3 Quarters Well Spent
75¢ won't buy you much these days. Even most candy bars will set you back a dollar. Don't bother walking into a coffee shop with 75¢.
But that same 75¢ will buy you a copy of the Kansas City Star to read as you're drinking a cup of that coffee you can't afford.
Most of the times I have mentioned the Star on this blog, I am complaining. I complain about Abouhalkah, I complain about Kraske, I complain about whatever grabs my eye. If I assembled my mentions of the Star into one grand post, it would be a vitriolic mess of negativity and mockery. (The fact that it would be mostly justified doesn't make it any more attractive.)
In keeping with my lapse-prone resolve to be a more positive voice, though, consider what your 3 quarters could buy you today. Dan Margolies does a masterful job of analyzing numbers and arguments in an article debunking the myth that "tort reform" can play a sizable role in lessening health care costs. That's the sort of work that takes time and judgment to produce - time and judgment you won't often see invested on a TV clip or a partisan blog.
There's also an ironic article provided by the Associated Press about Washington University closing its Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values in the wake of scandals involving two faculty members (Jeff Smith and Timothy Kuklo).
The letters to the editor include thought-inspiring contributions by Dan Cofran, Ed Casey and Larry Rizzo.
The sports page brings good news about the Cardinals and bad news about the Royals, along with an interesting article about whether Tank Tyler is "mean enough" to play nose tackle for the Chiefs.
All this, plus the comics, for 75¢.
It's true that you can freeload and get most of this material online, but unless you're really strapped for cash, it's worth the money to get the actual paper version to have and to hold, and feel good for paying your share to support what's left of the Kansas City Star.
(As an aside, I never knew how to make the ¢ symbol on my keyboard until a friend directed me to this site, which has a great menu of keyboard tricks.)
Labels: journalism, KC Star
posted by Dan at 8/29/2009 08:21:00 AM
3 Comments:
Yael bugs me from time to time, but even when I disagree with him, I can see where his opinions are well thought out.
Mike Hendricks is a different story entirely, however. I should start a journal of when his writing slants to a condescending tone -- or more commonly, swings to veiled praise of white flight.
I would agree with you, if the KC Star were worth reading. But 99% of the writing is amateur and worthless. The editorial board (especially Yael) is unprofessional, jeering, and they write like 2nd graders. Sorry to disagree. I cancelled my subscription to the Star in protest of the unprofessional journalism found there. The sooner the paper fails and we get a decent one in town, the better!
The Star gave us Funkhouser, and the Butler Buildings next to the Nelson. They are going to Hell for that.
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