Layoffs at The Star

[Jess]

I would MUCH rather read from a book than a screen, and from newsprint than a screen, myself, and I'm young, hip (relatively speaking, anyway), and very much of the online age...hell, I met my SO via an online forum like this one. No luddite, here.  But I like my newspapers and my books.  It's not like everyone who prefers such "dead" formats is a fossil. 

[KCMax]

Kansas City Star furloughs most employees for a week through year's end

On July 21, McClatchy reported second-quarter earnings of $42.2 million, or 50 cents a share, more than double earnings of $19.7 million, or 24 cents a share, last year. Revenue for the quarter was $365.3 million, down 25 percent from $489.7 million last year.

[DaveKCMO]

i really, really hope mcclatchy figures their situation out or finds a buyer interested in taking the print operation in a new direction. we cannot afford to lose what little local news coverage we have. i would hate to end up with just plog, hearne, and our local version of drudge.

[lock+load]

Mike Hendricks attempts at finding another job.

http://badpitch.blogspot.com/2009/08/mi ... ws-of.html

[KCMax]

Mike Hendricks attempts at finding another job.

http://badpitch.blogspot.com/2009/08/mi ... ws-of.html

Wow. That is sad.

[dangerboy]

Another perspective on the Hendricks story:  http://bottomlinecom.com/kcnews/unfairs ... ricks.html

The woman at Ogden who shared private communication from a job applicant ought to be fired, if not jailed.  And shame on the blog for deleting the hiring person's name and not leaving Hendricks' on there.

[LenexatoKCMO]

The woman at Ogden who shared private communication from a job applicant ought to be fired, if not jailed. 

Since when did job applicants ever gain any sort of legal or even ethical right to privacy?

[ComandanteCero]

that's messed up... they should have kept both parties anonymous if they were going to put it out there like that.  I mean, regardless of what one may think of Hendricks, I think it's unfair to put that stuff out like that and name him (even if the cover letter is incredibly stupid).

[lock+load]

The woman at Ogden who shared private communication from a job applicant ought to be fired, if not jailed.  And shame on the blog for deleting the hiring person's name and not leaving Hendricks' on there.

Jailed might be a bit extreme, but definitely fired.  The blog appears to be run by a PR person with a chip on his shoulder.  I think he was just looking to take someone down and this was just too easy.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Jailed might be a bit extreme, but definitely fired.  The blog appears to be run by a PR person with a chip on his shoulder.  I think he was just looking to take someone down and this was just too easy.

Could the "chip" on the shoulder possibly have to do with the fact that Hendricks totally bags on the recipient and their profession?  If you send a letter to somone acting rude and insulting to the person on the other end, you probably should be prepared that this person on the other end could disclose it. 

If I write a letter to you along the lines of "Dear lock+load, I think you are dumb. regards", I think I have probably forfeited any right to expect you to treat me with respece, keep it in confidence or cover my ass. 

[lock+load]

^I totally agree, the whole email was pretty stupid to start with.  Maybe he thought they'd share his sense of humor towards PR folks.  And you of course have to expect anything might be shared these days.  But that doesn't make sharing the email right.  It reflects very poorly on the company looking for help if they are going to throw someone under a bus, no matter how rude or stupid that person is.

[KCMax]

[KCMax]

The Kansas City Star lays off a dozen workers, eliminates unfilled positions

[zlohban]

The day that Target announces that they no longer need to place printed ads will mark the end of this dinosaur.  I see that day coming soon, I receive most of the weekly ads in my email box for free and can read them ad my leasure or from my phone.  Google reader is my newspaper, cheap and efficient.

[chrizow]

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/02/22/17 ... emble.html

more A+ content from the star.

[DaveKCMO]

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/02/22/17 ... emble.html

more A+ content from the star.

the dogs look like dogs and the people look like people. WHERE IS DA NEWZ!

[dangerboy]

some of the people look like dogs, just not their own dogs...

[chrizow]

some of the people look like dogs, just not their own dogs...

[trailerkid]

how many people on here still read the star? 100% serious question.

i used to subscribe daily, read it front to back. even submitted letters to the editor. now i get all my local + nat news online. rarely kcstar.com and just check twitter & blogs of local newsies. never pick up hard copy news anymore. the star just really seems like a joke-- a foregone conclusion at this point. dead.

[cknab1]

I still read the paper daily, but I'm begining to realize at this point it is more of a habit then anything else.  The Sunday paper is a joke, Monday is such a small paper I don't even finish one cup of coffee. On bad weather days it doesn't get to my door in time.  At some point, I'm  going to dump it, but for some reason it seems to be a hard habit to break.  It's too bad, because a good newspaper would be such a great thing to have, but it seems the Star is just interested in saving money regardless of what it does to their customer base.