In the end most big media hyped events leave people disappointed.
Showdowns are never as good in reality as they play in people’s minds. To wit, as part of my blogging public service I’ve devised a few benchmarks by which to judge today’s Jason Whitlock spectacle. Sadly, I can’t help but feel a lot of disappointment with Kansas City right now given that so many locals are anticipating this afternoon’s discussion as if it was the Frost/Nixon showdown.
Forget about “The Dumbing Down of America,” Kansas City just doesn’t care about the substantial. Even if Internet rumors of Whitlock taking down $2 million at Fox are titillating.
Nevertheless, I’m not trying to make a difference. So it’s important to offer a preview so that we can know in advance EXACTLY why we’re going to be disappointed — Other than the fact that we’re all taking time out of our days to hear the story of a middling sports columnist at a second rate paper in the middle of nowhere. But I digress . . .
Here’s what to look for:
Already, Whitlock is trying to play it cool on Twitter, because at this point if he doesn’t straighten out Nick Wright’s nose he’s letting us all down.
Here are the points that need to be addressed.
1. Racism – If they don’t at least acknowledge the subject than I’m removing Metro Sports from my basic cable subscription. While I’d like to see Whitlock call everyone at The Star a “white devil” like I do every morning, I’d settle for at least a perspective of an African-American professional working in an industry that has failed to do much to advance diversity in the mass media. Also Whitlock’s making so much more money than all of those newsies with far more experience and education might well draw the sordid topic of Affirmative Action into play.
2. Hateration – If Whitlock doesn’t hate on at least two editors then Nick Wright needs to enroll in the Kansas City Fire Academy just like his Dad, Kansas City Fire Department Union Boss Louie Wright probably wanted him to.
3. Legacy Media Perspective – If Whitlock is claiming that he left them, he needs to accurately explain the decision with something more than philosophic answers. Has he lost faith in the dead tree media? Is a career in basic cable now more profitable and promising than working at the paper-of-record in a failing Midwestern City.
4. More insults aimed at Hearne please!!! Every time the namesake of this site is blasted by Whitlock, the credibility of this blog is boosted by leaps and bounds. People who waste time with this kind of pointless media controversy are a prime bloggy target market.
5. Beyond sports – This kind of interview is mostly for mindless jocks and I’m sure I’ll get bored with all the meaningless sports talk. But at the end of his career with the Star Whitlock was about to branch out into more discussions of Social Issues. Apparently, this move was greeted with a great deal of resistance. But Whitlock’s fame from yucking it up on Oprah’s couch and weighing in on other social issues is just as important as his insights on meaningless sports minutia. I’d like to know how Whitlock sniffing jockstraps for the past 16 years qualifies him to take on more relevant topics.
Tony Botello
Steve Kramer
Tony I hope he jumps your butt.
jt
Your point four is spot on. I now know who Hearne Christopher is and I live in Houston. This story is like a car wreck on the freeway, you don’t want to look but you just can’t help yourself.
John
Holly Lawton and Fannin had an affair??I’m sorry momma. I never ment to hurt you….I never ment to make you cry but tonight I’m cleaning out my closet.
smartman
Martin Luther King had a dream that THE EXPLANATION has shattered. Momma Whitlock needs to start breastfeeding again ’cause it’s clear her baby never grew up. Mike Royko is spinning so fast he’s going back in time with John Titor to try and stop the moment of conception of this pant load.
Donny Osmond said it best, “go away little girl”.
Jimmy Simpson
Isn’t this America? If you don’t like Whitlock, don’t read/listen to him. I can’t stand him, but trying to tear him down and insulting him serves no purpose. The country is about to boil over and this crap does not help anything.
Winner
The for Mike “The Party Starter” Fannin to start putting out those resumes… He got hit hard by Whitlock.
Duke
Wow. Big black man holding tramp-stamped “babes” in a strip club. So been there, done that, realized how stupid it was, never went back. If that’s high on your list of manliness requirements, you must lead a lonely life. Kinda sad peckerheads.
Michael
Wow. Awesome radio. Hearing dirt about the editor of the paper. The radio station freaking out and pulling them off the air because they were worried about liability. Wow. That was crazy. Did he really say the editor was getting high and boozing and womanizing and kissing men? I actually like Whitlock more after seeing and listening to him than I did before. Came off being honest and sincere.
bob
Looks like he pretty much hit on target ALL of those except for #4. Not too disappointing.
Rick
I was cheering on Hearne and still do, but the reality is Big Sexy gets the last laugh. He quit cuz he had a three year $2.1 mil job waiting for him. KC Con missed that part of the story.
_______________
HC: Listen up; Nick made that claim, Whitlock did not confirm the number. He let it go, unaddressed. Only that he will be writing for Fox and saying that he (already) was “wealthy”
craig glazer
Nice job Jason, you likely cost the editor of the Star his post. Touching and sincere story. I think you gained many fans from that interview. I agree with Hearne, I know you are with Fox, but blog writters don’t get three year 2 million dollar deals, however like Hearne said Jason did not answer that question from Nick and Nick should have waited for the answer. Otherwise good job by Nick overall, he had to be a bit nervous. It was dramatic tv/radio loved it.
bschloz
Surreal TV for the first hour…God Dammit how can you not pull for this guy. Didn’t catch the interview can’t wait to see Hall’s takes.
I knew he could write…but man that dude can talk.
Joe
I’ll admit I’m stunned at the thought of JW getting 2.1 million over three years. I mean, seriously? Fox has been paying him as a part timer for a column or two a week, and now they’d pay him 700K a year for the likely same number of columns? No wonder Murdoch is losing money.
Of course, JW probably has some Fox TV work as part of such a paycheck. And as they said in “The Player”, “you know the rumors are always true.”
I bet he IS getting that much. Which only goes to prove once more: fools and their money are soon parted.
smartman
Whitlock came across as petty, na
TigerVIP
If you stuck around for the follow up Leif Lisec asked about the salary and Jason said it was a major exaggeration and that his salary was nowhere near that figure.
Ptolemy
Smartman…you nailed it. If I am going to remember the KC sports journalists of the end of the 20th and the start of the 21st Centuries, my slate has Mackey, McGuff, Kagel, and Dutton. Whitlock is much closer to the term “pantload” than “pantheon.”
Rick
If that $2.1 million figure is actually wrong and way off, then I don’t have to shoot myself now.
Randy Bobandy, member IATPSAATPS
Is Hearne going to give me a cookie? because I predicted on here when we were doing the guessing game that he was gone to Fox and would be one of the main faces of Fox Sports and an occasional talking head when they needed a black face to “denounce” black people on their “News” network.
How did everyone not see this coming? I don’t even work in media anymore!
_________________________
HC: Of course I’ll give you a cookie. But the guessing game wasn’t so much where W would go, but whether he would stay at the Star and what the reason for his absence was. Since Lisec outed Nick Wright’s rookie error – misstating that W was going to be pulling down $2.1 million – and he already was at Fox, the only thing that maybe has changed is he’s going to be doing more for them.
How much of that is spin, or yet to be determined? We really have no idea until Fox comes out and says or W starts showing up on TV, etc. at some future point.