It’s hard to hide out when you’re a journalist and the entire media world’s watching?
So it is that Kansas City Star publisher Mi-Ai Parrish came out from underneath her desk last night long enough to kinda-sorta set the record straight while inadvertantly digging herself into yet a deeper hole.
“In a statement e-mailed to NBC News late Wednesday, Parrish said the paper was cutting its workforce by 17 positions,” the explanation begins in nbcnews.com’s business section. Continue reading
I don’t care about the so-called fiscal cliff and neither should you…
If anything, you should be bored to death hearing about it over and over and over. The Worse case scenario is taxes go up and government spending gets cut.
That’s the great calamity, and it will be painful, but you know what? The economy and this country are going down the toilet anyway. And until the Government collapses under its own weight, what hope do we have that anything vaguely resembling freedom or economic sanity will return? Continue reading
Seems the word of her death was greatly exaggerated…
Sources at the Kansas City Star say reporter Dawn Bormann may not be well, but she’s still alive. That in the wake of news that the newspaper has asked Bormann and fellow reporter Karen Dillon to decide which of them must go in this week’s round of layoffs.
If push comes to shove, Dillon with seniority, is reportedly in the position to make the call, and quit or send Bormann packing. Continue reading
They say what comes around goes around…
In the case of Tuesday’s breaking news by KC Confidential about the Kansas City Star pitting two reporters – Karen Dillon and Dawn Bormann – against one another to see which gets to keep her job, the story circulated just about everywhere.
The consensus among readers being that forcing co-workers to decide which one’s career must end is cruel and unusual punishment.
Things started heating up Wednesday after respected media blogger Jim Romenesko picked up on KC Confidential’s story and laid the matter bare for journalists around the world to marvel at. Continue reading
Just this morning it was announced that Sporting Kansas City re-signed MLS Defender of the year and KC native, Matt Besler…
Besler became a free agent at season’s end and admitted on 810 WHB this morning that he had several different opportunities to go overseas, including an offer in the EPL. Besler said that there was more money for him in Europe than that offered by Robb Heineman, but the decision came down to the situation here in KC – the stadium, the other players on the team, management, coaching staff, and of course the opportunity to win immediately.
Most of the teams interested in Besler in Europe were bottom feeder types, though they were probably as good or better of a squad than Sporting will field in 2013.
That being said, it’s great to have The Rock back in the middle for the upcoming season. Continue reading
We’re entering the doldrums period for live music…
That period of time that starts around finals week and stretches until nearly February, with New Year’s Eve excluded of course.
But unlike years past, there’s actually some really interesting shows still going down as we creep towards Fat Man Day.
Check it… Continue reading
610 Sports afternoon hosts Josh Verneir, Jay Binkley and J.C. Pearson have gotten stronger in the wake of superstar Nick Wright‘s departure earlier this year…
The crew has had several months to get comfortable with each other and it’s working with their ratings on the rise.
One reason it works so well is they try to be very frank and candid with listeners.
“I was wrong, I had the Chiefs at 10-6 and now I admit they’re terrible,” Binkley says.
Even former Chiefs star Bill Maas has been on a roll lately.
“Yes, I am aware of what Chiefs defensive end Shaun Smith said on Twitter, that ‘the Brownies suck and we’ll beat them by 10 points.'”
The Chiefs lost to Cleveland by 23 this past Sunday. Continue reading
Like Los Angeles Lakers great James Worthy, they call him “Big Game James” due in no small part to his propensity for clutch performances. He owns every major pitching record for the Tampa Bay Rays, has a World Series victory, finished 3rd in 2011’s American League Cy Young voting, and struck out 15 batters in his final performance for the only team he has ever known.
Wil Myers has no nickname (at least, none that I am aware of), was this year’s Minor League Player of the year, and, according to his Twitter feed, has a real fondness for Olive Garden.
James Shields is 31 and now under Royals’ control for two years. (He HAS stated that he’d be interested in signing an extension, but, well, he’s been here 2 days. Let’s see how all that pans out.)
Myers is 22 and will likely be with the Rays for at least 6 years and, given their proclivity for handing out long-term extensions to their young players, probably longer than that.
It was an interesting trade to say the least, an all-out, balls-on-the-cutting-board move perpetrated by general manager Dayton Moore that will either leave him a Grand Kansas City Hero, or cause elderly women to spit on the sidewalk whenever his name gets mentioned. Continue reading
This is the original story, but there’s so much more:
The journalism world notices 18th and Grand, but not for beef
Experts give thumbs down to Hunger Games scheme
Star Morale at all-time low
The publisher responds
How cold can you get?
Check out this startling tale involving a pair of Kansas City Star reporters reportedly presented with a proposition – a variation on Sophie’s Choice – that only one position remained for the two of their jobs.
“They brought in two reporters – Karen Dillon and Dawn Bormann – and told them that one of them had to go,” says a staffer. “And that they had to decide which one would stay and they had until next week to figure it out. Sort of like ‘The Hunger Games.’ That’s the scuttlebutt anyway.”
There’s more.
“Karen Dillon has seniority, so she has the option of taking it or not taking it,” says the source. “And if she does, Dawn gets laid off. Dawn’s a great person but I think Karen will vote in favor of herself because she’s got teenage kids at home.” Continue reading
This just in from sources at the Kansas City Star…
Another casualty of Monday’s layoffs and cutbacks at 18th and Grand: Would you believe the newspaper’s Kansas City Store?
“I just heard both Star stores are closing,” says one newspaper insider. “The one on the Plaza and the one at Union Station.”
Exact closing dates of the stores and the fate of the two staffers who head their respective retail operations remain unclear, but the betting money is they’ll be taking a bullet with six months going away paychecks.
There’s a rub though. Continue reading
Did this ever happen to you?
It happened to a travel client of mine on a recent New York City trip who flew into LaGuardia (LGA). Two days later his return flight was booked out of Newark (EWR) airport which had the last flight of the day to K.C. (MCI).
Not only did he know that two airports were involved, he’d requested it.
But when it actually came to his return trip he forgot and promptly directed his cab to take him back to LGA. He didn’t realize his mistake until reaching the UNITED counter and there was no way of cabbing it to EWR in time to reach his actual flight.
Instead it was back to his Manhattan hotel and another night at $300. Continue reading
Geez, is nothing sacred anymore?
A scant two weeks before Christmas and the Grim Reapers at 18th and Grand are up to their old tricks. As in laying off staff right before America’s Holiday.
“MEMO TO: Co-workers,” the internal notice begins.
“FROM: Mi-Ai Parrish.
“RE: Reduction in force
“As we continue to be challenged by uncertain economic news, I have decided to restructure and realign some pieces of the business, eliminating several positions, as well as some open positions.
“The employees affected by the reductions have been notified.”
The name that jumps out in the early returns is Star librarian Eric Winkler. Continue reading
Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III was on national TV after the Skins won a come from behind victory over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday…
“I screamed when I got hit – well -screamed like a man,” Griffin said afterwards. “But it was important to me to get back to the huddle and win this game.”
Griffin is one of the best quarterbacks ever to come out of college and start in the NFL.
He’s now rich and will make hundreds of millions of dollars and do tons of commercials. He’s also respected – and oh by the way – well educated, well spoken and a class role model for the millions who watch him play.
Robert Griffin III is black and I promise you Mr. Griffin won’t be getting in trouble at “De Club.” Continue reading
In my dreams, the Royals won the Winter Meetings. General Manager Dayton Moore, acutely aware of the importance this particular off season brings, fleeced his colleagues with hidden snake-oil tactics and slick talking. After the dust settled, and the Royals were quantifiably better than they were the previous week, everyone threw Moore atop their shoulders and paraded him out of the conference room, across the lobby and into a waiting limousine where he was given a fine champagne and a big hug from owner David Glass, who wasn’t such an asshole after all, unlike what we all thought all along.
None of this happened, of course.
Glass might be a bigger eagle-faced dick than any of us had ever imagined and Moore, well, Moore mostly stood pat during the proceedings. He sat at his nice table in his swanky suit, his flattop perfectly even atop his tanned head, he sipped his mineral water from the nice glass and he nodded and smiled and looked stoic when appropriate, and he walked away having accomplished nothing. Continue reading
After the smoke clears, the winner of the Heisman Trophy will be…
As always, in my humble opinion, Johnny FOOTBALL, from Texas A&M. I believe it will end this way; Johnny Manziel, followed by Manti Te’o of Notre Dame then Collin Klein of Kansas State.
In their own way all three deserve the award, but Johnny FOOTBALL is the most exciting. Continue reading
Briefly stated. KC Confidential led the way on last week’s Chiefs/murder/suicide stories…
With bullet force. Because we can take the gloves off quickly and be more honest than the TV, radio and print guys.
As I wrote Saturday morning, it was another poor, sad example of bad behavior by an uneducated, highly paid, wannabe gansta NFL black player.
Nothing more. Continue reading
For the better part of a decade it was his dream home…
I’m talking about former Kansas City Star sports columnist Jason Whitlock‘s bachelor pad in South Overland Park. The four bedroom, three and a half bath Nottingham Forest abode where he hosted celebrity bashes, reportedly attended by guests such as Ollie Gates, Carl Peterson, Marty Schottenheimer, Derrick Thomas, Bill Self, Danny Manning, Mark Mangino, Roy Williams, Frank White – even Craig Glazer. Continue reading
Far be it from me to concede that music and soccer scribe Matt Donnelly painted me into a corner…
Then again, he did call me out in last week’s “Sounds Good” column. Were we going to our annual KC Confidential Christmas Wilding in the rural Lawrence, no-holds-barred strip club known as The Outhouse?
Uh, no Matt, we are not. Continue reading
About that Fleetwood Mac show at Sprint April 30th…
Does the world really need another helping of dated 1970s arena pop rock?
I caught Fleetwood Mac in concert at the then new Qwest Center in Omaha in the early-mid 2000s.
But let me this clear, I didn’t go because I wanted to see the band.
Far from it, I went because a gentleman by the name of Kevin Collison – a business reporter at the Star originally from Nebraska – had been pimping readers about how Kansas City was falling behind Omaha. And that KC needed a new downtown arena to make sure the hicks from the little cowtown didn’t pass up us hicks in the Big Cowtown. Continue reading
By 10 minutes into the bio-pic HITCHCOCK, Anthony Hopkins had become the Master of Suspense for me…
And no, you don’t have to be a film geek to enjoy it. Trust me, you will. Continue reading
