News KC Star Unleashes ‘Hunger Games’ on Two Joco Reporters

jet62 · 12-13-2012, 04:00 PM

http://www.kcconfidential.com/2012/1...oco-reporters/

How cold can you get?

Check out this startling tale involving a pair of Kansas City Star reporters reportedly presented with a proposition – a variation on Sophie’s Choice – that only one position remained for the two of their jobs.

“They brought in two reporters – Karen Dillon and Dawn Bormann – and told them that one of them had to go,” says a staffer. “And that they had to decide which one would stay and they had until next week to figure it out. Sort of like ‘The Hunger Games.’ That’s the scuttlebutt anyway.”

There’s more.

“Karen Dillon has seniority, so she has the option of taking it or not taking it,” says the source. “And if she does, Dawn gets laid off. Dawn’s a great person but I think Karen will vote in favor of herself because she’s got teenage kids at home.”

This just in: Bormann is o-u-t.

A similar proposition is thought to have gone down two years ago between a pair of Star copy editors with Monday morning poet Don Munday being the survivor.

“What’s really awful about that choice is it pits two colleagues against each other with the expectation that they will determine who is the better fit,” says one senior area marketing executive. “And it takes the responsibility away from the employers which is cruel and unprofessional.

“If the Star really didn’t want to make the choice at that time what they should have done is explain that there was only one position and that those two would have to apply for the position. Or if they knew one person had the seniority – Karen – they should have approached her in private and let her make the decision in private instead of having to make a decision knowing that the other person knows she’s making the decision. It’s unprofessional, cruel and unnecessary.”

Incidentally, Dillon, a longtime investigative reporter at the Star, was credited by Rolling Stone with bringing down Pee Wee Herman in 1991:

“An able young reporter named Karen Dillon, working the three-to-midnight shift at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, recognized Paul Reubens’s name on the police blotter and broke the story.”

12-13-2012, 04:00 PM	Topic Starter
jet62 Still looking for my car keys Join Date: Jul 2006 Casino cash: $2410916	KC Star Unleashes ‘Hunger Games’ on Two Joco Reporters http://www.kcconfidential.com/2012/1...oco-reporters/ How cold can you get? Check out this startling tale involving a pair of Kansas City Star reporters reportedly presented with a proposition – a variation on Sophie’s Choice – that only one position remained for the two of their jobs. “They brought in two reporters – Karen Dillon and Dawn Bormann – and told them that one of them had to go,” says a staffer. “And that they had to decide which one would stay and they had until next week to figure it out. Sort of like ‘The Hunger Games.’ That’s the scuttlebutt anyway.” There’s more. “Karen Dillon has seniority, so she has the option of taking it or not taking it,” says the source. “And if she does, Dawn gets laid off. Dawn’s a great person but I think Karen will vote in favor of herself because she’s got teenage kids at home.” This just in: Bormann is o-u-t. A similar proposition is thought to have gone down two years ago between a pair of Star copy editors with Monday morning poet Don Munday being the survivor. “What’s really awful about that choice is it pits two colleagues against each other with the expectation that they will determine who is the better fit,” says one senior area marketing executive. “And it takes the responsibility away from the employers which is cruel and unprofessional. “If the Star really didn’t want to make the choice at that time what they should have done is explain that there was only one position and that those two would have to apply for the position. Or if they knew one person had the seniority – Karen – they should have approached her in private and let her make the decision in private instead of having to make a decision knowing that the other person knows she’s making the decision. It’s unprofessional, cruel and unnecessary.” Incidentally, Dillon, a longtime investigative reporter at the Star, was credited by Rolling Stone with bringing down Pee Wee Herman in 1991: “An able young reporter named Karen Dillon, working the three-to-midnight shift at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, recognized Paul Reubens’s name on the police blotter and broke the story.”
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