Public employees across the metro are just a little bit peeved lately given that their salaries have been put on the front page of The Star's Internet site and on the company's new Info Central subdomain.
The revelations aren't that startling: Most public employees are broke-ass and making less than 50k.
What's more important is the move by Kansas City's paper of record to become more of a database or an information clearing house rather than provide any kind of analysis, perspective or insight like other, more successful big City newspapers - Once again, I think it's another cowardly move on behalf of a yet another cowtown institution . . . They're offering mostly meaningless info in hopes that interested parties will draw their own conclusions - A simple computer program could offer the same service (and already does).
On the other hand, the move makes sense . . . It's simply the Kansas City version of The Smoking Gun . . . Only less interesting, entertaining or informative. It's classic Kansas City swagger jakin only it misses the substance of what makes online databases or documents so entertaining . . . It's because they prove a larger point.
I've seen it all before from The Star, they start out with a great idea and water it down making it essentially meaningless because their corporate, fear-based, Johnson County culture can't handle many challenges to their elitist sensibilities. In fact, whenever a lonely voice at The Star begins to break the cowardly mold they've set . . . There's always a move to quickly silence them.
Not that it matters to me but there's a reason beyond the expediency of the Internet as to why the modern day newspaper is going the way of the dodo . . . It has a lot more to do with cowardice, bias in favor of the establishment and the corporate mandate to please everyone that has inspired cutbacks, layoffs and drops in subscriptions for newspapers.
My salary is listed in the Star at over twice what it actually is. Don't believe everything you read.
ReplyDelete"Less than $50k" is "broke-ass"???
ReplyDeleteFuck all y'all. I and I alone make the money at my house. I feed the kids, I pay the bills, I do without (and without and without and without...).
I'd sure like to make a salary that's somewhere in the neighborhood of $50k. Or marry someone who does.
Listing gov't salaries is nothing new. Feds have done it for years. You are subject to that when in service as a public official working on tax payer money.
ReplyDeleteList the salary with the fucking job title, not my fucking name. Like we need to make it EASIER to have your identity stolen.
ReplyDeleteFucking douchbags.
Ban the god damn Star.