As I announced a few weeks ago, my days as a media chronicler in Kansas City are numbered.

It has been a great run, but my wife and I have decided to relocate to the Hilton Head, SC area. It is just a few hours from my mother’s nursing home in Tampa and my sisters, and I plan to still do media work and continue teaching in college.

It was also supposed to be closer to my father-in-law’s nursing home in Ohio, but he recently died at age 93. The sudden death of my dear friend, Paul Welsh, has made this a very challenging time.

I couldn’t go away without some reflections on a PR career of nearly 25 years in KC. The list will be expanded as new things pop into my head, but here goes:

* In TV circles I honestly believe that KSHB under Brian Bracco will improve dramatically and become a force in the ratings. People in KC are very loyal to certain stations and it is a real challenge to get them to change their habits, but it will happen in time because the staff there is too good.

* I have really loved being a member of the KC Media Legends group founded by PR icon Pat Paton. I will miss our meetings and the media conversations. You can learn an awful lot about the KC media after 10 minutes with radio legend Ted Cramer.

* Sorry to see KSHB’s Lance Veeser signing off on June 28 after seven years at the NBC affiliate before he heads to WKOW in Madison, WI. ”I’m proud of a lot of what we’ve done here in the sports department,” he told Bottom Line. “I’ve had a blast and learned a lot from veterans like Jack (Harry) and Frank (Boal). The people of Kansas City have been extremely welcoming to my family. We truly enjoyed our time here. I’m looking forward to the next adventure but will never forget my KC experience.”

* An apology is in order to E.J. Becker, morning co-host at KMBZ. He had agreed to be profiled on my site and then flip-flopped. I was irritated with him and wrote a few pissy stories about the show until I realized that Entercom will not allow employees to speak to the media or sites like mine. He was simply following corporate policy.

* I never thought there was any rivalry between PR firms in KC. I think you can’t lose calling Pat O’Neil, Will Gregory, Becky Wilson, Phil Hermanson, et al for help. The larger firms always kind of seemed like billing organizations that also did PR for clients.

* I had a falling out with Entercom’s Program Director Jack Landreth (often referred to as “new Boss”), who told me how he would cooperate on stories when, in reality, he was not allowed to comment on anything. The silly “no comment” policy has hurt Entercom from getting lots of positive publicity.

* As a former print reporter, I often thought TV people really were pretty much like Will Ferrell in “Anchorman.” After watching KSHB anchors Mark Clegg and Christa Dubill do a newscast recently where they did one news report seated, the next standing and almost non-stop moving around, you realize they simply make a difficult job look easy. The whole time they are running around some producer is telling them in their earpiece where to look, where to move, what to say, etc. I would probably just walk into a wall…

* Some anchors are exactly the same on the air as off. I would put John Holt at Fox 4 in that category along with Larry Moore and Kris Ketz at KMBC. There are others, but those three come to mind first.

* At some point the crew on the Sunday morning KCMO radio show “Religion on the Line” will realize that caller “Mike” talks to simply hear him self talk. They give this guy way too much time to espouse his views on whatever he wants and listeners simply change stations. On the other hand, “Bebo” calls in each week and talks about his Catholic faith. Unfortunately, what he believes and what the church teaches are often not the same.

* Kris Ketz at KMBC is the hardest-working guy in TV. He is one of those people you see on TV and think it is effortless and “I could do that…” No, you couldn’t. I consider him a real friend and will miss him.

* I have often been criticized for my support of Tony Botello at tonyskansascity.com. Yes, I know he has cheesy photos on his blog and some of the comments he allows are not pleasant, but I do feel he provides a great service to readers and works very hard at breaking news stories. We have only met a few times, but he is a friend and always will be. (He even designed my “That’s All Folks!” art for this story.)

* I am confident only Tony Botello or Ryan Kath will be the ones to determine where the missing Floyd Mayweather $15K money went. And I don’t have much faith even they will ever figure it out.

* I think News Director Blaise Labbe has done a terrific job of turning KCTV from “Scare the hell out of ‘em” news to a station that does an excellent job delivering the news. It now seems as if KMBC is the station in the market that is doing so many “Breaking News” stories it is getting a bit silly.

* Although we have never actually met, I think Scott Parks at KMBZ of the “Dana & Parks” afternoon show and I would have been friends. I have met Dana Wright and she is nuts (in a good way). I am a loyal listener and will particularly miss “Festivus Fridays.” Did you know their afternoon show attracts more male listeners in the key demographic than any other station in town, including sports?

* If I had been in TV news I would have liked to have worked for KMBC’s former GM Wayne Godsey. He’s a class act and the fact he had a news background really helped the ABC affiliate deliver a quality news product that seems to have lost lately.

* Why do I screen comments on stories? Because some people are idiots. The vast majority of the people who visit this site are top-notch, but there are always a few who cross the line with their comments and they are deleted. Really, no one cares if you would like to have sex with an anchor or reporter.

* Some of my favorite reporters/editors at the Star: Les Weatherford, Rick Babson, Christine Vendel, Julius Karash, Karen Dillon, Bob Cronkleton, Paul Wenske, Greg Hack, Lee Kavanaugh, Jeff Flanagan, Mike DeArmond, Jim Fitzpatrick…

* When he was the telecom reporter at the Star and I was the PR guy at Sprint Marty Rosenberg was a major pain in the butt. On the other hand, he was a helluva journalist, and there aren’t too many of those around anymore.

* For some reason, former KC Star TV/Radio writer Aaron Barnhart never liked me. He actually insulted me while I was buying his stupid book, and it really irritated me. I do think he fashioned himself as some kind of a national media reporter and the fact he did not cover KC media goings-on very well was not a positive.

* I’ve always admired the way the Star’s Steve Kraske did such a professional job with his weekday radio show on KCUR. During virtually every interview his guest will remark, “That’s a great question…”

* The Kansas City Star should be ashamed for not doing a story on the death of KC advertising legend Paul Welsh. The KC Business Journal recognized him in a nice story by Laura Davison. However, the Star was more than willing to charge a huge fee to run his obituary, and they were not a delight to deal with at all.

* I guess I have gushed too much about KSHB’s investigative reporter Ryan Kath, but I think he does a terrific job. A competitor joked he also wants to be called “stalwart” on my site “like I do with Kath all the time.”

* I always appreciated that Elizabeth Alex (KSHB) and Martin Augustine (KMBC) did such nice stories about my son’s kidney transplant. Bob Roberts with the defunct Johnson County Sun is a friend for life. Tough to believe that was back in 2001…

* That reminds me of “stalwart” reporter Matt Stewart. I always felt he got a raw deal at KCTV and was glad he was able to stay in KC. Are you happy now, Matt that I called you stalwart?

* It has been great to see how KMBZ’s Darla Jaye has thrived despite being banished to the tough evening talk show period. She can sometimes come across as tough as nails on the air, but she is a very nice person. I will miss her.

* KCSP will never beat WHB in sports talk in Kansas City unless it overhauls its lineup. You can tune into 810 AM any time of the day and instantly know the talk show hosts. On KCSP the only recognizable host is Bob Fescoe and the rest sound like recent Syracuse radio graduates (which they are).

* Johnny Dare has been on the radio more than 20 years in KC and delivers strong ratings. If your kids have listened to them their minds have been polluted. He swears all the time on the air, is anti-religion, encourages kids to buy porn, sex items and flame-throwers, refers to women as “snatches,” and believes marriage is a joke. He is a major reason why society has become so coarse. If you are a parent and allow your young kids to listen to his show you are a lousy parent.

* I miss KSHB’s pitbull Russ Ptacek, who has gone on to bigger and better things in Washington and now calls himself ”R. Russ Ptacek.” The GSA once paid a PR firm $250,000 to “manage” him. He asked me what I would have done if they gave me the $250,000 contract and I told him I would have given him a $50,000 car and then kept the remaining $200,000. It would have been a win-win situation, but he probably would have not gone along with the plan.

* My mother always told me that if you can’t say something nice about someone then don’t say anything. I will apply that to Hearne Christopher, Jason Whitlock and Nick Wright. Enuf said.

* Ever meet someone and feel you would have been friends for years? That’s how I feel about radio and TV legend Mike Shanin. Being on his KCPT “Ruckus” show recently was a real kick. I am still amazed that the Star’s Yael Abouhalkah was so nice to me despite some critical things I had written about him the past few years.

* I honestly think KC is blessed with some terrific weather people. Bryan Busby and I are old Clevelanders and we both grew up following that city’s legendary weather guy Dick Goddard. Have you ever seen anyone as passionate about the weather as KSHB’s Gary Lezak? We drive identical cars, but his back seat has been shredded by his dogs.

* KCTV’s Chris Suchan has come into a new market for him and done a super job. People tell me I would be friends with Fox’s Mike Thompson, but we have never met, darn it.

* One of the strangest media relationships I have ever had was with the Star’s Joyce Smith. To this day I do not know if she cares for me or not despite us being close friends at one time. Kind of the same situation with Dave Helling at the Star and DeAnn Smith at KCTV although I don’t really know them that well.

* It always surprised me that I never met KMBC’s Joel Nichols, who just celebrated 25 years at the station. I always enjoyed him and admired his quick wit, but he never returned any emails I sent him over the years for information. Just one of those odd things.

* I really like the Star’s Mike Hendricks, but feel it is a one-sided thing. He doesn’t like me for a number of reasons, but I honestly think we could have been good friends under different circumstances. He’s an excellent writer and has survived more crap than any journalist should have to face.

* KCPT’s Nick Haines does a terrific job. I never understood KMBC’s recent policy of not allowing its reporters to go on his “Week in Review” show as they had for years. Just not a good PR move for KMBC.

* The decision makers at the University of Missouri should give KMBC’s Larry Moore its prestigious “Bronze Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism” award now. His longevity as a TV anchor is legendary in the nation and the college has never had such a loyal alum. Just do it, dammit.

* One of the most interesting media folks I have ever met is Tom Lawrence, former anchorman at KSHB and Fox 4. He’s a very talented guy and some station should hire him.

* One of the most underrated media folks I have ever dealt with is Johnny Rowlands. Over the years he has delivered such super helicopter coverage that I sometimes think he is taken for granted.

* I simply enjoy the heck out of KSHB’s Jack Harry. He’s a no BS guy and realizes sports is not the end-all, be-all in the world. When the station paired him with Frank Boal it was a match made in heaven for me. I can pretty much guarantee that there will be no sports anchors with such seniority in one market anywhere in the future.

* I really like Randy Thurman at KSHB. He’s a class act and always helpful to me on stories.

* Years ago Laurie Everett left KMBC as a its prime-time co-anchor and Lara Moritz slipped into the position almost seamlessly. It also seems like Len Jennings has done likewise following in the footsteps of legend Larry Moore. Quite an achievement.

* If I did something wrong I think the last person I would want on my case is TV guy Sam Zeff. From the print side former journo Rebecca Tombaugh was relentless. When she left journalism the profession suffered.

* Guess who sent me a nice going away note? None other than sports talker Rhonda Moss, formerly of KCSP. She’s a class act. I helped carry the torch for her and Bob Fescoe when the Royals yanked their press credentials in 2006 for asking tough questions.

* Steve Rose is an interesting guy and very talented. I do think he needs media exposure the way others need oxygen to survive. Okay by me.

* I love it when print publications continue to thrive because they are an important part of the community and have faced major challenges. I salute Publisher Kathy Boos at “435 South” magazine and Publisher Ivan Foley at “The Landmark” in Platte City for fighting the good fight. Likewise for my former Publisher Steve Fisch with “KC Sports & Fitness.” Keep battling.

* I still miss Bill Grigsby, Mike Murphy, Walt Bodine and Wendall Anschutz. All class acts. I even miss Tom Leathers and his “Squire” publication.

* One of the most talented radio talkers I ever met was Van Patrick, who took a stand against management at KCMO when his producer was fired. That was in 2006 and I am not sure if he ever made it back to radio.

* I have never actually met the Star’s Public Editor Derek Donovan in person, but have always appreciated the tough job he has done very well trying to be the “face” of the newspaper. Talk about being a punching bag…

* I have a lot of respect for Greg Hall, sportswriter and blogger who does a great job chronicling KC sports. We once met when he ran by me at the Chicago Marathon. That was it.

* I have a ton of respect for radio news folks like KMBZ’s Bill Grady and former radio guy Scott Simon. Can’t overlook Lisa Carter. That is a tough job.

* The Star has lost a lot of excellent journalistic talent the past few years, but still has some of the finest journalists in the country. The talent pool on Grand Ave. is very underrated.

* It would be impossible to meet former Fox 4 weather guy Dan Henry and not leave smiling. The same is true for Royals PR guru Toby Cook.

* Just try to cancel your subscription to the Kansas City Star. It is not permitted on-line and you are forced to deal with an off-site huckster who will offer to “send it to your new address,” will “allow you to give your remaining subscription to someone,” you “can still keep your digital subscription,” or “you can donate your remaining subscription to a school.” Just cancel the damn thing. Why do newspapers feel they have no need for customer service?