Things are going painfully bad for The Kansas City Star.
For the first time ever, I’m sure, The Star is seeking charitable contributions as a lifeline.
In today’s print edition and in stories online, the paper is soliciting money to “ensure we continue to report on the coronavirus and all of its impacts across our communities.”
That The Star is reduced to soliciting handouts is shocking to those of us who have deep backgrounds in journalism. At one time, back in the 1980s, when The Star was owned by Capital Cities Inc., the paper profited to the tune of tens of millions of dollars a year. Publishing the paper was a veritable license to print money.
My, how things have turned upside down.
More about the solicitation in a minute, but, in addition, in reading the paper today, I came across a full-page ad for the New Theatre Restaurant promoting a show called the “Million Dollar Quartet,” featuring the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins.
What jumped out at me about the ad was two words in big, white letters that said, “OPENS TUESDAY.”
Now, I knew the Kansas shutdown order was in effect until at least May 3, so I wondered what the heck was going on. I soon found out. New Theatre Restaurant had put messages on its website and telephone answering system saying The Star had incorrectly run the ad.
“Rest assured that is not the case (that the show opens Tuesday),” the recording and the website say. “New Theatre Restaurant will reopen, but only when it’s safe.”
I don’t know what that ad cost NTR, but The Star will have to compensate somehow, either by returning the money or maybe running the ad two or more times in the future.
In any event, it’s an extremely embarrassing mistake…
Did no one — NO ONE — look at that ad before the paper went to print and realize the only conceivable way that show could be opening Tuesday was if NTR was in Georgia?
…Now back to the more issue of The Star seeking charitable solicitations.
A story on 4A today solicits contributions for a nonprofit called Local Media Foundation. The story says in part…
“Your tax-deductible gift can ensure we continue to report on the coronavirus and all of its impacts across our communities. We aim to raise $200,000 to keep our reporters reporting, our videographers recording and our editors at work delivering essential news and information to you.”
Oddly and inexplicably, the story provides no background on the Local Media Foundation, which I’d never heard of. From its website I found it is the fund-raising arm of the Local Media Association (which I’d also never heard of), whose members include newspapers, radio and TV stations and digital sites.
Further complicating the solicitation picture, on April 23 The Star ran a story touting its hiring of three full-time reporters — all very young and with little experience — in partnership with a national program called Report for America.
Report for America is a three-year-old nonprofit whose goal is to place young journalists in local newsrooms so they can be trained to cover under-served regions or important issues. It is funded primarily by foundations and institutes but also solicits individual contributions, which the April 23 story noted.
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This whole thing is puzzling. My first thought on reading the story about the Local Media Foundation was that it must be connected with the Report for America Project. But that’s not the case; the Local Media Foundation solicitation is separate and distinct.
If The Star is going to get into the solicitation business, it should at least offer a thumbnail sketch of each nonprofit it is using as a conduit. The Star has explained the Report for America project well, but so far it has dropped the ball on the Local Media Foundation. What is that? Who’s behind it? How long has it been around?
Most people will not consider giving to a charity without knowing anything about it, and to most people the Local Media Foundation is a blank slate.
Already today two people with longstanding connections to The Star have contacted me about the solicitation campaign. One was Tom McClanahan, who retired several years ago as a member of The Star’s editorial board. Tom summarized the situation succinctly when he said, “Something tells me that for newspapers, trying to survive as charity recipients is not a viable business plan.”
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Do you remember that The Star’s story said it was seeking to raise $200,000 through the Local Media Foundation? At 5 p.m. today, a link to the donation page cited in The Star said 72 people had contributed $5,540.
I think McClanahan is probably right: Not a viable path forward.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
I feel like the money I pay for my subscription is pretty much a donation.
Nice one.
The Human Fund? Who’s the chairman…George Costanza?
Great comments, ladies! That’s the spirit…
KWMU in St. Louis has done a great job of local reporting with the not-for-profit model. They and KCUR often share stories of statewide interest. KWMU recruited several former Post-Dispatch reporters to their newsroom. Their on-line presence is robust. I don’t know how the pay would compare to the Post. What’s missing from this donor-based news coverage is a great editorial page. KWMU gives it over to guests (I’ve been one) who give two-minute essays on their opinion of local issues. Supporting candidates is off limits.
It has long been apparent that BIAS = LAYOFFS. Now it is evident that BIAS also equals failure and bankruptcy.
I don’t understand the legality of a non-profit supporting a commercial enterprise. Is part of The Star reporting/editing/publishing scheme charitable? Or is this magical-legal pass-through sleight of hand? Is there a simple explanation?
I don’t know, Vern…I suppose if you channel the money through a nonprofit (or two), it’s OK.
Perhaps a good move would be to lighten McClatchy execs’ compensation by a few zeroes.
Jerry LaMartina, a former Star newsroom employee, submitted a comment that, for some reason, I can’t get to post. Here it is…
“Perhaps a good move would be to lighten McClatchy execs’ compensation by a few zeroes.”
Thanks, Jim.
Jim, it has been over a decade since the Star got 10k for a full page ad, the numbers don’t work, the cost per thousand would be prohibitive. The car dealer rate is under 2 k for a full page, Not even reaching the cume of KCFX, weekly cumulative audience of over 500k, the Star’s paltry circulation of barely 100k is one of least desirable ad venues, unless your target is like the New Theatre’s old and hungry.
You’re undoubtedly right, Karl, and I shouldn’t have been speculating on prices I know nothing about. I should have left out cost…and will change it now.
You really can’t compare The Star to PBS radio stations that, in addition to being subsidized, also have an entertainment component to them.
Now, this latest project, with three more teenybopping bubblegummers is going to tackle the problem of gun violence in the inner city. There are only two ways you can go with that. The first is to address the culture of violence among young black men who have been deprived of traditional rites of passage and gun control. Since The Star has never had the courage to address the former, one has to assume that that we will be treated to more meaningless gun control cliches in an area that has been decreasing government’s role in regulating firearms, hence further alienating a significant portion of its potential readership.
According to a Poynter piece from May of 2019:
“The pay envelopes for the men who run the two companies remained plenty healthy nonetheless — $5,257,224 for Bob Dickey at Gannett and $2,877,450 for Craig Forman at McClatchy.”
The piece:
https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2019/the-newspaper-company-ceo-pay-game-heads-i-win-tails-i-win/
Meanwhile, those who worked at the Star will likely soon be kissing the meager pensions they earned good-bye as McClatchy is in the process of declaring bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, minimum-wage hobbyists have been tasked with keeping Kansas City and much of the rest of America informed and updated.
That’s about right for Forman, Jim, unless he’s decided to take a salary reduction…Dickey is now out at Gannett after the merger with GateHouse. The new Gannett CEO is Mike Reed, who led GateHouse (which effectively was the acquirer).
As for the McClatchy pensions, I think they will remain largely intact, even if the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. assumes responsibility for payment. (And that appears very likely.)
I suggest the Star get a couple of 55 gallon drums to beg for money. A tin cup is nowhere near big enough to hold the millions of dollars they are in debt!
The debt is actually McClatchy’s, but drums create the right image.