Tag Archives: Jim Fitzpatrick

Hearne: Last One Out Turn Out the Lights@ KC Star

Things are starting to look pretty ugly at Kansas City’s newspaper of record… Uglier than usual…so what else is new, right? Yet amidst further layoffs and a barrage of gloom and doom reports about the Kansas City Star, the newspaper choked out … Continue reading

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Hearne: Star Launches Laughable ‘Free Speech’ Argument

Close but no cigar… The Kansas City Star’s feeble attempt to characterize Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning’s lawsuit against the newspaper in regard to its monumental fuck up of editing and running Steve Rose‘s bogus hit piece against Denning is laughable. … Continue reading

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Hearne: Editors Weigh Uncertain Future of The Kansas City Star

No two ways about it, the situation is grim at 18th and Grand… That’s where the dedicated men and women of the Kansas City Star are hard at it, fighting the good fight on behalf of the written word. A handful of years … Continue reading

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Hearne: One Up, One Down in the News Mag Game

Small world… Just as the Kansas City Star‘s weekly Sunday magazine was blowing taps, another newspaper weekly was  soaring to new heights, says former Star editor and reporter Jim Fitzpatrick… “That same day the New York Times redid their magazine,” Fitzpatrick … Continue reading

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Hearne: Details Emerge on Needless Shawnee Shootout That Cost Owner His Life

In the immortal words of the great Jimmy C: “A lifetime of having been advised not to resist people pointing weapons at me would have told me to come out slowly, with my hands up and palms facing forward. I … Continue reading

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Fitzpatrick: Guns Do Kill People, Even in Shawnee

I was out of town when the Shawnee gun shop robbery and shootout took place last week, and I didn’t go back and read the news stories about it… Although from reading Hearne’s and Rich Steele’s pieces on KC Confidential, … Continue reading

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Hearne: About This Year’s Royals-Cards World Series Matchup

It’s way too early to contemplate a Cardinals-Royals rematch… Or is it? Because aside from fears of jinxing things, it’s a reasonable possibility that this year’s Kansas City Royals could end up playing the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. You know, shades … Continue reading

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Fitzpatrick: Star’s New Columnist Lineup – Money-Saver or Bold Stroke?

The Kansas City Star is now three weeks into its new rotating metro columnist system, and, while it’s far too soon to judge the success or failure of the initiative, it’s a good time to take a closer look at the concept.

Personally, I think it’s going to be difficult for any of the six new columnists (there are three carryovers, C.W. Gusewelle, Steve Kraske and Mary Sanchez) to gain traction with readers. That’s the whole idea of columnists, you know — to have them become trusted, if controversial, voices whose work becomes a destination point for readers.

Maybe this is an experiment designed to cull the reporting ranks for a new, marquee columnist or two, but this move strikes me as more of a money-saving mishmash, a cheap alternative to hiring or promoting at least one new, permanent columnist to replace the two being replaced.

But I certainly don’t claim to have a perfectly clear perspective on this, so I sought the views this week of two top, former editors who have deep wells of experience in newsroom leadership and organization.

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