Author Archives: Hearne Christopher Jr.
Hearne: Et Tu, Claire McCaskill?
They called her Blonde Ambition… At the dawn of KC’s Baby Boom political gold rush – back when characters such as Carol Coe, Joe Serviss, Henry Lyons and Steve Glorioso roamed the floors at City Hall – a small town cheerleader, … Continue reading
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Hearne: Pitch Cheap Shots Westport Businessman With Dated Quotes
Nothing like getting convicted of the same crime twice… That’s what happened to Westport businessman Bill Nigro when he walked into a neighborhood meeting Thursday and found out the hard way that new Pitch editor David Hudnall had slipped him the … Continue reading
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Hearne: A Tale of Two Cities – The Pitch vs. Riverfront Times
Return with me now to the dawn of alternative journalism in KC… To those formative first years when I began running a record store rag known as the KC Pitch. A time when the alternative newsweekly that inspired me most was St. Louis’s … Continue reading
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Hearne: Can Local Saviors Save The Pitch?
Looks like it’s back to square one time for the alternative magazine formerly known as Pitch Weekly… The circa 1980s record store rag is circling the wagons (and possibly the drain) under its spanking new fourth owner, while mounting a … Continue reading
Hearne: KU Cries Foul on GOP Tax Plan
Turns out fat cat basketball boosters @ KU may not be getting any fatter after the new GOP tax bill kicks in next year… That’s because the controversial points system excommunicated former athletics head Lew Perkins implemented to extort big bucks from donors … Continue reading
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Hearne: The Story Behind Billy’s Belly
Nobody steps on the big Bill Self’s cape… Nope. That goes without saying, that in the wilds of Lawrence, Kansas – home to Self’s basketball Jayhawks – he gets a pass on anything short of maybe daylight bank robbery or … Continue reading
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Hearne: Kansas City Alt Monthly The Pitch Hanging On…
I’ve been there for both the rise and the fall… Now sadly, it looks like I may be around for the funeral of Kansas City’s only true alternative pub The Pitch. Make no mistake, there’s nothing here to feel good about. … Continue reading
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Hearne: Forsooth Chiefs Fans, There is Life After Football
And now, the rest of the story… So much gloom and doom over the Kansas City Chiefs of late. Chillax, people. Tis the season to be jolly. Not angry or heartsick because a bunch of our hired gun, from out-of-town, … Continue reading
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Hearne: Which is More Exciting, Watching the Chiefs or Plaza Lights?
Can we talk? It’s time to lower the flag to half mast and admit that one of Kansas City’s most highly touted annual events is well past its prime… For 88 years the vaunted Country Club Plaza has strung mostly … Continue reading
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Hearne: Muddy Waters Jr. to Headline Thanksgiving Breakfast Dance
The hippest, funnest thing you can do this Thanksgiving (with your clothes on, of course)… No question, the annual Thanksgiving Day Breakfast Dance at the Kansas National Guard Armory in KCK, off I-70 on 18th Street. The 60th edition of … Continue reading
Hearne: Trigger Happy Highchair Hustler Courtroom Bound
Things seem to be spiraling out of control for Raytown baby furniture maker David Jungerman… You may recall it was Jungerman’s white van seen speeding away from murder scene of Brookside lawyer Tom Pickert‘s after he was shot late last … Continue reading
Hearne: Tap Dancing @ 18th & Grand
“Never miss a local story. Subscribe now.” That’s how the subscription come on reads at the end of a story this morning about a “slain KC lawyer” on the Kansas City Star website. A story with basically zero information about Tom … Continue reading
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Hearne: Brookside Shooting Death Remains a Whodunnit
Where’s the beef? One full week after 39 year old KC attorney Tom Pickert was gunned down on the front porch of his Brookside home by a dude some of his neighbors thought fled in a van owned by 79 … Continue reading
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Hearne: What’s Really the Matter with Kansas
Would it surprise anyone if I told you KU basketball – not football – fans are full of it? Didn’t think so. Well for starters, there’s nothing for KU football fans to be full of, so there’s that. That said, as … Continue reading
Hearne: Downtown Ballpark? Anatomy of a ‘Fake News’ Story
Talk about burying the lead… They say a drowning man will clutch at a straw. Which appears to be the case at 18th and Grand as the beleaguered Kansas City Star dials sensationalism into every headline it can to try … Continue reading
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Hearne: Star Editor Gets Marching Orders from Corporate
It’s kinda hard to figure… Common sense would dictate that difficult as it is for daily newspapers, someone would have figured out the obvious; that in a somewhat conservative midwestern city like KC the smart money would be not to … Continue reading
Hearne: Star Cheap Shots Chiefs Owner Clark Hunt
The trouble with group think? There’s too much of it, especially in the mainstream media. Add to that precious little in the way of diverse view points, and woe be to anyone who dares to step outside the boundaries of … Continue reading
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Hearne: So Many Caucasians, So Few Hip-Hop Bars
Which is it… Too many white folks or not enough blacks? Does not playing hip-hop music at dance clubs equate to racism? Should opinion-based writing appear on the local newspaper of record’s front page disguised as a news story? Just … Continue reading
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Hearne: Steve Glorioso & the Dark Side of Journalism
Journalists are like zoo animals, they love to be fed… Their meal of choice: Raw meat, as in off-the-record dirt that makes their jobs easier and more fun. Pretty simple, really. And few folks in the Cowtown were more adept … Continue reading
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Hearne: Meet the Busy Bodies
We’ve all been here before… Stuck next to some annoying know-it-all or coworker. Maybe a stranger sitting next to you at a bar or whatever. And no matter what the topic, they blather on about the way things should be, … Continue reading
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