Hearne: The Gut Wrenching Fall of Radio Shack & Consumer Electronics Retailers

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

rs_adpReaders of this site are no strangers to the fast fading fate of audio/video retailers…

Kansas City – and probably soon Lawrence – are perfect examples. As recently as 10 years ago both still had at least a smattering of mid to high end electronics boutiques. Now Kansas City is down to essentially two stores – one really. There’s Overland Park’s AV Design Studio and in Lawrence, Kief’s Audio Video, which is facing a far from uncertain future following the recent retirement of owner/founder John Kiefer.

So while the jury’s still out, the Grim Reaper’s in and he’s licking his chops.

And it’s not much better on the national front. Continue reading →

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Hearne: Lefsetz Turns Snowballs into Handgrenades, Lobs Them at Brownback

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

snowpiercer-poster-internationalWho else could possibly turn a seemingly commonplace movie review into an indictment of pretty much everyone and everything in this country besides eentertainment lawyer/scribe Bob Leftsetz?

That’s a rhetorical question, btw.

But take my word for it, Lefsetz “movie review” of Snowpiercer – may be incredibly long – but it’s a journalistic train trip that won’t disappoint.

Check it:                                                

*******

Continue reading →

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Hearne: Cleveland, The One That Got Away from KU Coach Bill Self.

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

BdeqKGICIAAdelJWe told you so…

How many times, how many different ways, how many different reasons has KC Confidential laid out the past couple years to make the case that there really was a good chance KU basketball coach Bill Self would bolt to the NBA sometime in the not too distant future?

For starters, Self’s gone about as fer as he kin go in Lawrence.

Which as we’ve noted, is like living in a tiny fishbowl, especially for someone with the stature of Bill Self. Probably the worst case scenario of that went down a year and a half ago when tongues were wagging all over town about an alleged affair Self was having, with uh, somebody that lives really close to me. And no, not my wife.

That Self had been kicked out of his house and was holed up for weeks at a ritzy, big bucks condominium project in the burbs. My electrician friend here swears that construction buddies of his saw Self’s black SUV rolling out of the garage there every morning.

Plus college basketball isn’t what it used to be. Continue reading →

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Hearne: All Eyes on KSHB & Departure of Anchor Mark Clegg

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

photo-1Let me let you in on a little secret…

Not many people in Kansas City television news circles were particularly surprised by word of the pending departure of KSHB TV news anchor Mark Clegg.

Trust me on this.

For starters, does anybody really think a successful news anchor with the stature of say a Larry Moore or Phil Witt would walk away from a six-figure paycheck in the prime of their careers? For a marketing position for which they have little to no qualifications, experience or training, no less? That’s what Clegg is doing, folks.

Voluntarily? Maybe. But probably not entirely. Continue reading →

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Hearne: Scribe Says, Chiefs, Royals Will Never Win ‘Big One’ in Our Lifetimes

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

scriPut it back in your pants, sports fans…

The Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs will never again truly matter, says comedy club owner/sports scribe Craig Glazer.

“From the looks of things – based on our history, the current situation, ownership and management – I can’t see either organization winning a World Championship in the foreseeable future,” Glazer says. “And that includes many of our lifetimes. Not for Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers, anyway.”

Let’s start with the Royals. Continue reading →

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Hearne: KCFX Backs into First in June Radio Ratings

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.
Skid1-150

KCFX personality Skid Roadie

It’s not so much that KCFX dethroned longtime ratings leader KFKF…

Nope, the trip to the top of the June radio ratings slag heap was based more on the decline of the local country station than the rise of KC’s classic rocker.

“KCFX didn’t climb in the ratings, it went down some,” says a  local radio insider. “But KFKF went down farther.”

It’s like this… Continue reading →

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Hearne: Go Ask ‘Alice’ (About KCKC FM’s Disappointing Ratings)

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.
truta

Bryan Truta

Speaking of underperforming local AAA radio stations…

When commercial adult album alternative station Alice 102.1 FM went bye-bye in February it was pulling down a 2.0 share (versus KTBG’s 0.4 today).

That was down significantly from two years back when Alice enjoyed a 4.0 share of listeners 25-54.

So it wasn’t exactly a surprise when an Adult Contemporary listening format under the call letters “KCKC” replaced Alice at 102.1. Continue reading →

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Hearne: ‘The Bridge’ Raises It’s Head Above Water…Barely

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Screen Shot 2014-07-14 at 1.42.47 PMIt wasn’t exactly a thing of joy to behold, but…

KCPT public television’s all-but-invisible radio love child KTBG, The Bridge finally made Nielsen’s monthly ratings chart.

The “adult album alternative” station slid into first, second to last on the June chart with a 0.4 share and a cume of 30,500 listeners.

“I don’t know why they didn’t show up on the chart earlier,” says a radio source. “But I mean, with only a 30,000 cume and 0.4 share after all that time, energy and money was invested, it appears to have been wasted. I’ll bet they were probably getting close to those numbers when they were in Warrensburg before they moved here.” Continue reading →

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Hearne: The Ongoing Ratings Decline of News Talk Station KMBZ

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

 danaandParks_600x200-1Times are tough at Kansas City’s longtime news-talk leader KMBZ…

The station sank to a 3.4 share of listeners, down from a 4.5 share as recently as last February. That’s nearly a 25 percent drop.

‘What jumped out of these ratings at me was what a waste of an FM signal KMBZ is,” says a local radio insider. “That thing is tanking, KMBZ is a disaster. They were doing these kind of numbers with KUDL FM alone and with KMBZ alone on AM. So basically by combining the two they’ve taken one-plus-one and instead of getting two, gotten one.

“They basically blew up an FM signal for nothing. I mean, The Point is doing well, because taking out KUDL eliminated a would-be competitor.”

The flip side of KMBZ’s decline: It’s still the second best billing station in the market… Continue reading →

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Leftridge: Royals May be Faltering, but Hey, They’ve Got Three All Stars

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Brandon Leftridge

all-starcoverLook, we all know that the Major League Baseball All Star Game is a TOTAL waste of time. It’s usually boring and nobody plays hard and, despite the recent-ish rule that the winning side secures home field advantage for their league in the World Series, it’s not really worthy of most people’s time.

I mean, it was pretty cool when it was in Kansas City during the 2012 season, but that had everything to do with civic pride and not the Baseball Pageant itself. But this year it’s somewhere else— I don’t know, Texarkana or something?—so it’s hard to get a boner about it.

Well, you know, except for the whole, “three actual Royals representatives” or whatever. In case you missed it—and I’m sure you probably didn’t—catcher Salvy Perez, closer Greg Holland and left fielder Alex Gordon will be making their SECOND consecutive tandem trip to the midsummer classic.

That’s pretty boss. Continue reading →

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Hearne: KCFX FM ‘The Fox’ Knocks Off KFKF for Top Spot in June Rankings

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Slacker-Page1-400It’s that time of the month…

Radio ratings time, that is, and there’s plenty to digest as we prepare to suffer the cruel temps of July and August that we love so dearly.

So let’s take a look at the Nielsen ratings for June – Monday through Sunday, 6 am to midnight – for persons 12 and older. It’s the broadest and generally considered most accurate ratings measure, although advertisers tend to focus on specific audience demographics such as Men 18-34, Adults 25-54 and Women 18-49.

And for starters, for the first time this year, KFKF-FM as displaced as No. 1 in the marketplace by KCFX-FM.

Now on with the show… Continue reading →

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New Jack City: Here Today — Gone Tomorrow (Germany) — And Now Back

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Jürgen Poessiger

Contentbild_Produkte_BenediktinerBeen missing my movie reviews of late?

Or maybe those ever-so-meaningful insights to be found on NEW JACK CITY?

Well, fear not!

JACK GOES CONFIDENTIAL’s coverage of the big screen returns next week, appropriately enough with the movie SEX TAPE.

So why the temporary interruption? A vacation of sorts. Continue reading →

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Mancow: Calling Out Bogus ‘Pink Floyd’ Album & Setting the Record Straight on Jimmy Page and The Kinks

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Mancow
Pink Floyd publicity shot

Pink Floyd The way they were

HUH? 

What’s this about a new Pink Floyd album? Their first new album in 20-years entitled “Endless River” slated for an October release.

HOW DISRESPECTFUL is this rubbish!!!

Last I checked, vile anti-Semite Roger Waters is no longer in the band and Richard Wright and Syd Barrett are dead. If these are leftovers from The Division Bell sessions, then just make them a The Division Bell special-edition release.

In my opinion, the Pink Floyd heyday was Atom Heart Mother through The Wall, and those were mainly gestated by Waters.

Continue reading →

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Posted on July 11, 2014 by default

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Hearne: There Ain’t No Cure for the Lowdown, Missing Newspaper, Driveway Blues

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.
Not Jack's carrier

Not Jack’s carrier, not Jack’s hood

Remember my Kansas City Star story a couple days back?

The one where a newspaper staffer talked about all the cancellations the Star has been getting from people upset with not just the quantity and quality of their newspapers but the difficulties they’ve been having with the carriers who deliver them to subscriber’s driveways?

Think about it.

Not that long ago when you took the Sunday Star, it was a simple proposition – you got it all – the news, comics, sports, entertainment and advertising coupons. And it was a relatively simple, somewhat lucrative job for the carriers delivering the papers.

That was then.

These days those pickups and vans that scoot down your street in the wee, early hours have to sort through no less than four different Sunday newspapers before they throw them.

Continue reading →

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Hearne: Stanford’s to Swing for the Fences in Overland Park

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

Screen-Shot-2012-11-21-at-12.40.42-PMWhat to expect late next month when Stanford & Sons returns to the big city?

Quite a bit, actually, starting with real food!

“Stanford’s will be a great lead in for what Shawn McClenny’s doing next-door at Fuel and Kanza Hall,” says Stanford’s main man Craig Glazer. “And we’re going to bring our restaurant food service back. Phase one will be the comedy club and restaurant. Phase two will be our late night drinking and club scene which will happen sometime this fall.” Continue reading →

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Hearne: Theater League Honcho Gets Rise Out of Olbermann on Letterman

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.
Keith Olbermann trashes soccer on David Letterman show Tuesday

Keith Olbermann trashes soccer on David Letterman show Tuesday

Was a time, ESPN host Keith Olbermann was considered cutting edge hip…

But times flies and you gotta keep up. That was hardly the case when Olbermann weighed in on the World Cup and Major League Soccer on the Dave Letterman Show Tuesday with Theater League main man Mark Edelman in the audience.

“Well, let’s talk aboutWorld Cup soccer,” Letterman intoned.

Whereupon Olbermann rattled off the usual anti soccer cliches that have long since bitten the dust among younger, more clued in sports aficionados.

“Somebody said the other day that soccer is the sport of the future in America and it always will be,” Olbermann told Letterman, who cackled while the audience cheered in approval. “And somebody dug the etymology of this thing up and it was in the LA Times in 1978. So we’ve been hearing this for 40 to 45 years, that it’s going to be tomorrow’s sport.” Continue reading →

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Posted on July 8, 2014 by default

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Hearne: Stanford & Sons Last Stand (KCK Style)

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.
Craig Glazer, comic Eddie Ifft & Jeff Glazer on last night at Stanford's in KCK

Craig Glazer, comic Eddie Ifft & Jeff Glazer on last night at Stanford’s KCL

It was the end of an era – a short one – but nonetheless an era…

After just shy of eight years, Stanford & Sons comedy club at The Legends in KCK is no more. To commemorate the occasion I saddled up for both nights of its final weekend shows at the end of June.

The crowds were a little thin, but the staff’s spirits were high as they looked ahead to what appears to be a huge improvement in the club’s all important asset – location, location, location.

Did I mention that KCK was a beautiful dream that really never came true?

“Unfortunatly, it’s mostly poor folks who live around here,” Stanford’s main man Craig Glazer told me. “And there really is no other entertainment out here anymore. So we are heading in another direction where the people are. I mean, we had a great time here because this is probably the nicest comedy club in the country. Just the main room cost a million bucks to build, because they built it from the ground up.”

Glazer spent the final week of on stage saying goodbye to the KCK crowds and inviting them to visit the new club at Rosana Square on 119th Street in Overland Park.

“Do you guys listen to Johnny Dare?” he asked at the early show Friday. “He’s a punk and I should beat him up and I could…Have a great time tonight; we’ll see you August 15th in Overland Park.”

What Glazer won’t miss about his time at Legends? Continue reading →

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Hearne: The Sad State of the Union @ The Kansas City Star

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Hearne Christopher Jr.

hendricks_cliche_newLate last year, I took some personal innovatory… 

Having written numerous stories about the Kansas City Star since my departure in late 2008 as one of the hundreds and hundreds that have been laid off since the dramatic downturn in both the economy and the fortunes of newspapers, some readers assumed I did so simply because I was an embittered former employee.

Fair enough.

My rationale for doing so – and I gave it considerable thought before embarking on that path – was that I’d critiqued other media (as well as the Star when I was running The Pitch) and  because this was a historic period of epic change in the newspaper industry, based on mg experience, contacts and overview, I was uniquely qualified in many ways to report on it and try and put things in perspective.

Don’t forget, the Star tried to hire me back right away to freelance my column for what would have amounted to maybe 40 or 50 cents on the dollar. However, because I’d elected to take my severance pay in 2009 instead of 2008, they were not allowed by parent company McClatchy to do so for a one year period.

At which point I had to wait it out – and presumably behave – and the newspaper could have brought me back in January 2009 instead of January 2008 as they’d wanted.

There were just too many killer, colorful stories to be told as the massive layoffs and cutbacks continued. I couldn’t resist, unwise as that decision was for me personally. Continue reading →

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