Homebound by freezing wind, a dusting of snow and a bit of ice, I was looking forward to sitting around and reading The Star and The New York Times this morning. The print versions, to be precise.
But, darn it, I was quickly confronted with a problem.
When I walked outside and down the front sidewalk, I saw the blue wrapper, which usually contains both The New York Times and The Star. When I got back inside, however, I found that only The Times was in the plastic bag. I quickly concluded production or delivery problems related to the weather were the reason The Star was missing.
So, I started reading The Times. Got through some of it and then decided I should go clear off and warm up the car, which was in the driveway. When I went outside — this time out the garage door — I saw a thin, orange wrapper with a paper inside, lying on the neighbor’s yard. Voila! There was my Saturday Star — all 18 pages of it — which had blown about 50 feet from the front of my house, across my yard and driveway and onto the neighbor’s side yard.
That was one slight newspaper.
**
The problems didn’t end with locating it, however. Hate to say it but I quickly found a couple of significant content problems.
Remember, now, we’re talking about the print edition, which is primarily taken by older readers, those who have been long wedded to the print edition and many of whom are not comfortable reading the paper online.
The centerpiece story was about — who else? — Patrick Mahomes. The headline was “Mahomes, new-age phenom, tackles old-school marketing.”
The first two sentences of this 100-column-inch story (yes, 100 inches, consuming almost a full inside page) were very confusing…
“Hunt’s courtship of Patrick Mahomes began the way so many other relationships originated in 2018. The brand slid into his DMs.”
At first, I thought reporter Brooke Pryor might be referring to Clark Hunt, Chiefs’ owner and chairman. But, no, she was talking about the ketchup company.
Then there was the “DMs” business.
DMs?
I went to Google and found that DM is lingo for Direct Message on Twitter.
Does anyone share my curiosity at how many print-edition readers would have any idea with “DM” stands for?
…Oddest of all, I couldn’t find the same story anywhere on The Star’s website, where KC Star owner McClatchy Co. is desperately trying to make headway with the younger set — the group, presumably, that would be familiar with Twitter terminology.
How strrrrr-ange!
**
Then I landed on a story by longtime reporter Judy Thomas about a victim advocacy group’s effort to convince the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph to change the name of the Bishop Sullivan Center.
David Clohessy, former director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said the name was an inappropriate honor for a bishop who oversaw the diocese during a period when most priest sex abuse cases occurred.
My problem with this story had nothing to do with Clohessy’s beef; it had to do with the fact that nowhere in the story did Thomas say what the Sullivan Center is or where it’s located.
A former Catholic, I’m familiar with the name of the center but I really don’t know much about it and have never had any reason to find out. And that’s probably the case with the vast majority of Star readers.
So, to Google I went. For those with the same lack of familiarity as me, the Sullivan Center is a social service organization that helps disadvantaged people with things like food and job-search assistance.
It operates out of three locations: 6435 Truman Road, 3936 Troost and 2200 Central Avenue, KCK.
…Really, wouldn’t you think Thomas — or an editor — would have taken the blinders off for a minute and thought to provide readers with the “what” and the “where” of this story, in addition to the “who” and why”?
Sadly, not much thought is being put into a lot of stories being shoveled into the paper these days.
**
On the plus side, today’s paper gave me fodder, on a cold and snowy morning, for yet another brilliant post.
Thank you, hometown paper!
Try to stay warm, everybody…
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Mahomes story is online here: https://www.kansascity.com/sports/nfl/kansas-city-chiefs/article224707210.html
Thanks, Kurt…After seeing your comment, I studied the website home page more closely and found it under the “sports” heading.
The question is whether or not Thomas is responsible for the missing info or whether some editor decided to save newsprint and edited out.
While Thomas has flogged that particular subject to death while ignoring child sexual abuse in certain school districts has been discussed, in general, investigative work and sports are the remaining sharp arrows left in The Star’s quiver. Kudos especially to Steve Vockrodt and Mike Hendricks.
The new editorial board is even more of a disaster than the old one and one looks in vain for a reason why The Star imported either Henneberg or her nepotism hire husband. Colleen Nelson is even worse yet
You can bet it wasn’t an editor cutting copy to save space, John; they don’t have enough stuff to put in the paper, now that they have such little advertising.
…And you and I have a longstanding disagreement about the ed page. I think it’s a bright spot on an otherwise uninspiring canvas — and that Colleen is doing an excellent job.
Henneberger had an outstanding piece on the pathetic, racist state of the Columbia, MO, police department the other day. It was really eye opening. The problem is — and you’ll agree with me on this — it was at the bottom of the Op-Ed page, where few people saw it and it had little or no impact. And there’ll be no follow-up.
If The Star would have sent a good reporter over there to research and write, and then given the story a good, front-page run, it would have had tremendous impact. But The Star stopped doing regional stories long ago — other than the legislative coverage out of Topeka and Jeff City.
I didn’t go to J-school, so when I became a cub reporter at 31, I bought the textbooks used at both M.U. and K.U. I learned early on to: Keep the lede graph short – 25 or so words preferable – and expect the wrath of hell from my editor much beyond that; nut graph follows; context or catchup graph next, then elaborate on the story and cut from the bottom.
Or as I soon understood: Catch the reader’s attention; explain what its all about; tell them about previous reporting on the subject if necessary (backgrounder); then why they should care and read to the end.
You’re right. Doesn’t matter who didn’t fill in the reader on context, they messed up. Don’t fear the red pencil, and a good editor keeps you from looking stupid in front of thousands of readers.
At least you got your paper. Last week the Sunday Star was delivered Tuesday. I’ll have to wait ’til tomorrow to review your comments. As for The Times — week 2 of no paper.