Things aren't looking so bad for Kansas City's Daily Paper. Sorta.
Some AWESOME TKC TIPSTER that I don't even know clued me into an interesting bit of news regarding the printing business of Kansas City's paper-of-record.
IT SEEMS THAT THE STAR IS PUTTING A LOT OF WORK INTO GETTING READY TO PRINT COPIES OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL!!!
For better or worse, it's nice to see that they're keeping the printing presses running given the rumors of a sale of the Star printing biz last year.
The WSJ is also printed out in Topeka and Wichita along with current print runs in Iowa. So, while I think the content at The KC Star often sucks . . . The local corporate branch still gets bragging rights for printing the #1 paper in the nation that recently surpassed USA Today.
A few more numbers: Monday thru Friday the paper will be printing around 18k WSJ papers.
The first WSJ issues printed by The Star should hit the streets in early November. I'm hearing the 9th to be exact.
So, while folks may not want to read the blathering of Star columnists Mike Hendricks or Mary Sanchez . . . At least it's nice to know that the dead tree edition of news that really matters is still in demand.
Old news.
ReplyDeleteWrite something nasty about Hendrick's again.
It don't matter some how the Star will screw the deal up they are morons.
ReplyDeleteI think they already publish the WSJ. My Star Carrier delivers both in the same wrapper.
ReplyDeletePeople who constantly call other people morons don't amount to anything, and with that kind of attitude, never will.
ReplyDeleteAlways wisecracks from the sidelines. They make it their life's work!
Meanwhile, about the Star. Reminds me of the book Megatrends, reminding companies what business they're in.
The star's actually in the PUBLISHING BUSINESS, the news business is just their most visible publication.
If they're smart, they'll be running all kinds of little publishing houses out of business. Maybe they arleady are doing lots of direct mail and lots of other publications, even magazines. They have a lot of expertise down there. They're not morons. They probably wouldn't even HIRE you!
People like our host blogger here, and his minions (you'd be one of those) really don't show your smarts attacking big institutions.
The star has long had a national reputation and nobody in this room does. The Star will survive... good companies do. It will find its nitche and have a city wide readership like no blogger ever will in this town.
I enjoy blogging but I don't take myself too seriously and maybe others shouldn't either.
Sometimes too many jabs about the 'dead tree' media make one sound like a noisy Chihuahua underfoot. Now there's a dog that takes itself way too seriously, like a certain local blogger who spends too much time writing about city hall's office politics.
Personally, I cant think of anyone more boring that a government office worker and what he whispers to embarrass his bosses.
Maybe they'll be able to catch a few tips about making money from a newspaper that is actually doing it.
ReplyDeleteI also saw an ad in The Star over the weekend saying they do commercial printing. I don't think this is new but it is new that they are advertising it. So there is probably a lot to what 9:18 said about The Star as an entity finding ways to survive even if their traditional broadsheet print product is having trouble.
ReplyDeleteI could easily see them switching the bulk of their news reporting to online with maybe some scaled back once-a-week newspaper or even local news mag and a whole lot of publishing and commercial printing on the side to pay the bills.
The Star prints...
ReplyDeleteThe Star
Olathe News
Pitch
Riverfront Times (St. Louis)
Omaha Weekly (A Pitch type rag that has writers who went to college instead of employing high school dropouts like the Pitch)
Mi Raza, Andale and all the other oversized Spanish language restaurant/car dealer/Narco band/soccer team/Quinceanera/Carniceria/immigration lawyer rags in K.C.
The Wall Street Journal starting next week.
And a ton of other advertising stuff that you get with your paper.
The daily newspaper is getting to be a sideline these days.