If you’ve ever thought about writing a “letter to the editor” for possible publication in The Kansas City Star — but for some reason didn’t act on the impulse — now’s the time to do so.
This is a very strange period as far as The Star’s editorial page is concerned. For the past three days — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — the editorial page (not the Op-Ed page, just the editorial page) has contained only letters to the editor and political cartoons.
The editorial page has been devoid of editorials, staff produced or commissioned. It looks and feels downright weird.
The last editorial to appear was on Monday, and it was a boring piece — obviously not staff written — about an Internet conspiracy theory that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz harbors.
The reason for this strange period, of course, is that the editorial board is down to one person, Publisher Tony Berg, who took charge of the paper last January. Berg recently fired the paper’s longtime lead-editorial writer, Yael Abouhalkah. Several days later, Lewis Diuguid, the only other editorial writer, resigned. Both men’s last day was last Friday, and since Monday, the only name under the words “Editorial Board” on the masthead has been Tony Berg.
Only at small-town papers do publishers routinely write editorials, and, as a result, Berg is a supervisor with no one to supervise, at least as far as the editorial page is concerned.
…From a few e-mail exchanges and the fact that Berg has reduced newspaper delivery problems (the level of complaints I’ve heard is way down), I have the impression Berg is a smart man and will pull the editorial page back together. A few months ago he hired a new editorial page editor, Colleen McCain Nelson, who has excellent credentials, but she won’t be coming for at least another month. She currently is covering Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the Wall Street Journal.
So we’re in an interregnum of sorts, between the Abouhalkah and McCain Nelson eras, and it’s a bit ugly right now. A friend pointed out that in addition to running loads of letters to the editor, the political cartoons are being sized much larger than they had been…I would think that would please only editorial cartoonist Lee Judge.
I have heard (and reported this recently) that former editorial page editor Rich Hood might be returning as an editorial writer. I have also heard that Miriam Pepper, another former editorial page editor, might be returning for a while. But I have no knowledge if either of those moves is happening.
All that being said, I haven’t received a lot of complaints about the lack of editorials, other than from a couple of friends who have repeatedly bemoaned the fact that The Star is without opinion writers at a time when the paper would normally be analyzing political races and running editorial endorsements.
As a dedicated reader and former Star employee, I certainly hope this situation gets turned around soon.
One other thing…I would like to see the editorial page returned to its rightful place on the last inside-facing page of the A section. It should be there every day, in the same place.
Currently, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the editorial page is on the second page of the four-page “In Depth” insert. But where the “In Depth” insert starts varies from day to day, making it difficult for readers to turn quickly to the editorial page.
“In Depth” has been a good addition to the paper, giving it more meat than it used to have. But hiding the editorial page four days a week is a big mistake. Tony Berg needs to fix that, and I suggest he start when Colleen McCain Nelson arrives.
For now, the king is dead. Long live the queen. She can’t be crowned soon enough.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Word ‘O The Day: interregnum.
Thank you, thank you.
If you want endorsements and you live in Kansas you can always get the ones from the Mainstream Coalition. They were always virtually identical to the ones in The Star. If you want honest government, vote against their endorsements.
I did see where Yael is going to start writing what he claims will be a daily blog. That must make The Star even happier that they got him off the payroll when he’s willing to do the same job for free. So for those who miss him, he’s back, sort of.
It’s definitely hard to give up a profile as big as the one he has established and not a bit surprising that he immediately started a blog. He’ll soon find, though, that it’s nothing like having the run of the editorial page of a major metropolitan daily. It will be interesting to see how much influence he can bring to bear. My guess is…not much.
What a mess. I wish Yael good luck. I thought he was a hard-working journalist who kicked asses that needed to be kicked. If he sets up his blog to provide email notifications, as you do, I’ll probably read him. If he doesn’t, I probably won’t.
Has Lewis Diuguid announced any plans?
I haven’t heard anything about Lewis’ plans, Les…But Yael’s website is http://www.yaelabouhalkah.com
A notification registration link is at the bottom.
I guess none of the other yael abouhalkahs out there tried to claim that web domain.
Now I can read Yael’s editorials without having to read them through that damn pay wall.
Very good, Mike — on “the other yael abouhalkahs…”
When Sunny gets blue,
Her eyes get gray and cloudy,
Then the rain begins to fall.
Pitter patter, pitter patter,
Love is gone, so what can matter?
No sweet lover man comes to call.
When Sunny gets blue,
She breathes a sigh of sadness,
Like the wind that stirs the trees.
Wind that sets the leaves to swayin’, like some violins are playin’
Weird and haunting melodies.
People used to love to hear her laugh, see her smile.
That’s how she got her name.
Since that sad affair, she’s lost her smile, changed her style.
Somehow she’s not the same.
But memories will fade,
And pretty dreams will rise up,
Where her other dreams fell through.
Hurry new love, hurry here,
To kiss away each lonely tear,
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue.
Hurry new love, hurry here,
To kiss away each lonely tear,
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue.
Oh, my, ribbon man…I had never heard that song before. Beautiful. Here’s the link, and let’s give credit to the late Jack Segal, who wrote the song, and the late Nat King Cole, who does this rendition…
Oh, my, indeed! Can’t believe you’ve never heard that song! As lovely as I’m sure Nat’s rendition is, Johnny Mathis’ is dreamy to the max (as one would well imagine).
But, my first thought was, wonder what prompted that post?
Gayle: I usually charge a bundle for literary and artistic interpretation, but because it’s you, I’m doing it gratis…
Think about Sunny in the context of The Star’s editorial page hitting rock bottom after a long period of relative prosperity…
“…she’s lost her smile, changed her style”
But we all expect the editorial page to improve, right? It can’t continue on this way, so there’s hope…
“But memories will fade,
And pretty dreams will rise up…”
Ah, I tell you, that Ribbon Changer is a deep thinker, don’t you agree?
(Ribbon Changer often posts but almost always under different handles. I’ll bet if you pay close attention, you’ll be able to detect a pattern. And believe me, it’s not me posting comments under pseudonyms; Ribbon Changer is real and unique.)
I sure do appreciate that, Mr. Fitzpatrick.
Obviously too deep a thinker for me. But then, you do have the advantage of knowing him / her.
More importantly, have you listened to Johnny’s rendition?
Just listened to it. Very good, but I prefer the “King.”
Maybe the KC / Paris on the Plains Star should have kept former publisher Mi-Ai Parrish. She seems to be able to run an editorial page in spite of current politics and death threats … https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/10/17/the-conservative-ariz-republic-backed-clinton-and-got-death-threats-this-is-its-response/
I don’t know what in the hell exactly is going on down there, but firing Yael just cost The Star my subscription. So much of the rest of The Star’s content is just schlock. Yael was the only guy at The Star with the balls to take on that flake Sam Brownback. The Star just keeps getting weirder. What’s next, editorials by Jack Cashill? I’m out!