ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Whitlock- It’s OK to question Pioli and the Chiefs

Off The Couch: Whitlock, Jack Harry and KK Feud
greg

http://www.kcconfidential.com/?p=551#more-551

Jason Whitlock used his Sunday column to poke Kevin Kietzman, Jack Harry and even the dead-man-talking Neal Jones. As always, the OTC is happy to arbitrate this disagreement amongst the members of our local sports media.

“The New Don Fortune (Kevin Kietzman) expressed his disinterest in needing access and information from our New Carl Peterson, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli. The New Don and his trusty sidekick, Mad Jack Harry, spent several minutes (last Wednesday) telling their listeners that we should trust Pioli implicitly and not waste emotion or energy worrying whether Pioli reveals himself, his plans or his players to the media.”
Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star

GH: I miss this Jason Whitlock — the one petty enough to use his Sunday column to wallow in a literary bashing of his peers in the local media. Jack Harry chose to be just as petty when he used his Sunday-night soapbox (which is can’t miss TV for me) to fire back at the Round Mound of Clowns.

“I was prepared to offer a retort to an article authored by J. Whitlock, better known in the media as Pork Chop. I thought why give this guy any publicity and then I thought, ‘Why not?’”
Jack Harry, as he launched into a five minute attack on Whitlock, KSHB TV 41

GH: Would it have been more professional for Harry to ignore Whitlock’s barbs? Probably, but not nearly as entertaining.

“Having worked in sports-talk radio, I’m aware that the discipline requires a dramatic and healthy loosening of journalistic standards.”
Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star

GH: Good thing sports-talk radio isn’t bound by those same stringent journalistic standards that prevented The Star from reporting for a month the publisher’s wife, Rhonda Chriss Lokeman’s DUI arrest (where she was found to be driving on only three tires). Read on.

“In news sure to rock the Kansas City Star, McClatchy Watch has learned Rhonda Lokeman, the controversial columnist who is married to Kansas City Star publisher Mark Zieman, was arrested for DUI in Kansas City, MO. The arrest occurred the first week in January and the newspaper has managed to keep her arrest a secret from KC Star readers — at least until now (February).”
McClatchy Watch

GH: Lokeman quietly retired after her arrest and word is that most Star edfitors and employees were just as shocked as readers to read of her three-tire arrest a month later in The Star.

“It was news to me. And as I discovered when I asked editors in the newsroom, nobody there knew about it there either, from the police/justice assistant city editor on up to editor and vice president Mike Fannin. Obviously, they know now.”
Derek Donovan, more than a month after Lokeman’s arrest, Reader Representative of The Kansas City Star

GH: Let’s assume Mark Zieman, the publisher of The Star, knew on January 1, 2009 his wife had been arrested. If true, Zieman withheld this information from the paper’s editor and newsroom for over a month – presumable simply because he is married to Lokeman. My question is how does Zieman even show his face to those Star employees who have based their careers on the stringent guidelines of journalism that William Rockhill Nelson founded the newspaper on back in 1860?Is The Star’s new motto; A Paper for the People – unless my wife gets arrested.

“I’ve received two emails now on Jason Whitlock saying I lacked journalistic integrity and Jack has received none.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM

GH: Sounds eerily familiar to the Carl Peterson defense.

“The rotund one took a few shots at Kevin Kietzman and I in his daily rant column. He is questioning our journalistic integrity. That’s fine coming from anyone besides Jason Whitlock.”
Jack Harry, KSHB TV 41

GH: Let’s get this question of who of these three has or does not have journalistic integrity out of the way immediately – none of these TMZ lookalikes. These three have more in common with each other (and PowerCat.com’s Tim Fitzgerald) than they’ll admit.

“I subscribe to this paper to read the work of Joe Posnanski and Blair Kerkhoff. I must confess that I carefully cut out Whitlock’s column and use it to line my granddaughter’s birdcage on a daily basis.”
Jack Harry, KSHB TV 41

“Pork Chop thinks Kietzman and I are too soft on Chiefs’ General Manager, Scott Pioli. Obviously Whitlock is not in touch with reality nor does he have a pulse of what’s happening in this city.”
Jack Harry, KSHB TV 41

“(Bill Belichick) has brainwashed his players into believing the media are evil, incompetent and stirrers of chaos.”
Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star

GH: I wonder why Belichick would think that of a columnist who refuses to produce collaborating quotes from management or players to confirm or deny an unnamed source’s damaging story like that of Brian Waters?

“I think there might be some sour grapes involving Whitlock and the Patriots. Whitlock wrote something that wasn’t very nice about a Patriots player on a piece of paper and then plastered it on the press box window trying to rile New England fans and he did!”
Jack Harry, on why he believes Whitlock has it in for Pioli, KSHB TV 41

GH: JW’s sign was hand-written and it read; “Bledsoe gay?” The Star suspended him for two weeks in 1998 but this incident continues to be his Jim Rome/Jim (Chris) Everett shadow.

“Unchallenged leaders are dictators and quickly turn unethical.”
Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star

GH: Just who is it at The Star who is challenging the words JW is oozing out these days? Replace the word “leaders” with “journalists” in the sentence above and the message remains the same.

“Whitlock has made some cruel verbal attacks on radio and TV people in this town. Deep down he is envious of those in the electronic media. He wants to be on the air in the worst way.”
Jack Harry, KSHB TV 41

GH: I don’t think Pork Chop is envious of anyone besides Denzel. But he would like to get a local or satellite sports talk show to help revive Jeff George’s career.

“The bottom line is he is not good enough to get a fulltime gig in broadcasting and he knows it.”
Jack Harry, KSHB TV 41

GH: Yeah, it takes some real talent to get a gig in TV or radio in this town. Has Jack ever watched tapes of himself? Has he watched Len Dawson swallow his tongue trying to pronounce names with consecutive vowels? Are 610’s ratings above 2.0 in any demo yet? Hasn’t Karen Kornacki cashed a paycheck for the past 20 years? Whitlock’s problem isn’t his talent, it’s his personal insecurity and paranoia that have burned his broadcasting bridges.

“I’m the only one at the station who doesn’t have a computer on his desk. The people I work with are aware of that fact. If I need something I just go to them. …I have a computer at home but it isn’t set up.”
Len Dawson, explaining he doesn’t use email, The Star Magazine

GH: Dawson is most likely the highest-paid TV anchor on local television. Imagine doing your job w/o access to email, text messaging or the Internet. Dawson does other seniors a disservice for perpetuating the stereotype that they cannot/will not participate in a technical world. There is little question in my mind why Dawson’s Channel 9 sportscast is the one to skip.

“I find one of our local (sports talk radio) stations unlisten-Neal-able.”
Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star

GH: Instead of taking offense at Whitlock’s slight, I am pretty sure Neal Jones was happy to just get a mention in The Star. Word is that Jones will be soon departing 610’s afternoon drive slot. The unknown but potentially talented 610 night-time host, Nick Wright, is being considered to replace unlisten-Neal-able.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to talk about the slap fight going on between one of our television anchors and our most self-promoting Kansas City Star columnist.”
Nick Wright, evening talk show host on 610 AM

GH: Unlike KK and Harry, Wright mentioned that he was receiving a deluge of emails concerning the Whitlock and Harry feud. He also could not resist weighing in on the topic.

“This is basically a guy who is still relevant sticking a fork in a guy who is a parody of his former self and whose career is spiraling. I don’t want to mention him by name. I don’t know how his family still lets him out of the house. Did I just talk about it?”
Nick Wright, evening talk show host on 610 AM

[email protected]