Chiefs WHITLOCK - Newspapers are key to democracy

Hammock Parties · 12-20-2008, 10:41 PM

Run for mayor, yo!

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/col...ry/946541.html

People keep asking me what’s next now that King Carl Peterson has been stripped of his throne.

The answer is simple. You don’t understand this column if you believe the hunt for Peterson drove the content here. King Carl was a handy foil, not the focus.

His demise, however, has caused me to reflect about the industry I love.

Somewhere along my sophomore year of college, being a big-city newspaper columnist became my singular, professional obsession, replacing my childhood fantasy of playing in the National Football League.

My teammates would trace the career change to the spot on the bench my already-ample butt warmed along the sideline my re-redshirt year. They’re probably right. The humiliation of that second season sparked an intellectual awakening and evolution. It caused me to define myself beyond football.

I needed an identity. Journalist/columnist/entertainer/provocateur fit my personality rather nicely. They were the titles/characteristics that made my writing hero, Mike Royko, the best newspaper columnist of all time.

Perhaps it’s an embarrassing admission revealing the immaturity of my personal life, but I must admit I’ve known no greater passion than my infatuation with being a relevant newspaper columnist. It consumes me.

And now I’m scared.

The conventional wisdom is that newspapers are dying. We’re slashing employees, young people allegedly ignore us and what we report and say somehow matters less. A major newspaper in New York recently eliminated the sports columnist position. The two newspapers in Detroit announced last week they’re soon only going to offer home delivery three days a week.

We’re all hurting in this economy. The pain we feel at The Star when our valued colleagues are let go is no different from the pain you feel when a friend or loved one is laid off at Sprint, Hallmark or Ford.

But I want you to consider something when you think about the future of newspapers:

You can’t have a democracy without us. If newspapers are dying, so is our system of government.

That is not written as a plea to buy our product. It’s written as a plea for you to understand you have a stake in the newspaper industry. It’s written as a plea for you to value and seek good, reliable, challenging and thought-provoking information.

If you do those things, newspapers will survive the troubled economy and rebound with a product that makes sense in the instant-information age. Our democracy depends on it.

That probably sounds ridiculously self-important coming from a sportswriter. The conceit does not diminish the truthfulness.

Let me explain with a short story.

On the same day that Chiefs owner Clark Hunt relieved Peterson of his responsibilities as president/CEO/general manager, my alma mater, Ball State, officially announced that its football coach, Brady Hoke, had accepted a job at San Diego State.

Y’all know I love Ball State. I was insanely distracted on Monday when Peterson was chopped.

My mother, who lives in Indianapolis, called me to gossip about the news. She’d heard on her television evening newscast that Hoke left Ball State because the Aztecs offered $300,000 more than BSU. She repeated this bit of information to me, and I chuckled in a twist of amusement and disbelief.

Since late September, I had worked feverishly trying to get the Ball State administration, Indiana print and broadcast media and the school’s boosters to grasp that Hoke would have no choice but to leave if the school failed to invest in his assistant-coaching staff and coaching facilities.

I pegged my Cardinals as BCS-bowl threats during the offseason and realized that the school’s non-support of the program the previous five years would make Hoke, a BSU alumnus, tempted to leave.

The school’s president and athletic director — the Mickey and Mouse of Division I athletics — baited Hoke to depart by offering him a new contract that included no improvements for his assistants. It was an offer he had to refuse, and they knew it. After a 12-1 season that saw the Cardinals ranked in the top 25 most of the year, Hoke’s best assistants were candidates for other jobs. Already some of the lowest-paid assistants in their conference, they were not inclined to stick around for no new money. Hoke’s foundation at Ball State would be undermined. He had to go.

You can only find that kind of context in properly staffed, well-funded newspapers committed to journalism. We’re losing that. The Indianapolis newspaper no longer has a reporter to cover Ball State. The newspaper in Muncie, where BSU is located, has no competition and little incentive to dig for news. The real story that precipitated Hoke’s departure was never told.

It’s not good that we have fewer journalists scratching for the truth.

We can’t govern fairly without substantive information. Never give up on newspapers. We’re more worthy of a bailout than the jokers on Wall Street.

**DaneMcCloud** · 12-20-2008, 10:45 PM

Uh, it's a University. A place were 99.999999999% go for education and to prepare life ahead.

Not to watch sports.

**RealSNR** · 12-20-2008, 10:50 PM

I hate Ball State. So there.

ClevelandBronco · 12-20-2008, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitlock

It’s not good that we have fewer journalists scratching for the truth.

We don't have fewer journalists scratching for the truth.

We have more journalists but it's more difficult to figure out where to find the good ones.

Sorry about your rice bowl, dude.

Red Dawg · 12-20-2008, 11:02 PM

Message to Fatlock: NOBODY CARES ABOUT BALL STATE! They don't have a big enough program to get sports writer to care nor readers to care about reading BS about them. That's why new papers don't cover them.

What a joke of an article.

**Buehler445** · 12-20-2008, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitlock

We’re more worthy of a bailout than the jokers on Wall Street.

What? Does he really REALLY honestly think that the KC Star contributes more to America than does GM, Chrysler, and Ford? Really?

**DaneMcCloud** · 12-20-2008, 11:04 PM

I'm sorry but the KC Star has always been bad, going back to the 70's when there was a KC Times in the evening.

Whitlock is "mildly" entertaining and JoPo has been just too far out there for the regular reader during the past 2 years (too much baseball number crunching and "heart-warming" stories about people that no one cares about).

Wouldn't it be great if Clark could fire Whitlock as well?

**cdcox** · 12-20-2008, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I'm sorry but the KC Star has always been bad, going back to the 70's when there was a KC Times in the evening.

Times was the morning paper, Star was evening.

Times on Saturday, Star on Sunday.

**DaneMcCloud** · 12-20-2008, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdcox

Times was the morning paper, Star was evening.

Times on Saturday, Star on Sunday.

You must be older than me because I was just a youngster, but I do remember the "Times".

**Smed1065** · 12-20-2008, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

You must be older than me because I was just a youngster, but I do remember the "Times".

WEAK!

**cdcox** · 12-20-2008, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

You must be older than me because I was just a youngster, but I do remember the "Times".

I'm pretty sure I'm older than you.

Long, long ago, the Times and the Star were independent newspapers. Then the Star bought the Times in 1900 or so. In my day ('70s and '80s) , the Times actually had more content during the week than the Star. The Star was huge on Sunday's though.

**DaneMcCloud** · 12-20-2008, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdcox

I'm pretty sure I'm older than you.

Long, long ago, the Times and the Star were independent newspapers. Then the Star bought the Times in 1900 or so. In my day ('70s and '80s) , the Times actually had more content during the week than the Star. The Star was huge on Sunday's though.

I was just teasing.

All I remember about the Times was picking up the newspapers before shoveling driveways (I shoveled driveways after school from age 12 to 15 for money during the winter).

I honestly couldn't remember if the Times was delivered in the morning or the evening and had a 50/50 chance of being correct.

I guess I'll stay out of the casino tonight!

Hammock Parties · 12-20-2008, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Wouldn't it be great if Clark could fire Whitlock as well?

Absolutely not.

**DaneMcCloud** · 12-20-2008, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claythan

Absolutely not.

Agree to disagree, young Padawan learner.

12-20-2008, 10:41 PM	Topic Starter
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4600478	WHITLOCK - Newspapers are key to democracy Run for mayor, yo! http://www.kansascity.com/sports/col...ry/946541.html People keep asking me what’s next now that King Carl Peterson has been stripped of his throne. The answer is simple. You don’t understand this column if you believe the hunt for Peterson drove the content here. King Carl was a handy foil, not the focus. His demise, however, has caused me to reflect about the industry I love. Somewhere along my sophomore year of college, being a big-city newspaper columnist became my singular, professional obsession, replacing my childhood fantasy of playing in the National Football League. My teammates would trace the career change to the spot on the bench my already-ample butt warmed along the sideline my re-redshirt year. They’re probably right. The humiliation of that second season sparked an intellectual awakening and evolution. It caused me to define myself beyond football. I needed an identity. Journalist/columnist/entertainer/provocateur fit my personality rather nicely. They were the titles/characteristics that made my writing hero, Mike Royko, the best newspaper columnist of all time. Perhaps it’s an embarrassing admission revealing the immaturity of my personal life, but I must admit I’ve known no greater passion than my infatuation with being a relevant newspaper columnist. It consumes me. And now I’m scared. The conventional wisdom is that newspapers are dying. We’re slashing employees, young people allegedly ignore us and what we report and say somehow matters less. A major newspaper in New York recently eliminated the sports columnist position. The two newspapers in Detroit announced last week they’re soon only going to offer home delivery three days a week. We’re all hurting in this economy. The pain we feel at The Star when our valued colleagues are let go is no different from the pain you feel when a friend or loved one is laid off at Sprint, Hallmark or Ford. But I want you to consider something when you think about the future of newspapers: You can’t have a democracy without us. If newspapers are dying, so is our system of government. That is not written as a plea to buy our product. It’s written as a plea for you to understand you have a stake in the newspaper industry. It’s written as a plea for you to value and seek good, reliable, challenging and thought-provoking information. If you do those things, newspapers will survive the troubled economy and rebound with a product that makes sense in the instant-information age. Our democracy depends on it. That probably sounds ridiculously self-important coming from a sportswriter. The conceit does not diminish the truthfulness. Let me explain with a short story. On the same day that Chiefs owner Clark Hunt relieved Peterson of his responsibilities as president/CEO/general manager, my alma mater, Ball State, officially announced that its football coach, Brady Hoke, had accepted a job at San Diego State. Y’all know I love Ball State. I was insanely distracted on Monday when Peterson was chopped. My mother, who lives in Indianapolis, called me to gossip about the news. She’d heard on her television evening newscast that Hoke left Ball State because the Aztecs offered $300,000 more than BSU. She repeated this bit of information to me, and I chuckled in a twist of amusement and disbelief. Since late September, I had worked feverishly trying to get the Ball State administration, Indiana print and broadcast media and the school’s boosters to grasp that Hoke would have no choice but to leave if the school failed to invest in his assistant-coaching staff and coaching facilities. I pegged my Cardinals as BCS-bowl threats during the offseason and realized that the school’s non-support of the program the previous five years would make Hoke, a BSU alumnus, tempted to leave. The school’s president and athletic director — the Mickey and Mouse of Division I athletics — baited Hoke to depart by offering him a new contract that included no improvements for his assistants. It was an offer he had to refuse, and they knew it. After a 12-1 season that saw the Cardinals ranked in the top 25 most of the year, Hoke’s best assistants were candidates for other jobs. Already some of the lowest-paid assistants in their conference, they were not inclined to stick around for no new money. Hoke’s foundation at Ball State would be undermined. He had to go. You can only find that kind of context in properly staffed, well-funded newspapers committed to journalism. We’re losing that. The Indianapolis newspaper no longer has a reporter to cover Ball State. The newspaper in Muncie, where BSU is located, has no competition and little incentive to dig for news. The real story that precipitated Hoke’s departure was never told. It’s not good that we have fewer journalists scratching for the truth. We can’t govern fairly without substantive information. Never give up on newspapers. We’re more worthy of a bailout than the jokers on Wall Street.
Posts: 278,245

12-20-2008, 10:45 PM	#2
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	Uh, it's a University. A place were 99.999999999% go for education and to prepare life ahead. Not to watch sports.
Posts: 88,960

12-20-2008, 10:50 PM	#3
RealSNR Special Teams ACE!!! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Where the hell is SNR Casino cash: $2250208	I hate Ball State. So there.
Posts: 90,541

12-20-2008, 11:02 PM	#5
Red Dawg Going home eventually Join Date: Dec 2002 Casino cash: $4702858	Message to Fatlock: NOBODY CARES ABOUT BALL STATE! They don't have a big enough program to get sports writer to care nor readers to care about reading BS about them. That's why new papers don't cover them. What a joke of an article. __________________ If you're not first you're last!
Posts: 30,442

12-20-2008, 11:04 PM	#8
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	I'm sorry but the KC Star has always been bad, going back to the 70's when there was a KC Times in the evening. Whitlock is "mildly" entertaining and JoPo has been just too far out there for the regular reader during the past 2 years (too much baseball number crunching and "heart-warming" stories about people that no one cares about). Wouldn't it be great if Clark could fire Whitlock as well?
Posts: 88,960