at the Star for years in my column. More often than not when no one else at the newspaper was covering it. So allow me to shoot from the hip for a minute to make a point.
I can’t tell you how many times over the years I reported on the problems with young, urban blacks at AMC’s Ward Parkway theaters. I haven’t been out there at night this summer, but they still have the signs posted in the mall obviously pointed directly at those problems.
I covered the exact same troubles off and on for years at AMC’s Crown Center theaters. One night I got pelted from behind by kids in the crowd just walking down the sidewalk. They didn’t know who I was, just some lanky, white loser dude. City busses were brought in to load the kids on when the movies were over and transport them back to the inner city.
Sound a little racist? Crown Center sure as heck didn’t want those kids ’em hanging out front of the mall twidlling their thumbs.
Caitlin: Got iPhone: ‘Is there an app for that?’
With iPhone App, “Kiss Me Thru the Phone,” you can upload a photo of someone, adjust and rotate the image, and…kiss your phone.
If you are the laziest person on earth, the “iPhone Blower” will apparently blow out your birthday candles for you.
And if you are a sleazebag, the “Tiger Text” app lets you recall text messages and self-destruct sent messages within one minute.
There are endless apps—some beneficial, some entertaining, some useless…although I must admit Tiger Text could save a lot of drunk-texters from morning-after embarrassment…
Although I try to keep my phone pretty svelte, I have recently discovered a few helpful fashion, shopping, and style apps—all of which are free.
Glazer: Preseason Swoon Preview of Things to Come for This Year’s Chiefs
So Chiefs coach Todd Haley‘s now 1-9 in preseason games with the Chiefs…
Yes, the Chiefs first team played better than it did last week. Matt THE FRANCHISE was 6 of 14 passing for 73 yards. That’s three more yards than when Baltimore beat us with in the playoffs last year.
Chiefs mini receiver/back Dexter McCluster looked good with four catches and D-Bowe had three nice catches for 43 yards. But no big plays for Matt. Our lone score came from backup quarterback, Tyler Palco.
Our field goal kicker is still suspect from outside the 40. Our first team defense was better and kept us in the game until the fourth quarter when Baltimore lit up the Chiefs. The Chiefs led 13-10 but then managed to give up a ton of points and lose 31-13. Similar to that blasting Baltimore gave us in the playoffs a few months back.
What else did we do?
Starbeams: Celebrate ‘Go Topless Day’ This Sunday, After KC’s New Plaza Kid Curfew
Sunday is national GO TOPLESS DAY. An organization called GoTopless is encouraging women to rally for the right to be shirtless in public like men. Completely unrelated, Janet Jackson performs at Starlight Monday night.
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The Kansas City City Council has imposed a curfew for Kansas City. The curfew is at 10:00pm for people under 16. 11:00pm for people under 18. And if you’re on the Plaza, P&L, Zona Rosa, 18th and Vine and Westport, the curfew is 9:00pm if you’re under 18. You can stay out later if a parent or guardian is available. I hear Casey Anthony is available.
Glazer: Chiefs Nation Ready to Rumble; Somebody Tell Vegas
So here we go Chiefs Nation…
Here’s our chance to get some payback for last year’s playoff loss to the Ravens of Baltimore. Yes, it was ugly – 30-7 Ravens over the Kansas City Chiefs in their only playoff game last season.
Uh, the Chiefs, not the Ravens.
Remember? Joe Flaco had a nice day with 265 yards in the air, two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 115.4. Outstanding. Our guy Matt the FRANCHISE, uh, 9 of 18 passing, three interceptions, no touchdowns, 70 yards passing and a quarterback rating of 20.4.
WHAT? THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT!
Hearne: 610 Sports Nick Wright & Blogger Tony Botello Slug it Out on KMBZ
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Forget about the so-called local sports talk radio war…
Jock sniffers have waged those for decades and will continue until the end of days, as long as know-it-alls roam the radio dial. I mean, how easily entertained are we when a sleepy, bored Jason Whitlock calling into Nick Wright‘s show on 610 Sports causes local bloggers to behave like they just witnessed the Thrilla in Manila?
Hyperbole aside, are local sports fans really that bored? Well, it is Royals season.
But what amounts to a family blood feud errupted yesterday on KMBZ host Darla Jaye’s show…
No Whitlock-like pussyfooting around, this was the real deal. Blogger and KC Confidential contributor Tony Botello was doing his weekly stint on Jaye’s show and talking about getting sued for defamation when all hell broke lose.
"Nick Wright called him – he’s the son of the guy who’s suing Tony – and Darla pretty well stayed out of it and it was just an assslapping between those two guys," says earwitness Jack Poessiger. "It was hard hitting radio."
