NEWSFLASH!!! DEAD-TREE KANSAS CITY STAR INCREASINGLY DEPENDENT ON DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS AMID DEATH RATTLE OF NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY!!!



Today's news cycle was dominated by telcom industry consolidation but an even more ancient industry suffers harsh time economic times and now desperately searches for online revenue just like every other blogger.

To wit . . .

THE LATEST QUARTERLY REPORT FROM KANSAS CITY STAR PARENT COMPANY McCLATCHY TOUTS DIGITAL REVENUE AS THE PUBLIC FORSAKES NEWSPRINT!!!

Local newspaper purists (who all run crappy blogs that don't get a 1/10th of TKC traffic or user participation) might claim that the Kansas City Star taking their "journalism" game to the Internets is a great thing . . . These same dweebs who are out of the loop and don't really understand that the local newspaper is giving up their competitive advantage in an attempt to transition into a "media company" and basically working the exceptionally tough sponsored content angle whist balancing newspaper "ethics" (lulz) with the need to push product on behalf of advertisers who can more effectively target consumers via direct interaction on social media.

Across all 29 McClatchy newspapers, subscriptions digital subscribers have reached only 112,200. To be fair, The that number represents a 33 percent increase amid a partnership with Google and following years of stagnation on this front. Anybody who understands the news game realizes that digital subscriptions will never replace the go-go era of seemingly limitless digital classified advertising that has now gone the way of the dodo thanks to the Internets.

Nevertheless . . . 

Take a look at the McClatchy 1st quarter report and notice it's just a lot of bad news dressed up in optimistic verbiage. 

The money line:

"The company reported a net loss in the first quarter of 2018 of $38.9 million, or $5.04 per share, narrowed from a net loss of $95.6 million, or $12.60 per share in the first quarter of 2017. Additionally, the company reported an adjusted net loss, which excludes severance, unique tax items, and certain other items, in the first quarter of 2018 of $20.3 million, compared to adjusted net loss of $14.5 million in the first quarter of 2017."

That's right . . .

THE KANSAS CITY STAR PARENT COMPANY LOST 20 MILLION BUCKS LAST QUARTER AND CALLS IT PROGRESS!!!

Kansas City newsies like to distance themselves from this economic reality but the fact remains that their scale and distribution wouldn't be possible without a corporate parent. Without McClatchy, the staff of the Star might be able to run a 3rd rate local blog at best.

Real talk . . .

Anybody buying gas tonight will notice a bunch of discarded Sunday papers as the public has far less interest in the news of the day. A journalism reality check: Only a trash talking reality TV show host was able to convince American voters to return to the polls, this weekend it took a raunchy comedian to drum up interest in the news and, objectively, the power of newsprint has severely diminished as The Kansas City Star rarely challenges local government benefactors who control its tax breaks. Kansas City's largest daily paper mostly serves to relay DNC talking points, stand first in line to dress up press releases and serve as a mediocre middle-ground for the opinions of the fading American middle-class rather than engaging the broader community. Sadly, all of this would more effectively be accomplished by a few thinly staffed social media accounts rather than an army of trucks delivering scraps of paper across the city that are no longer in demand.

You decide . . .

Comments

  1. Whatever.

    Until I can figure out to get my dog to shit on my tablet, then I'm still going to have to buy the paper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ^^^ LOL! Buy some pee pads, they're better for the environment.

      Delete
    2. The star has ethics?

      This is news to me. They're already playing favorites in the next election, trying to play kingmaker. Such a shame, there used to be some great journalists working at the paper and there are still some really great reporters there. It seems that they are more content to just give the place over to "journalists" like hoops rather than really bring the public more news.

      Delete
  2. Hey dickhead! Kansas City needs a daily newspaper! without one, we are NOTHING. It does not benefit our community that the paper is suffering financially. Stop gloating about it!

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    Replies
    1. You should buy a subscription and help the out. Or maybe just masturbate while watching MSNBC reruns. Same difference.

      Delete
  3. where did you get this report from? I have not seen it until now. I think we need to see the finances from the star more often since Kansas City taxpayers are helping to subsidize them.

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    Replies
    1. Can we just call the newspaper, The Kansas City Sly?

      Delete
  4. Any business so bold as to endorse political candidates needs to suffer the consequences. Imagine how well a news source would do in this day and age if they simply reported the news and never got caught being biased.

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  5. 2018 MAGA Store closures: Subway- 500 Stores Toys-R-Us ALL 735 Stores Sams Club- 63 Stores Gymboree- 350 Stores Children's Place- 144 Wal-Greens- 600 Stores Best Buy- 250 Stores Gap, Inc 200 Stores Foot Locker- 110 Stores Kmart- 109 Stores Sears- 57 Stores

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  6. Butt still hurts 11:05 ? Got the weekly talking points from Hillary and Co. ? They failed to tell you Subway is rebranding the franchise and some owners don't want to invest the money for the remodels. The other 14,500+ will. The rest mostly suffer from bad management and debt. Cry yourself to sleep loser.

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  7. Trumptard, you only mentioned Subway.

    Your President threatened to shut down the government again, if they don't fund the wall that he said Mexico would pay for. I think a President who constantly threatens us like that should be impeached. He's a traitor, a whore, a racist, a misogynist, a white supremacist, a liar, a cheat, a retard, a war monger ...

    But then, you probably are too, that's why you voted for this Russian.

    Q: What is retard's nickname for Putin?
    Q: Sir

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  8. 11:56 Guess you can't read. 11:42 mentioned the rest. After they slammed your bullshit about Subway back down your throat. Name calling. BAHAHAHAHAHAHA

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  9. Largest 2017 MAGA Bankruptcies w/ liabilities:

    Walter Investment Management Corp. $15.2 Billion, Real Estate Operations
    Avaya Holdings Corp. $10.1 Billion, Communications Equipment
    Toys "R" Us, Inc. $7.8 Billion Retail (Specialty)
    The J.G. Wentworth Company, $5.1 Billion, Financial Services
    GenOn Energy, Inc. $4.5 Billion, Electric Utilities
    First NBC Bank Holding Company $4.4 Billion, Regional Banks
    Cobalt International Energy, Inc. $3.1 Billion, Oil and Gas Operations
    Cumulus Media Inc. $2.8 Billion, Broadcasting and Cable Television
    Tidewater Inc. $2.5 Billion, Oil Well Services and Equipment

    In just the retail sector, more than 8,053 store closed in 2017. Among the bankruptcies,
    Dec. 11 Charming Charlie
    Nov. 6 Styles For Less
    Sept. 18 Toys R Us
    Sept. 15 Aerosoles
    Sept. 12 Vitamin World
    Aug. 26 Perfumania
    July 14 Alfred Angelo
    July 5 True Religion
    June 15 Papaya Clothing
    June 11 Gymboree
    May 15 Rue21
    April 4 Payless
    March 20 Gander Mountain
    March 13 Gordmans stores
    March 8 RadioShack
    March 6 Hhgregg
    March 1 Vanity
    March 1 BCBG Max Azria
    Feb. 6 Eastern Outfitters
    Feb. 2 Wet Seal
    Jan. 17 The Limited

    We're looking for MAGA, NOT EXCUSES. President Pee-Tape is right. We are sick of all this "winning".

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  10. 12:39 gubmint subsidies is what kept those worthless business’s afloat, not one of them is worth keeping. Good riddance to them and to you crybaby dickhead

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  11. Good riddance

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  12. 12:39 bad management killed those businesses, don’t you worry though, the bid dawgs got their millions!

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  13. 11:56 is Byron who happens to hate Trump but loves the Star because they have Hoopz who hates all things white

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  14. @ 6:15 is Fyodor Ivanovitch, the pen name used by all Putin's Russian AI bots who attack anyone criticizing their errand boy Trumpski.

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  15. Funny that the Pulitzer-run St. Louis Post-Dispatch can have a strong and successful on-line presence while McClatchy's Kansas City Star is sinking rapidly.
    Guess it really does help to know what the hell you're doing.

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  16. The list of bankruptcies and store closings is completely wrong. Many of those companies were struggling and filed for bankruptcy before Trump became President. For instance, Radio Shack filed in 2015.It just takes time to go through court. Others like Kmart were obviously having major problems before Trump. There is also a long list of bankruptcies during the Obama administration. Retailers are failing because of Amazon not because of Trump or Obama. I know the Trump haters do not want to hear that and they also do not want to hear that the economy is better under Trump than it was under Obama but that is a fact. The unemployment rate, the GDP, the stock market and the housing market are all better under Trump than Obama.

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  17. Why would anyone pay for a digital subscription to anything when there is so much free content online? There are many free local news sources including Tony's and the local tv station websites.

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  18. 8:21 is totally right about the economy being better under Trump. The liberal media hates to report that. You can bet that if the economy was down under Trump it would be front page news but since it's doing well it doesn't even get mentioned.It drives liberals crazy so they're forced to look for any possible economic negativity like Radio Shack filing for bankruptcy during the Obama administration and blaming it on Trump. That's just desperate and sad.

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  19. IT'S THE REAL THING (see below)

    "Anybody buying gas tonight will notice a bunch of discarded Sunday papers as the public has far less interest in the news of the day. A journalism reality check: Only a trash talking reality TV show host was able to convince American voters to return to the polls, this weekend it took a raunchy comedian to drum up interest in the news and, objectively, the power of newsprint has severely diminished as The Kansas City Star rarely challenges local government benefactors who control its tax breaks. Kansas City's largest daily paper mostly serves to relay DNC talking points, stand first in line to dress up press releases and serve as a mediocre middle-ground for the opinions of the fading American middle-class rather than engaging the broader community. Sadly, all of this would more effectively be accomplished by a few thinly staffed social media accounts rather than an army of trucks delivering scraps of paper across the city that are no longer in demand."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tony Translation: "I'm bitter they didn't hire me 20 years ago. STILL."

      Delete
  20. 8:36, what would you expect from Libtards? For most of his eight years in office Obama blamed everything he could on George W Bush, like hang nails and cold coffee. You can go back in history a little further and it speaks loudly and truthfully about democrats. FDR's administration built Social Security to funnel money that old people were never supposed to live to get into the general fund. Johnson's administration built Medicare and Medicaid to suck more money out of the fund to spend leaving IOU's behind. Jimmy Carter couldn't run a peanut farm and left Ronald Reagan to fix inflation and the economy. Bill Clinton was pretty good at balancing a budget but cooked up the sub prime mess that tanked the economy after we were attacked on 9/11. Obama created more debt than all, REPEAT ALL, other presidents combined and yet it was barely if ever covered in the press. Trump gets in and the economy starts cooking but the dem's can only bitch about his 1 Trillion debt over ten years to put more money in middle and lower class pockets. It's history!

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  21. When the Star finally folds, how is this a good thing for Kansas City?

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  22. Bob, you stupid Trumptard.

    Don't like being called a "Trumptard", then don't use the word "libtard", you stupid retard.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Retards elected a retard President.

    Isn't democracy just grand?

    ReplyDelete
  24. If they would like to turn a profit and sell newspapers then suggest they fire the city hall reporter, Bill Turque. He's been handed several tips on the corruption at city hall and NEVER does anything with them. I know, because I am the one who has handed them to him. Hes a lazy idiot. His wife sits on the KC Star editorial board. Talk about conflict of interest. Neither of them want to rock the boat, kids in college, retirement not far off. Too risky, don't ya know. In fact, he should forfeit his journalism degree to the institution he allegedly earned it from. Without the Fourth Estate our democracy will die. We have high crime rates and endless corruption with developers because the press will NOT hold our elected officials accountable. When you get frustrated about murders every other day and another ten million dollars of tax payer money handed to a developer, first get mad at the lazy ass press in this town!

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  25. Let's set the record straight. Nobody under 65 cares about the Star. It's for geriatrics only.

    ReplyDelete
  26. All those bankruptcy numbers are documented in 2017. Radio Shack filed for reorganization in 2015, but survived. It didn't "just take time to go through the courts". They filed again in 2017.

    The facts are GDP is now down to 2.3%, when Trump said 3% was pathetic and promised 6%.

    The annual deficit is massively increasing again. The omnibus for the remaining 6 months of 2017 was $1.8 trillion of spending. Trump said he would veto, but chickened out. The corporate tax scheme is at least $1.5 trillion in new debt over the next ten years. We are back to $1 trillion annually.

    95 million Americans are still out of the work force. Job creation has slowed since 2016. Gas prices are rising. Trump's tariffs are kicking in raising costs of materials and increasing inflation. Farmers are losing export markets. Health care costs are increasing while services are cut. The stock market is down for the year. That is Trump's record.

    Only Trump's Wall Street cronies and his family are doing great because of his pocket lining tax cuts.

    Blaming Obama won't work. Trump inherited a growing economy and record stock market. The now slowing economy, lagging wages, and inflation are because of Trump's actions.

    ReplyDelete

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