Hearne: More Problems @ The Pitch — Main Phone Lines Down

When sorrows come, they bear not single spies…

Murphy’s Law or a sign of tough times? You make the call. A month or two back the URL for Pitch.com was listed for sale by Go Daddy. False alarm – just a fluke – publisher Joel Hornbostel assured. Somebody screwed up on the renewal and the alt weekly had to get a new credit card to the pub’s provider to protect its domain.

No harm, no foul.

Next when the Pitch moved across the street into new, far smaller offices a couple weeks back, it reportedly had to provide a credit card to pay for the move after its credit was denied. Somewhat of a close call, but all’s well that ends well and the mag is now safely ensconced on the west side of 17th and Main Street in downtown KC.

The latest?

Anxious callers to the Pitch’s longtime main number – 816 561-6061 – report getting a recording when trying to contact the troubled alt weekly.

“The number you have dialed is not in service,” the message advises “Please check the number and try again.”

It’s no secret that print publications are in difficult days. And a number of smaller publications – even the mighty Boston Phoenix – have had to close their doors.

So what’s the deal here?

Apparently some Pitch staffers phones are working just fine. However, calls to not just the main Pitch line but to the main telephone numbers for display advertising, classified advertising and online advertising all garner the same response:

“The number you have dialed is not in service…”

A check with other sources say it may merely be a post-move, IT problem.

“Because they just got a new phone system,” says a source. “And they were having problems installing it and getting it to work after the move.”

Stay tuned…