Buzz: Reasonable expectations

The News Dog would like to talk a little about Community Journalism and reasonable expectations.

When a citizen picks up the phone to dial 911, there’s a reasonable expectation that police officers or the fire department will respond. The same with reporting an issue to the City’s 311 Action Center, there’s a reasonable expectation that a City department will respond.

The same holds true when a media release is sent out by – for the sake of conversation – the City of Kansas City. There’s a reasonable expectation that the media outlets that receive those pressers will actually show up and cover the events in the press release.

But let’s talk about the converse to that. There are a number of local entities that tag us on social media channels every time a media release is sent, pushing an event. The American Jazz Museum, RideKC, Parks and Recreation, Aviation, Public Works and more to make darn sure our news outlet is aware, via electronic media, of a pending event, sometimes three times over. Again, with reasonable expectation that we will cover their event.

We also have reasonable expectations here at The House of News. Reasonable expectations that when those media releases are sent, that the prospect of paid ads accompany those releases – whether they’re from the City, a major Northeast-based free clinic, or an 18th and Vine-based music museum – to single out a few.

Sadly however, our emails seeking paid ads, the very ads that help keep our doors open, mind you, are largely ignored, begging the question, why is The Northeast News good enough for your press releases, but not good enough for your paid advertisements?

Rather discriminatory too, in this canine’s eyes. It’s almost like these same entities don’t think our readers are worth paid ads. It begs the question, are our print readers, who are generally of a lower economic status, not the target demographic of these organizations?

Case in point, this well-read news pooch regularly picks up copies of other urban core weekly newspapers to see what news stories are trending and to see who’s spending money on ads in other local publications. Imagine our surprise when we picked up a copy of one of the Hispanic weekly newspapers and found almost $1,000 worth of paid Help Wanted ads placed by the City of Kansas City for three of the four weeks in December. By this dog’s math, that’s roughly $4500in ad revenue in one month alone. The number of help wanted ads placed by the City in the pages of The Northeast News over the same time period? Zero, zip, nada.

We made a few calls to the City to determine why The Northeast News was kicked to the curb yet again. Our overtures were responded to by a mid-level City staffer who repeated the platitude that there were “lots of layers” to the decision process and that she would “take our information and forward it to the right people.”

Right. We’ve heard that song and dance before. This lil’ doggie has some reasonable expectations that if the City is going to literally underwrite the entire Help Wanted section of someone’s newspaper, that a publisher or a reporter from that paper should be reasonably expected to show up and cover City events.

This dog has been to more than our share of press events sponsored by City departments and we’ve never seen a representative of that newspaper at any of them. And yet the ads continue to flow to a news organization who never shows up at local pressers. How long will the City continue to reward negative behavior? Politics maybe?

Last March we published an edition with a front page devoid of any news, stressing through articles inside the strong need to support Community Journalism. Our message? There’s a reasonable expectation that if local business, non-profit agencies and municipalities don’t support locally owned Community Journalism outlets with paid ad revenue, then those newsrooms would ultimately close, leaving the surrounding community without a news team to cover the hyperlocal news that’s so important in keeping neighborhoods in the city’s urban core vibrant and in touch. 

It should be noted that we have one full time Reporter/Editor on staff to cover all these events. Sometimes we’ll have the luxury of a part time intern or the Boss Dog steps up to fill in the gaps. Our focus is on our community and our neighborhoods. If we, with our limited resources, have to choose between two events to cover, we’ll go with the one that matters more to the readers in our community.  Did the dog mention that despite our small yet incredibly talented staff, we still win awards for excellence in Journalism and Marketing from the MIssouri Press Association? 

Here’s the bottom line, and we’re firing this off directly to the City Manager, the Mayor, and anyone who makes ad placement decisions for the City or those other entities who tag us on social media with the reasonable expectation we’ll spend our resources to cover your event. We have reasonable expectations too. Our ad reps are awaiting your call with the reasonable expectation that paid ads will follow.

Want Northeast News articles sent straight to your inbox each week? Subscribe below!
Enter your email address and click on the Get Instant Access button.
We respect your privacy

Comments are closed.

  • Publisher’s Perspective

    November 23rd, 2022
    by

    Welcome to the November 23, 2022, edition of Kansas City’s Northeast News. This issue is somewhat of a milestone for […]


    House of News scores big at MO Press Convention

    September 21st, 2022
    by

    Michael Bushnell Publisher Once again, Kansas City’s Northeast News has raised the bar for Community Journalism in Kansas City’s Historic […]


    The Fourth Estate

    September 14th, 2022
    by

    by bunny the news hound Thomas Jefferson once said, in defense of the press, “Were it left to me to […]


    The lack of black players in American soccer

    August 17th, 2022
    by

    by Aniaya Reed Can you name a black female or male soccer player? I’ll go first, Crystal Dunn, United States […]


    An open letter to our readers, advertisers and the Historic Northeast community

    May 4th, 2022
    by

    From the Publisher of the Northeast News On July 1, 1998, Pinnacle Communications LLC assumed ownership of The Northeast News […]


    Buzz: The end of an era

    April 27th, 2022
    by

    And just like that, the Chief Richard Smith era is over at the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department. No fanfare, […]


    News Dog Speaks: What happened to NoVA?

    April 20th, 2022
    by

    People traditionally have short attention spans and short memories, something politicians like to capitalize on when speaking to key voter […]


    News Dog Speaks: Time for change

    February 23rd, 2022
    by

    This critically thinking News Dog thinks a change in paradigms is highly necessary in how the City deals with the […]


    The time for strong neighborhoods is now.

    November 3rd, 2021
    by

    In 1995, Historic Northeast Kansas City boasted one of the strongest coalitions of neighborhood associations in the city. Under the […]


  • Northeast News secures more Awards in Missouri Press competitions

    September 29th, 2021
    by

    Once again The Northeast News came away from the annual Missouri Press Association Convention at the Elms Hotel in Excelsior […]


    Shoot, don’t shoot: A Day in the Life of a KC Cop

    August 31st, 2021
    by

    Recently the News Dog was invited by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department (KCPD) to participate in their officer-involved shooting […]


    Marriage: A Bad Idea

    August 18th, 2021
    by

    Lexi GarciaEditorial Assistant One of the many things people think about when they get into relationships is whether or not […]


    The coronavirus is far from over

    August 11th, 2021
    by

    by Tatum Goetting The COVID crisis is not over, and Missourians should not act as if it is. We’re tired […]


    The Northeast community should care more for its high school facilities

    August 4th, 2021
    by

    by Corbin Smith For many high school students, sports are an integral part of their lives. Some students even rely […]


    BUZZ: Parks conditions worst in 30 years

    June 16th, 2021
    by

    Absolutely shameful. The abject laziness and uncaring attitude exhibited by KCMO Parks and Rec Employees charged with keeping Kessler Park […]


    Effects of a blank page

    June 2nd, 2021
    by

    Roughly 60 days ago, the team here at the House of News made the bold decision to publish our March […]


    Pet ownership comes with responsibilities

    May 26th, 2021
    by

    Nikki Lansford Editorial Assistant If you’re an avid Facebook user who consistently peruses any page pertaining to the Northeast, then […]


    Mayor Q’s Corrupt Cronies Volume I

    May 26th, 2021
    by

    Once again, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has shown his true, City-Charter-shredding, open-meeting-violating colors by deliberately making backroom deals with […]


  • Want articles sent directly to your inbox each week? Subscribe below!
    We respect your privacy and will not distribute your information.