Tag Archives: Hearne Christopher Jr.
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…
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.
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.
Hearne: Will KC Firefighter Louie Wright’s Lawsuit Mean The End for Tony’s Kansas City?
I wanted to start this off with something like, "Nobody likes a lawsuit"…
But I’d be lying. Lawyers like ’em. People who work at law firms must as well. It’s a paycheck. Judges probably like ’em. People who think they’re gonna win, kick somebody’s ass and / or make a boatload of money undoubtedly like ’em.
So how about this instead? People who get slapped with lawsuits don’t like em. They cost money, take lots of time and sometimes you lose. Meaning more money, more time and more stress.
When Louie Wright, president of Local 42 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, filed a defamation lawsuit against blogger / KC Confidential contributor Tony Botello this week, Botello wasn’t happy.
"I am both ill-equipped and completely unprepared to face a lawsuit of any kind…" he emailed the Pitch."This probably means the end of the blog."
Wait! The end of Tony’s Kansas City? No way! Really?
"Not anytime soon but it’s definitely a possibility and it shows people the real stakes of the game," Botello shot back.
"Well, if they do hit me with the multi-million dollar verdict, I think that makes it pretty much open season on me," he says. "So it wouldn’t be worth it."
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."
Hearne: Christian Radio Kicks Butt, Tops KC Radio Stations in Women Listeners!
First adults, then dudes, but leave us not forget the all-important, sought after women listeners…
Trust me, everybody wants a piece of this action. And don’t take that the wrong way. To that end, let’s look at the Top 10 KC stations in women listeners, 25-54, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For the uninitiated, this is when 90 percent of most station’s revenue is derrived. Where its heaviest hitters slug it out for money, power and glory. Morning shows next.
Now hang onto your crucifixes because you may be in store for a huge surprise…
Star Search: As Expected, Star Unleashes Furloughs Instead of Layoffs
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Nothing like being A over Tea Kettle in a financial freefall….
That pretty much describes the current state affairs in of the newspaper industry. Publishers continue to talk of better days ahead – after our long, national nightmare – the coming-soon, double dip recession. Which naively ignores the long term downward prospects of the print news industry.
Bringing us to the mandatory one week staff furloughs announced at the Star.
They went down this week as both suggested and predicted by KC Confidential. With a 32 percent earnings drop in its 2nd quarter, McClatchy had to make some serious cuts. No question. But forcing Parrish to do the dirty work one month into her KC Star honeymoon would have placed her in a very unsavory position.
Getting rid of two highly paid columnist positions was likely a savings. Especially given the axing of one.
Now let’s do some math on the furloughs. Which are forced, unpaid, one-week vacations. Vacations that have to be taken between now and year’s end.
Hearne: The Sun Also Sets, NPG Newspapers Issues Death Sentence to Joco Sun
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Prediction realized…
Last December I asked: "Does Steve Rose to the Star mean Death to the Sun?"
Today that rhetorical question was answered by the Sun‘s parent NPG Newspapers of St. Joseph.
"Everybody has to be out of the office by noon today, former Sun publisher Rose told me around 11 a.m. as I drove to Oklahoma City. "I got the official word on it three days ago."
Rose parents, Stan and Shirley Rose founded the suburban Johnson County weekly more than a half a century ago.
"It’s a very sad moment for me," Rose says. "And it’s sad for my mother who is alive and well – she started the paper with my dad – and she’s pretty emotional about it."
The unfortunate reality being, like any number of print pubs, the Sun was destined to set, Rose says.
Hearne: Plaza. Police, Mayor Panic, Too Late to Solve This Year’s Plaza Kid Problem
The long hot summer…
On August 1st, upon returning from Arizona I spoke with KC Police who confirmed that for several weekends hundreds of mostly black youths had gathered on the Plaza near the Cinemark. That there had been problems – but nothing major – maybe a little pepper spray. But no tear gas or "crowds running kind of things."
Not yet anyway.
That long lull before the storm came to an end last night when shots rang out, three teens were wounded and what had the makings of another Plaza mini-riot began to unfold.
Glazer: Chiefs Give Sneak Preview of How Bad This year’s Team Is
As your humble scribe and friend, I told you just the other day the Chiefs are not very good…
That they would be lucky to win 6 games this season. Last night they started by showing off just how bad a team can be. Yes, it’s pre-season, but it’s ALWAYS PRE-SEASON for this failing franchise. They couldn’t have looked worse. NOTHING looked decent. Nothing. Defense rated an F-minus – they couldn’t even stop the Tampa number two or three quarterbacks from picking up long third down throws. Our offense well, it was not at Arrowhead. As I write this the game is still stinking up my screen. I am doing the Chong show, but took time out to watch this "mess’ we call the Chiefs.
Let’s see what else.
Hearne: Mayor’s Plaza All Clear Call Gives Way to Shots Fired
Talk about timing….
As luck would have it, KC Confidential‘s server went down on the day I decide to cruise the Plaza. As a followup to recent police confirmation here that the urban youth problem had been simmering – mostly off the media radar – for several weekends. I’d been out of town for two weeks during the buildup and was limited to third party eyewitness reports and carefully-worded police statements.
Here’s what I learned at 9 p.m. tonight (Saturday) prior to KC Mayor Sly James rubber stamp visit to the Plaza and the Star‘s 10:18 p.m. report that the evening had gone without incident.
Au contraire…
Today: Newsosaur Examines Star Parent McClatchy & Newspaper Woes
While Jimmy C‘s away, the mice will play…
I don’t know what exotic locale vanquished politico / Star editor turned blogger Jim Fitzpatrick escaped to the past two weeks. All I know is he wasn’t around to nail this journalistic diddy to his cross. And that it would have been smack up his alley. A column by Newsosaur, the "Musings (and occasional urgent warnings) of a veteran media executive, who fears our news-gathering companies are stumbling to extinction."
The proposition at hand: "Will business model stabilize for newspapers?"
The departure point being the disastrous situation at McClatchy, parent company of the Kansas City Star.
"Quizzed by securities analysts last week about his company’s disappointing financial performance, the best McClatchy boss Gary Pruitt could say was that he hopes the newspaper “business model will stabilize” at some unspecified point in the future. But it will not," Newsosaur begins.
"And it had better not, if Pruitt intends to save what’s left of his newspapers, where relentless cost cutting has halved the headcount of his flagship Sacramento Bee to some 700 increasingly nervous souls in the last three years."
It may feel to Pruitt like he’s in the 19th inning of a really bad Royals game, but don’t expect a walkoff homer.
Today: Travel Channel Brings Royal Gorge Vote to Westport Flea Market Today
Plainly put, the Travel Channel wants to manifest a cult experience to the hallowed Westport Flea Market.…
Got that? The Travel Channel, for crying out loud!
Somehow – don’t ask – the cable channel that wants to spirit us away to exotic, restfull, amazingly beautiful locals – has determined that its devotees have somehow become enamored with people who eat ridiculously large portions of food in ridiculously short periods of time.
Make sense to you? Me neither.
Hearne: WHB, Kietzman Retake High Ground in July Ratings, KMBZ Slips Again
How appropriate that the battle for sports radio supremacy in KC would be a see-saw affair…
In June, 610 Sports upstart Nick Wright nosed out WHB strongman Kevin Kietzman by a tenth of a share point in men, 25 to 54, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. It was a monumental victory, that somehow or another WHB made sure – via microscopic ratings adjustments for Royals game overlaps – proved to be short-lived.
But make no mistake; the days of WHB putting clown suits on Wright and 610 appear to be in the rearview mirror.
In June Wright came in fourth with a 6.8 share to Kietzman’s 6.7.
The latest?
Today: The Top 10 Kansas City Radio Afternoon Drive Shows for July
The radio ratings war is played on many fronts…
The most important; morning and afternoon drive.The weekdays when tens of thousands of Kansas Citians are in their cars going to and from work listening to the radio. KCFX’s Slacker won the morning drive in men 25-54 and The Rock’s Johnny Dare and Mix 93.3’s Rocket & Teresa were tops in women 25-54.
Now let’s see how p.m. drive stacked up in men 25 to 54…
There’s no shortage of heavy hitters past and present here. The Buzz’s Lazlo, WHB’s Kevin Kietzman, KCFX’s Skid Roadie, 610 Sports up-and-comer Nick Wright and KMBZ news talkers Mike Shanin & Scott Parks.
And the King of the Beasts is…
Today: New Local Radio Ratings Champ & The July 2011 Top 20
Buckle up radio ratings junkies, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride…
The July digits are in, so let’s take a quick look and we can make some closer examinations later. To that end, here are the Top 20 KC Radio Stations for July in adults 25 to 54, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to midnight.
I know, I know, they don’t include the high dollar infomercials, Royals games and weekend filler. But this is where 90 percent of station’s revenues come from and where they suit up their best and their brightest, the personalities you love and/or love to hate.
So here we go….
Hearne: Slacker & KCFX Widen Lead Over The Rock & Johnny Dare in July
Let’s narrow down one of the more hotly contested radio ratings contests, shall we?
One that raised more than a few eyebrows in the June rankings in men, 25 to 54 during morning drive, 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., Monday through Friday. Remember? KCFX FM‘s Slacker nosed out Rock 98.9 FM force-to-be-reckoned with Johnny Dare for the top slot.
A ratings fluke? Apparently not.
Star Search: Frink Alert; Dallas Shuts Down Its Version of INK Magazine
One journalist’s nightmare can be another’s dream-come-true…
Take the ongoing battle for survival between Ink and venerable local alt weekly the Pitch. Light as Ink‘s content’s been (and continues to be), the Pitch has been having the rougher go. It was, until very recently, for sale for years by its now-former out-of-town owner. Its longtime editor bailed for the paycheck-friendly seas of the healthcare industry. Its top journo took a powder this past spring. Its page and ad counts are at levels that caused its former owner to audibly wince.
Then there’s Ink….
It’s hard to imagine the content of the weekly Tony likes to refer to as an "ad rag," being any more inconsequential. Outside of its ads, of course – and there is something to be said for that. But now that the Pitch is cleaning up its act under new owners a possible new variable has reared its head.
Might Ink‘s parent, the Kansas City Star close it down?
Today: Westport Party Czar High Fives P&L District’s Cover Charge Controversy
There are those who say the Power & Light District’s credit card-only cover charge policy is racist…
That locals should boycott the downtown entertainment district because of it. Not Bill Nigro. Funny thing about it is, Nigro has every reason to look for excuses to bag on the P&L. As a businessman who owns and/or has owned any number of nightclubs and/or restaurants in Westport – Kansas City’s former leading entertainment district – Nigro felt former KC Mayor Kay Barnes screwed Westport by granting all those tax breaks to the P&L.
He’s got a point and he’s not alone in that thinking….
But what’s done is done and aside from leveling the playing field, Nigro (and Partner Bill George) want to connect all of KC’s entertainment districts via their KC Strip trolley shuttles for the betterment of partykind.
And that’s hard to do when you have to devote money and resourses to dealing with sprawling, unruly crowds of errant urban youth who gather on hot summer weekend nights causing disturbances and scaring off paying customers.
This summer, those crowds have shifted for the most part to the P&L District and grown in size.
Hearne: Kanrocksas 2011, The Gnarly, the Obnoxious & the Excellent
Here’s the deal on Kanrocksas….
Forget the official accounts from newspaper reporters who went for free, get majorly schmoozed and aren’t about to bite anything resembling the hands that feed them. I think readers can smell something funny when they read headlines with expressions like "top notch" and "world class" and are unable to locate a single critical comment in the coverage.
