• Home
  • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
  • Contact

JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« A rocky road in Jayhawk land
Hopes for a relatively speedy trial in the Kylr Yust case rest with Cass County Circuit Judge William B. Collins »

A funny letter from our friends at The Star

December 10, 2019 by jimmycsays

Well, I got my “Dear Jim” letter (actually Dear J Fitzpatrick) from The Star tonight.

The paper is not breaking up with me altogether, but it does seem to be taking back the ring it gave me many years ago.

Horror of horrors, starting March 14, The Star will no longer publish a Saturday print edition.

This is in keeping with parent company Mcclatchy’s announcement last month that it will eliminate Saturday print publication at all 29 of its daily papers by the end of next year. (Of course, the company could be out of business by then.)

Fortunately, The Star is letting me down easy, and the letter even gave me some good belly laughs.

Here are some of the best knee slappers…

:: “The Kansas City Star is changing to ensure we are able to meet the needs of our readers and the communities we serve long into the future.”

Yep, that’s our beloved Star, always looking out for the needs of the readers and the VAST number of communities it serves.

:: “Starting March 14, we will launch a new weekend package with expanded newspapers on Fridays and Sundays and access to the Saturday edition exclusively online.”

A new weekend package! Great news, right? For instance, Friday’s paper will have “new puzzles as well as a new themed section called ‘Uplift,’ your source of good news for the weekend.” I can’t wait for the exciting new puzzles (I’m hoping for interactive tic-tac-toe) and the waterfall of good news.

:: “Saturday…You’ll also find our EXTRA EXTRA digital supplement with more national, international and entertainment news and Sports Xtra.”

Why there’ll be so much “more” and so many “EXTRAS” I doubt I’ll be able to get away from my computer on Saturdays, what with the online cornucopia The Star will be offering up.

:: “Sunday: In addition to the usual comics content, we will add the puzzles and comics that you love to read in your Saturday paper.”

More puzzles? My heart is racing.

:: “Your subscription rate will remain the same and will also continue to include 7-day unlimited digital access.”

All this bonus coverage and my rate is staying the same?? C’est impossible! 

**

The letter trundled on for a few more paragraphs about how great all this is for the readers, and then there was a final laugh. The letter was signed by Mike Fannin, whom The Star announced in October as The Star’s new “president.”

As you might recall, the story about Fannin’s ascension from editor to president conspicuously failed to mention Tony Berg, who was introduced with great hoopla, less than three years ago, as publisher. Berg was “nowhere to be found” in the October story about Fannin. Also missing was any mention of the word “publisher” — so secret and unspeakable was Berg’s fate (shuttled off to Wichita).

But in this letter, this letter about the “changing” Star, the title of publisher was back. And who had it? Why, none other than Fannin. So now we can officially say it: THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING!

**

Note: In a final pea-under-shell misdirection play, in Wednesday’s (today’s) print edition, the letter is signed by Fannin above the title of “president.” (This guy’s credibility is in the toilet.)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

11 Responses

  1. on December 10, 2019 at 11:13 pm John D Altevogt

    And Berg went down to Wichita where an editor sat down with him for an interview wherein he said exactly the same thing about what he was going to do in Wichita that he said three years ago in Kansas City. Aren’t they lucky?


  2. on December 11, 2019 at 6:06 am Peg Nichols

    New puzzles? I can hardly wait. I remember when the Saturday Star published a special content — an actual Book Section, with reviews by the legendaryThorpe Menn.


  3. on December 11, 2019 at 8:28 am Bill Hirt

    I was going email them after seeing the Fannin note in the paper this morning asking if my $850 a year subscription rate was going down, but I also got the same email and saw they are keeping it the same. Starting this weekend I am going to keep a page count for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday editions to see if we really do get anything of significance extra on Friday and Sunday come mid-March.


    • on December 11, 2019 at 9:29 am jimmycsays

      I can tell you how this is going to go, having seen it as The Star has dropped sections over the years. At first, they will produce the extras they promised, but as time wears on, they will revert to cutting. And the price will always go up, never down.


  4. on December 11, 2019 at 8:40 am Mike Rice

    Mike Fannin owes Elvis Costello an apology for looking like him.


  5. on December 11, 2019 at 8:58 am Mark Peavy

    The Star continues to amaze. Latest example: They talk about how understaffed they are, but they had four reporters in Columbia yesterday to cover the introduction of the new MU football coach.

    Mellinger was one of them. This is from his column:

    “On Tuesday, (the new coach) promised fast offense ‘that will be fun to watch,’ defense that will stop the run first and harass quarterbacks always, and special teams that will be ‘the heartbeat’ of the program. He is deeply Christian.”

    If anyone can explain the connection between the two preceding sentences, I’d love to hear it. (Personally, I don’t think Jesus gives a damn who wins a football game.)


  6. on December 11, 2019 at 11:07 am G. Fred Wickman

    The Wickmans never even got a letter.


  7. on December 11, 2019 at 1:10 pm Steve Porter

    Those of you who received the Fannin marketing suppository are sophisticated enough to thirst for facts that reveal the truth. That’s why you subscribe to a newspaper. So why didn’t the Star attempt to maintain some credibility by saying that few read Saturday newspapers anyway, and in at attempt to survive in a brutal environment, it makes financial sense to drop one day of delivery? Easy answer: At the Star, credibility no longer is a priority.


  8. on December 11, 2019 at 4:34 pm Peg Nichols

    Predictions from around the table: “Next thing the Monday paper will be dropped.” “No, the Monday paper has the Chiefs, the next to be dropped will be Tuesday and Thursday.”


    • on December 11, 2019 at 6:03 pm gayle

      Fine with me, the only ones that hold any interest to me anymore are Wed. and Sun.


  9. on December 11, 2019 at 6:10 pm Allison Long

    I love your take on things. May I post a link to this in some of the many Facebook groups bemoaning the state of journalism?



Comments are closed.

  • Pages

    • About me: Jim Fitzpatrick
    • Contact
  • Archives

    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 544 other followers

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Join 544 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: