Tag Archives: Hearne Christopher Jr.
Hearne: And Now the Rest of the Radio Ratings; Top 10 Men & Women
Now it’s time to lay down the numbers most important to radio execs and advertisers…
The Top 10 highest rated stations in June for Men and Women, ages 25 to 54. In prime time – 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Monday through Friday. That’s where 85 to 90 percent of a station’s revenues are earned and its heaviest duty air personalities slug it out for the survival.
Let’s start with men…
Today: Star Columnist Takes One for the Team Ahead of 2nd Quarter Cutbacks
No more shaking in his shoes every three months for newly axed Star columnist Steve Penn…
While the rest of the newspaper’s staff stands braced for the next round of what have become almost inevitable quarterly cutbacks and/or layoffs, Penn got his walking papers over the weekend.
"For using material that wasn’t his and representing it as his own work," the paper explained to readers this morning.
A staggering loss? Not really.
Penn, along with fellow news columnist Mike Hendricks took a major hit two years ago and were converted to part timers in one quarterly cutback. Penn took it like a man, quietly suffering the hit while Hendricks brayed and whined on his Facebook page and inviting "friends" to help him find a better-paying job elsewhere.
But that was then; and now?
Star Search: The Truth & Nothing But the Truth Re Steve Penn’s Firing by The Star
I’m about to do the unthinkable…
I’m going to tell you exactly why and how Steve Penn was fired by the Star. In my humble opinion, of course. But trust me, I spent 16 years toiling in the belly of the beast and I know how things work at 18th and Grand.
Steve Penn wasn’t merely fired because he slipped up and got caught. He was fired because he wasn’t very good – which is being generous – and the paper stumbled on to an unimpeachable reason to rid itself of him.
Star Search: Ever Wonder What It’s Like to Live in Topeka?
I didn’t think so…
So I’ll skitter past the above headline’s premise. And then let you in on a couple things about the state of newspapering in the capital of Kansas that you’ll never in a million years hear from the moist, sincere lips of jimmycsays. You know, Fitzpatrick.
Mostly because he’s not dating anybody there (like I am). At least I don’t think he is.
I’ll begin by telling you that by KC standards there’s not a whole lot to do in Topeka or T Town as some of the hipper natives refer to it. I mean, they’ve got Olive Garden, Famous Fave’s, IHOP and most of the main food groups as defined by America’s top chain restaurants. There’s a buncha other stuff, too. Family stuff, church stuff, Fred Phelps stuff and that nutty new governor Sam Brownback.
I won’t bore you with the details…
Hearne: The Katie Horner Dilemma; Weather Channel or Quietly into the Night?
The odds of storm siren Katie Horner leaving KCTV for the joys of motherhood? Slim to none…
Oh, that’s what the station said in its wondrous press release about Horner leaving all right. That Horner “feels she needs some additional time with her young daughters."
She may feel that way to some extent, but come on. Clearly, Horner likes cashing paychecks as well – who doesn’t?
If Horner had nothing to hide, nothing to fear, why isn’t she returning phone calls?
Hearne: Marilyn Maye Out of Hospital, Back at Jardine’s Next Month
This just in…
Stricken singer Marilyn Maye – hospitalized last month the day before she was to perform a series of sold out shows at Jardine’s for Father’s Day week – is back up and at ’em. The legendary KC jazz diva was hospitalized with a rare case of kidney stones, a painful condition more rare in women and older folks.
Maye’s mishap sparked a logistical nightmare for the jazz club…
Today: Crime and Punishment from the Red Light District
And now, the rest of the story…
On the heels of my stunning red-light cam bust for turning right onto 39th off Southwest Trafficway, I contacted Kansas City Public Works spokesman Dennis Gagnon to get the skinny on some of the pricklier aspects of the controversial program.
In the case of my particular bust – which came as a bit of a surprise to me since rather than running the light, I merely turned right without coming to a full stop- "That is one of the few intersections that have multiple directions covered," Gagnon says. "It has three directions covered – we don’t have it covered from the west."
Too bad I wasn’t leaving Missie B’s and turning right onto the Trafficway from 39th.
"My guess us you didn’t stop," Gagnon says. "Did you roll around the corner?"
As a matter of fact…
Hearne: Red lights! Camera! No more action!
At long last, Marcie Paegelow‘s harrowing daily nightmare is over….
For what seemed a lifetime, Paegelow witnessed crash after grisly crash from her front row seat at A&A Royal Auto Trim on the southeast corner of 39th and Southwest Trafficway. Because prior to the installation of red light cameras two years back it was one of the most dangerous intersections in Kansas City.
Hearne: Bryan Callen on Nick Nolte, Offing Zombies, Shaving on TV & Breaking Out
Get More: MTV Shows
Outside of KC Confidential, Bryan Callen may be one of the most famous guys you never heard of…
Caught up to him during his recent gig at Stanford’s, but held off since Craig wrote about him everyday for like a week.
But now it can be told…
Hearne: Former Aide Says No Scientology Connect with Funk Family
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Word that Mark Funkhouser is hightailing it out of KC for a D.C. think tank sparked a bevy of Google searches by locals…
Funk is going to work for a new company called the Governing Institute. Which just happens to be owned by a company associated with Government Technology magazine that was sold two years ago to a media company whose top management include Scientologists, New York Times media writer Tim Arango reported in 2009.
The implication being something sinister might be in the offing. However Arango provided no evidence of Scientologist malfeasance in his story and there have been no followups subsequent to the initial handwringing.
Today: Infamous Red Light Cam @ 39th & S.W. Trafficway Claims Another Victim…Me
I never should have read Crime and Punishment….
Then again, I was in high school and had little choice. The Dostoevsky classic wrestles with lead character Raskolnikov‘s belief that some people are above the law and have the right to commit crimes.
What god-fearing American motorist hasn’t come to terms with that concept as they race along 10 mph over the speed limit? There’s a word for it – scofflaw – a person who flouts the law, rules & accepted practices.
But here’s a downside to playing Raskolnikov…
Hearne: Looking For Real Deal Media Bloodbath? Try The Pitch v. Ink
Forget trivial Tweets by second string radio flunkies, we’re talking survival of the fittest…
The death dance between three decade-old alt weekly the Pitch and three year-old, ad rag Ink is as serious as it gets. The battle lines are drawn, no slap fights here. These two publications are fighting for their lives
In no small part because both are mired in the money-losing world of newsprint – which Tony likes to remind us is a dinosaur industry. And neither may actually be in the black – not if a hardcore breakdown of costs, expenses and revenues were laid bare. The Pitch has been a money-loser and up for sale at a fire sale price for years, its founding publisher revealed earlier this year on KC Confidential.
Today: No Royals, No Chiefs – Sports Talk Radio War or Afghanistan?
With the Royals in the tank, the Chiefs in limbo, there aren’t a lot of sexy sports topics to kick around…
So why not drum up a sports radio war? Despite the Royals poor play 610 Sports has had a few upticks. And there’s always the listeners who love to hate WHB superstar Kevin Kietzman.
So you know, let there be war!
But apart from making Cowtowners’ water cooler lives a bit more interesting, is there really a sports radio war being waged in Kansas City?
Yes and no – emphasis on the latter.
Hearne: Jerry Mazer Taking Medical Marijuana Vacation in San Francisco
Cancel the Jerry Mazer memorial statue fund raising drive…
For now, anyway. The Plaza panhandler is alive and well and holed up in California as had been rumored. However, most staffers at Barnes & Noble on the Plaza and fellow panhandlers outside thought Mazer had succumbed to cancer and gone to Cheeseburger Paradise, no record of his death could be found.
Was the down payment-on-a-cheeseburger seeking vagabond be alive somewhere, reduced to roadkill or lying in an unmarked grave?
Nobody knew for sure….
That is not until Scooters Coffeehouse manager Kait Reynolds launched her own private investigation.
Back Talk:
Once upon a time there were comments…
Clever, surly, outlandish ones – disgusting ones even. You know who you are. And unlike some local media / entertainment sites, KC Confidential – against our better judgement at times – greenlights readers to deliver the good, the bad and the ugly.
Most of the time.
Several months back we started Back Talk. Kind of a "greatest hits" compilation from KCC‘s gifted-at-times, always ardent comment-ributors. Unfortunately, no sooner did we debut it, than a spate of difficulties with the new Web site slowed the comments section to a trickle.
That was then – today, I re-gift to you, Back Talk…
Today: Case Closed; Fitzpatrick Slams Gavel on Zach Myers Mystery
"The tears flowed on both sides of the aisle yesterday as 16-year-old Joshua Pena pleaded guilty in Johnson County District Court to involuntary manslaughter in the vehicular death last year of a close friend, 16-year-old Zach Myers."
So begins former Star reporter Jim Fitzpatrick’s final installment on the traffic death last December of the Olathe teen.
"As a result of a plea agreement, Pena was sentenced to 60 days in the Juvenile Detention Center and two years of supervised probation," Fitzpatrick continues. "If he fails to abide by the terms of the probation, he could be sentenced to a detention term of 18 months to three years. Also, his driving privileges were suspended for a year."
Today: Marilyn Maye in Rehab, Plots Jardine’s Comeback & Karrin in November!
This time last week legendary Cowtown crooner Marilyn Maye was still down and out…
"I haven’t talked to Marilyn, she’s still in rehab," said Jardine’s owner Beena Brandsgard. "Because she lost a lot of her weight and strength."
A trio of kidney stones sidelined the singer the night before she was to perform a string of sold-out shows at Jardine’s for Father’s Day week last month.
The latest?
Today: Knuckleheads Saloon and Isle of Capri Hope to Dodge Flood Bullet
A story in yesterday’s newspaper warned that "nervous businesses" were braced for flooding…
Complete with an ominous disclaimer from one high profile potential victim located on the banks of the Missouri River.
"There was no word from the Isle of Capri about its Kansas City casino," the story said.
Well, hang onto your sandbags cuz all it took was a single call to get that elusive "word" on the casino’s flood status.
Car: The 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK350, Hombres Welcome!
From my car review in The Hills – that upscale magazine you’ve probably never laid eyes upon unless you reside in Mission Hills Sunset Hill or the ritzier parts of the Plaza or Ward Parkway corridor – I give you my review of the new Merecedes SLK.
*******
The wind in your hair, the bugs in your teeth – the summer sun beating down – what’s not to love about a convertible sports car?
Passion, romance, sex appeal, excitement – free from the aforementioned worldly distractions. That’s what upscale sports car buyers are looking for and that’s what Mercedes 2012 SLK350 roadster has to offer. At an affordable price, no less.
Hearne: Eyes Wide Open, Robert Butler Saddles Up for Transformer 3
Two thumbs up, to recently axed Kansas City Star movie critic Robert W. Butler…
It takes a darn good sport to put up with me at times. Like that’s a secret. And from the looks of Butler’s just-posted review of the new Transformers, that’s exactly what he is – a good sport.
"If you somehow find yourself in a theater showing this third episode in the ‘Transformers’ saga, there’s a bit of good news," Butler writes on his new blog. "It’s not nearly as bad as installment 2. I base that judgment on my ability to keep my eyes open this time around."
Here, here!
