Layoffs at The Star

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langosta
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by langosta »

smh wrote: Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:25 am I still maintain we need a local non-profit daily. Bring all of the local Star diaspora for a couple of years to help set it up and give it legitimacy. Honestly starting to think this ought to be part of the Chamber's Big 5. The absence of a local paper of record is devastating for this region. So many stories left unreported.
The last few years of the Star's reporting haven't aligned with the Chamber's views. That makes me doubt they will want to revive it.
WoodDraw
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by WoodDraw »

I'm not sure how it would work though. Kevin Collision is doing his own thing with city and development news. The athletic has hired a lot of good sports reporters.

What's missing is any type of investigative team, business reporting, city hall work, etc. The stuff that requires being around and cultivating sources and relationships. And just having the financial support to report or stories without publishing regularly.

I don't think anyone has much affinity for the editorial side of the paper that's desperate to save it.

Maybe targeted funding to kcur to hire a couple people.

I don't know if there is anyone with the money or knowledge to take on a modern, local news thing. Most of the money in the city probably is probably small c conservative enough and still subscribes to the star and wind just throw money after bad to keep the status quo.
kenrbnj
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by kenrbnj »

The Kansas City Star has chosen self-imposed irrelevance. It's a shame.

To distinguish itself from the BizJournals; they killed their business desk. Kevin started his own newspaper (to which I subscribe); the foundation of *that* mistake. Recognize Kevin was a long-time business/development luminary within the business column.

Sports? KC Star elected to defer to the other E-newspapers.

SO: What - did - they - do?

KC Star focused on "Opinion" and "Politics". Yes, brilliant. A *LIBERAL* Opinion and Politics. ..In a staunchly conservative region. Kansas City Star chose to compete against "Pitch Weekly". How damn stupid could these people be? Do they think they work in a tattoo studio?

Kansas City Star committed effort towards their bankruptcy. They EARNED it. Actually, the parent company did; as they allowed profound incompetence to guide operations of KC Star.

So. How will Kansas City utilize the printing press building when it's finally gone?

(Bon Voyage, KC Star. You're not the newspaper I grew up with.)
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by beautyfromashes »

kenrbnj wrote: Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:27 pm So. How will Kansas City utilize the printing press building when it's finally gone?
For the 1000 time: A-QUAR-I-UM!!!
shinatoo
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by shinatoo »

beautyfromashes wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 12:05 am
kenrbnj wrote: Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:27 pm So. How will Kansas City utilize the printing press building when it's finally gone?
For the 1000 time: A-QUAR-I-UM!!!
For the 1001 time: They don't just print the Star there!!!
dukuboy1
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by dukuboy1 »

kenrbnj,
I would argue that the KC metro is more moderate, than staunchly conservative. Having grown up in KC for all but 3 years of my 46 on this Earth my observation is there is a good mix of liberal & conservative. Also a mix of people of people that may fall toward the extremes but rational enough to understand the importance of meeting in the middle. Yes KC Metro has those who blindly follow the extremes but I feel those are the exception and not the rule. Honestly I like that a sensible moderate viewpoint can be shared as representative of the METRO. Get outside that I agree it tends to skew conservative quickly.
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smh
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by smh »

shinatoo wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 9:06 am
beautyfromashes wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2020 12:05 am
kenrbnj wrote: Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:27 pm So. How will Kansas City utilize the printing press building when it's finally gone?
For the 1000 time: A-QUAR-I-UM!!!
For the 1001 time: They don't just print the Star there!!!
They also print the brochures for the aquarium (Coming Soon!)?
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beautyfromashes
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by beautyfromashes »

Octopus ink.
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chaglang
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by chaglang »

kenrbnj wrote: Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:27 pm The Kansas City Star has chosen self-imposed irrelevance. It's a shame.

To distinguish itself from the BizJournals; they killed their business desk. Kevin started his own newspaper (to which I subscribe); the foundation of *that* mistake. Recognize Kevin was a long-time business/development luminary within the business column.

Sports? KC Star elected to defer to the other E-newspapers.

SO: What - did - they - do?

KC Star focused on "Opinion" and "Politics". Yes, brilliant. A *LIBERAL* Opinion and Politics. ..In a staunchly conservative region. Kansas City Star chose to compete against "Pitch Weekly". How damn stupid could these people be? Do they think they work in a tattoo studio?

Kansas City Star committed effort towards their bankruptcy. They EARNED it. Actually, the parent company did; as they allowed profound incompetence to guide operations of KC Star.

So. How will Kansas City utilize the printing press building when it's finally gone?

(Bon Voyage, KC Star. You're not the newspaper I grew up with.)
In your schadenfreude you neglected to mention that the internet was invented. I hear that was a pretty big deal.
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alejandro46
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by alejandro46 »

Subscribed for the future TIF/Historic tax credit application for Aquarium re-use.

"KC ZOO @ THE XROADS coming soon!"
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chaglang
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by chaglang »

Whichever hedge fund now owns the Star thanks you for your donation to their holiday party fund.
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DaveKCMO
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by DaveKCMO »

Restore 16th Street!
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smh
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by smh »

Looking forward to tracking the progress of The Beacon.

http://www.thebeacon.media
kenrbnj
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by kenrbnj »

chaglang wrote: Tue Feb 18, 2020 5:39 pm
kenrbnj wrote: Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:27 pm The Kansas City Star has chosen self-imposed irrelevance. It's a shame.

To distinguish itself from the BizJournals; they killed their business desk. Kevin started his own newspaper (to which I subscribe); the foundation of *that* mistake. Recognize Kevin was a long-time business/development luminary within the business column.

Sports? KC Star elected to defer to the other E-newspapers.

SO: What - did - they - do?

KC Star focused on "Opinion" and "Politics". Yes, brilliant. A *LIBERAL* Opinion and Politics. ..In a staunchly conservative region. Kansas City Star chose to compete against "Pitch Weekly". How damn stupid could these people be? Do they think they work in a tattoo studio?

Kansas City Star committed effort towards their bankruptcy. They EARNED it. Actually, the parent company did; as they allowed profound incompetence to guide operations of KC Star.

So. How will Kansas City utilize the printing press building when it's finally gone?

(Bon Voyage, KC Star. You're not the newspaper I grew up with.)
In your schadenfreude you neglected to mention that the internet was invented. I hear that was a pretty big deal.
Don't confuse my frustration with Schadenfreude. The definition is "pleasure from others' displeasure. Be advise the emotion is "frustration". Not happiness.

The Kansas City Star had an Internet presence; with a paywall. The "internet invention" is managed by BizJournals and more recently CityScene. They generate excellent content; they seek compensation via their paywall.

The Kansas City Star has the same infrastructure as CitySceneKC and BizJournals. What did they do wrong? They became a political mouthpiece at the expense of actual news.

Make no mistake: I am not happy about the fate of The Kansas City Star.
WoodDraw
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by WoodDraw »

It still amazes me that people have such strong political views that it causes them to believe in nutso shit. I don't know why it amazes me still, yet it does.

Local news is struggling everywhere for the same reason: they had very lucrative geographic monopolies that went away. They were left with all of the legacy costs and very little of that sweet new digital money.
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Steve52
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by Steve52 »

WoodDraw wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:45 pm It still amazes me that people have such strong political views that it causes them to believe in nutso shit. I don't know why it amazes me still, yet it does.

Local news is struggling everywhere for the same reason: they had very lucrative geographic monopolies that went away. They were left with all of the legacy costs and very little of that sweet new digital money.
The new American Dream is a phone and status updates.
flyingember
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by flyingember »

WoodDraw wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:45 pm Local news is struggling everywhere for the same reason: they had very lucrative geographic monopolies that went away. They were left with all of the legacy costs and very little of that sweet new digital money.
They didn't always have monopolies. In Liberty there was enough money before for three papers to cover the same content (Star, Tribune, Sun) and it shifted so much to online that only one of those three remains and it was bought out/merged.
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chaglang
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by chaglang »

CityScene is a well connected guy with a good blog. That's it. I suspect people subscribe to the BizJournal because it's essentially an industry site for local businesses. They will print your PR flak's press release and call it a story. And they give out awards. But as a legit news organization, it's nothing.

If the Star were the only newspaper that was struggling, the idea that a sudden liberal tangent doomed them could have merit. But papers of all sizes are dead or dying simultaneously.
mean
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by mean »

I think the op/ed side of the Star has always skewed a bit liberal anyway, but now it seems even the most conservative commentator is in fact a closet progressive socialist liberal if they deviate one iota from accepting each of Trump's bizarre hallucinations as reality.
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Re: Layoffs at The Star

Post by flyingember »

mean wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 5:03 pm I think the op/ed side of the Star has always skewed a bit liberal anyway, but now it seems even the most conservative commentator is in fact a closet progressive socialist liberal if they deviate one iota from accepting each of Trump's bizarre hallucinations as reality.
I need to find proof, but I saw somewhere that many Democrats would be seen as center-right on the political spectrum.

When the center of politics is as far right as it is today a right leaning opinion could be closer to a socialist utopia than not
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