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Kevin Kietzman and the sports talkers at WHB-810 are violating the first rule of media relations: "Never argue with a company that buys its ink by the barrel." Kietzman initially waged a heated debate with his competitors at KCSP-610 by claiming they have taken kickbacks from the SOS group to guarantee their support. At that point Kansas City Star columnist lashed back at Kietzman (see story below). However, Kietzman then said the radio spots (run on his station and others) clearly show that the SOS group and the Star editors (and its columnists, including Mike Hendricks) are in bed on the issue. He said the Star is receiving millions of dollars in advertising from the SOS group and that the commercials actually refer listeners to the Star for details on why they should vote for the issues. Hendricks, Star columnist, lashed back at Kietzman (3/6) on Gatewaycityradio.com saying on the forum that any possibilities that the Star is being bought off "are bullshit." Hendricks noted in a later post that he will very likely write a column to reinforce his view that advertising and editorial are separate at his paper:
"Kevin Kietzman's insinuations about the The Star being bought off are bullshit. He made it
seem today as if my column was bought and paid for. Well, maybe that's how it works in
broadcast. Someone buys ad time and expect "the talent" to toe the line. Even Kevin once
tried to get some airline to give me a free trip to Cleveland so I might watch a ball game
in a downtown stadium. His station would go for the hotel. But it
doesn't work that way in print, buckos. No freebies allowed. No moonlighting for the
sponsors. I only get
one pay check, from the Star. I even give my speaking fees, such as they are, to charity. By the
way, most of us who write news or opinion for the paper care not what the editorial board's
stand is on anything. We recognize the board's right to feel this way or that, but we don't
have to agree with them. On 3/9 Star columnist Yael Abouhalkah, who supports the stadium issues, joined his fellow Star columnists by piling on Kietzman: "Kevin Kietzman is the 810 WHB afternoon radio host who goes overboard to get a reaction from listeners. He has called Jackson County legislators corrupt, impeached Glorioso’s credibility, and implied that bond counsel Jack Holland and others involved in the new leases with the teams are doing it to get rich. "Kietzman also is an indefatigable (and wrongheaded) booster of a downtown ballpark, a particularly expensive and ill-defined plan rejected by the Royals."
KANSAS CITY'S SPORTS TALK RADIO GETS UGLY The sports talk wars in Kansas City may have reached a new low with WHB-810 talkers Soren Petro and Kevin Kietzman accusing their counterparts at KCSP-610 of unethical behavior for taking money to promote a stadium initiative that will be voted on April 4th. A Missouri Ethics Report issued (2/28) listed several KCSP employees as receiving money from the "Save Our Stadiums" group. And if things weren't ugly enough, Kansas City Star sports columnist Jason Whitlock, who has been fired by both stations, wrote a scathing column (3/2) titled "Talk Radio 'Ethics" is an Oxymoron." In the tirade Whitlock says Kietzman took money by backers of a downtown arena, that Danni Boatwright is simply "eye candy," and that KCSP's Marty Wall and Neal Jones (who replaced him a year ago) are simply referred to as "Bland and Blander." "What a treat. I mean, seriously, 810 WHB and 610 KCSP debating journalism ethics is sort of like Shawn Kemp and Bill Clinton bickering over monogamy," says Whitlock. The whole fight began when Kietzman called out 610 hosts as being paid to endorse the stadium initiative, while Petro called them hypocrites for saying in the past that 810 had a financial interest in downtown, while at the same time they were taking money from the "SOS" group. “I know that we would have major credibility issues at our station if we had our on-air hosts trying to persuade people on an issue,” Kietzman said in an interview with the Star's Jeffrey Flanagan (3/1), “knowing that they had taken money by a campaign endorsing a certain position.” 610 talkers attempted to explain what transpired. However, one host took personal pot-shots at Kietzman, going as far as saying he cheated on his wife with a co-worker. He then defended Danni Boatwright, who was paid $500 by the SOS group. She is best known for winning TV's "Survivor."KCSP afternoon talker Marty Wall of 610 admitted taking the money on his show (2/28), but said he could not be "bought" for $150. In fact, Wall joked that he was supposed to be paid $200 by the committee. KCSP's Cory Anderson, the host of "610 Sportsnight," posted his views in a local chat room (see below). When specifically asked (3/1) by us whether he considered himself a "journalist" or an "entertainer" he was emphatic: "I absolutely consider myself a journalist...I didn't want anyone out there saying I could be bought..." According to a filing by the Missouri Ethics Commission the following individuals at 4935 Belinder (KCSP's station address) have received money from the "Save our Stadiums" (SOS) group: Chris Hamblin ($350) Ananda Sallman ($75) Cory Anderson ($150) Thomas (Neal) Jones ($150) Dustin Boehm ($75) Danni Boatwright ($500) Marty Wall ($150)
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