Kansas City Star Misses Story & Stirs Racial Real Estate Drama Instead

A quick note about a missed opportunity and the death of journalism delivered by way of the written word.

A Sunday story from The Kansas City Star had potential but, instead, the dead-tree institution decided to focus on racial animosity rather than predatory practices and shady tactics of corporate America.

This was the Sunday feature . . .

Land grab remakes Kansas City’s East Side, upending neighborhoods, Star investigation finds

Description . . . 

"Neglected neighborhoods have become a hunting ground for real estate speculators. But Black residents say they once again are being exploited and left behind." 

Okay. 

But here's the problem . . . 

THE REAL ESTATE LAND GRAB HAS BEEN GOING ON IN BLACK, WHITE AND LATINO NEIGHBORHOODS FOR YEARS!!! BY MAKING THE STORY NOTHING MORE THAN A RACIALLY CHARGED RANT, THE STAR LOST MORE THAN HALF THEIR AUDIENCE WHO NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A WORSENING TREND!!!

For instance . . . 

The Westside has seen these schemes for about 20 years . . . That's why it's now a neighborhood that USED TO BE mostly Latino and is now inhabited by some very nice hipsters.

Moreover, the Sunday feature focused on a sign of the times that's commonplace in every part of the metro and not just the East side . . .

'It's like taking advantage of folks': These KC locals hunt down cash-for-homes signs

For years, Erin Royals was vaguely aware of the bright red, yellow and white signs that said things like "We Buy Ugly Houses" and "Cash for Homes." But the posts struck her altogether differently as she began walking her dog on Kansas City's East Side during the summer of 2020.

Again . . .

REAL ESTATE SCAMS AREN'T JUST AN EAST SIDE PHENOMENA , THEY'VE TARGETED EVERY WORKING-CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE METRO!!!

Sadly, The Kansas City Star is so pathetically desperate to stir up racial animosity that they would rather rather alienate readers than reveal that Black, White & Latino people have a lot more in common than they realize when facing a tough real estate market that's only getting worse amid current economic turmoil.

You decide . . .