ANOTHER TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! RUMOR HAS IT THAT FUNKHOUSER IS BLACKLISTING REPORTERS AT THE STAR!!!



So much for transparency.

Once again, it's spells disaster for print media when Kansas City's "Paper of Record" can't stand up to political pressure.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser promised better communication with the electorate but so far he has only managed to publish a blog with no comments and conduct a series of public lectures where he stands with arms crossed behind his wife.

Even worse, TKC RECENTLY LEARNED THAT MAYOR FUNKY'S OFFICE APPROACHED THE STAR AND COMPLAINED ABOUT ONE OF THEIR REPORTERS WHO WAS WRITING TOUGH STORIES ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATION AND TOLD THEM TO BACK OFF.

DISAPPOINTINGLY, THEY DID!!!


I'm not at liberty to say which reporter it was who was labeled as "radioactive" but there are a lot of journalists in town who are frustrated by this move that comes from geniuses either living in Johnson County or part of the same crew who have watched McClatchy's stock price plummet to bargain basement levels.

Sadly, all of Kansas City suffers at the hands of this kind of cowardice.

I know I talk a lot of trash about The Star but a few of their reporters are the real deal and without them Kansas City would be horribly misinformed at would have to rely on media outlets with fewer resources or even joke blogs - HEAVEN FORBID!!!

And don't write this off as some kind of blind item, the silencing of this reporter has been the subject of a lot of gossip in the circles of local journos . . . I was only privy to this information because a writer at an "alternative" media outlet finds my dopey good looks and barrio charm to be strangely enticing. Natch. Also, Kansas City media outlets are notorious for not supporting one another even when it comes to issues of free speech. Put simply, no other outlet in KC was gonna run this widely known fact so it was left to me.

Nevertheless, the bottom line here is: THE FUNKHOUSER ADMINISTRATION BASICALLY HAD A REPORTER SILENCED!!!

Without this reporter's work Kansas City would have never known about Dr. Sausage Fingers or Gloria Squitiro's barefoot stampedes through the Mayor's office.

Shame on the local media and The Star for allowing the work of a journalist to be silenced simply for doing her job.

I guess maybe silenced is a bit of hyperbole. Rumor has it that this reporter is still filing stories and blog posts but they are now held to a different standard than everyone else writing at Kansas City's main news rag . . . Also, I hear there are a number of her stories that have been blatantly killed or buried.

Now that the Mayor's top "communication" people have abandoned their dreams of a career writing words rather than propaganda they have little respect for the freedom of the press. This kind of hypocrisy doesn't surprise me given that jerks like Joe Miller support Black people in theory and then do their best to undermine minority communities in Kansas City.

But I digress . . . The point here is that if The Star has a virtual monopoly on the daily printed news then they also have a responsibility to uphold some kind of journalistic integrity . . . Especially if that's one of their attributes they constantly tout when deriding bloggers.

As for Mayor Funky and his people, their entire administration is about nothing more than broken promises and misleading talk so their move to quiet reporters doesn't surprise me . . . But I expect just a little bit more integrity from used car salesmen, hobos, sex workers and the executives at The Star.

Comments

  1. Dang dude. You're working the STar this week.

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  2. Normally I would call bullshit but I know this one is true.

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  3. "a number of HER stories were killed or buried"

    . . . guess you gave HER identity away after all. Initials DS by any chance?

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  4. Tony, don't get the poor girl fired.

    But everybody at the Hall knows that you're old blogger friend and mid-list author has a vendetta against her.

    I'm really surprised to see the Star backing down on this own. If they reprimanded every reporter in Kansas City who wrote a story that Funkhousers didn't like then only Katie Horner would be left to do the news.

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  5. And Tony knows cowardice, he who pontificates from the safety of his dungeon lair.

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  6. Mmmmm child. Dat Funky don be at it again. Dey gonna be anoda recall fo sho.

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  7. wasn*t that semler lady shouted
    down by all the mexicans.

    aye
    in amerika you still have
    freedom of speech.
    ask the minutemen

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  8. Maybe if you were a legit reporter you would be silenced as well. Too bad you are nothing more then a failed journalist that could not even make it a Hispanic News. You are irrelevant.

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  9. Good. If thats what it takes to get you moronic idiot's to shut up and stop whining I'm for it.

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  10. I'm sorry was I in a coma? When did Mayor Funkhouser have enough political power to silence a journalist? Plus, that journalist should look on the bright side, if she gets fired she could always get a job at a "alternative" newspaper and one day become a flunky staffer for a mayor that thinks he has political power...

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  11. Excellent post Anon 8:18

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  12. I am willing to give up the freedom of the press for Mayor Funkhouser.

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  13. Why can't you say the chick reporter is DeAnn Smith? As her PR guy does it violate your ethics?

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  14. DeAnn Smith is married to a guy in the County Exec's office. Where are the ethics?

    Muzzle the Star? Who even reads that worthless rag?

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  15. now if they could silence you and get this retarded blog off the net we would be set!

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  16. Reporters all have an agenda. Newspapers all have an agenda. The way a story is slanted makes all the difference. If a reporter hates Funkhouser their stories will always be negative. If the employer thinks the stories are unfair they can step in as it should be.

    Reporters are inundated by bad info from all the econ dev whores and chamber of commerce shills. And considering they all flunked econ 51 down at Mizzou they start believing the crap.

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  17. Actually DeAnn Smith voluntarily left her regular beat at the County so that there weren't any ethical issues. There has been a new reporter there for more than a year. But nice try.

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  18. Wow, Tony. You need to dig into this a bit more. They freely let Yael run Funky's campaign from Prime Buzz and the opinion page and now the Star is silencing a good reporter. Who will be next? Mahoney? Helling will be the last man standing...as Hermann's cabana boy.

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  19. Someone tell Funkhouser to tell his idiot staffers to come silence DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTZ!

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