KCRag Forum

trailerkid wrote: How did Hearne Christopher not get fired, but the arts critic did? That's gotta be a slap right in the face.

Hearne Christopher getting fired would've made so many people in this town happy. Talk about a no-talent hack...I'm still waiting for him to start a blog for the Star so I can read daily updates on Tommy Morrison and the owner of Kief's Stereos in Lawrence.

which arts critic?  alice thorson?

hearne christopher's column is the most worthless thing i've ever read.  it's like a ham radio broadcast from kansas city circa 1987. 

chrizow wrote: which arts critic?  alice thorson?

hearne christopher's column is the most worthless thing i've ever read.  it's like a ham radio broadcast from kansas city circa 1987. 

Paul Horsley.

www.bottomlinecom.com/kcnews/musicorconsumers.html

www.bottomlinecom.com/kcnews/horsleyfanstoprotest.html

chrizow wrote: hearne christopher's column is the most worthless thing i've ever read.  it's like a ham radio broadcast from kansas city circa 1987.

Guess I'm a little slow today, I am in Arkansas after all. But what do you mean?

I am mostly a lurker here, but I just heard some disturbing news form a close associate who knows someone EXTREMELY reputable with significant connections to a lot of important people at McClatchy.

First, another round of massive layoffs at the KC Star are planned for this week and may be announced as soon as tommorrow.

Second, McClatchy is planning to fold the Star completely within 2 years, leaving KC as the only city of its size without a major newspaper.

Apparently advertising revenue is the issue.

Discuss please...

watcher64110 wrote: Second, McClatchy is planning to fold the Star completely within 2 years, leaving KC as the only city of its size without a major newspaper.

I have some ocean front property in Kansas I'd like to sell to you.

I wouldn't necessarily believe it myself, though the source is undeniable.

They may unload the star, but it's not going to cease to exist.

watcher64110 wrote: I am mostly a lurker here, but I just heard some disturbing news form a close associate who knows someone EXTREMELY reputable with significant connections to a lot of important people at McClatchy.

First, another round of massive layoffs at the KC Star are planned for this week and may be announced as soon as tommorrow.

Second, McClatchy is planning to fold the Star completely within 2 years, leaving KC as the only city of its size without a major newspaper.

Apparently advertising revenue is the issue.

Discuss please...

i'd go with not true, but then again mcclatchy had a very good rep for taking care of it's employees and weathering the lean times without too many layoffs. lately though they have done things that have not been in keeping with that idea. they just got rid of their realcities network which i believe was a profitable venture  and they did layoff a bunch of folks a few months ago. then again the star is one of their better revenue producing papers and when they bought the star they pretty much got a brand new production building filled with new equipment for free, but heck, who knows these days. don't know is there is anything left to cut though. we'll just have to wait and see.

aren't fridays one of the more popular days to layoff workers?

watcher64110 wrote: I wouldn't necessarily believe it myself, though the source is undeniable.

unless you outed your source and he provided the name of his "friend" at mcclatchy, i wouldn't call it undeniable. you can call it a number of things, but undeniable, no.

I certainly hope it is not true.  I am not inclined to be a portender of doom.  I simply can't figure why someone on that level would be inclined to suggest such a thing to my friend unless it had some element of truth.  There seemed to be the suggestion that the KC Star was in fact not producing the necessary revenue relative to the other markets and some such plan was in place.  Some of the recent choices down there would indicate that there are in fact some serious issues.

Exactly.  In my experience working in print journalism, absolutely everything is about advertising revenues.  Everything.

65 Employees leaving the Star

Names of some of the departing

we lost 7 in my dept.

2 voluntary

5 not.

Philadelphia Inquirer files for bankruptcy.

SF Chronicle to shut down if no buyer found.  That's the one that gets me.  12th largest US paper cant' make it?

The Chronicle was one of the first of the large papers in dramatically shaving its staff, several years back. That was when the writing started appearing pretty glaringly on the wall, and spurred my getting out of the industry.

Another round?

http://www.kansascity.com/382/story/1074874.html

Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. said Monday that it plans to eliminate 1,600 jobs, or 15 percent of its work force, as it contends with declining revenue and a deepening recession.

The company, which owns The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee and other properties, had said that it planned deep cost cuts this year, hoping to save between $100 million to $110 million, and slashed its dividend 90 percent