It might be the ultimate power play between a newspaper and the mayor of a major city. It will go a long way in determing whether a newspaper can still dictate orders to elected officials.
Kansas City Editorial columnist Yael Abouhalkah is all but threatening Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Sly James to either follow his orders or face the consequences.
For weeks Abouhalkah has written a series of editorials demanding KCMO reduce its firefighter forces in order to trim the budget.
Now he has come out with a column titled “Sly James Better Not Imitate Last 3 KCMO Mayors” that pretty much lets James know that people who have crossed him/Star have paid dearly for their decisions.
“Still . . . It’s just strange to see a grown man work so hard to gain the favor of Mayor Sly in an attempt to remain relevant as circulation and advertising revenues for Dead Tree Media continue to dry up,” noted Tony Botello of tonyskansascity.com.
Abouhalkah noted that the Star went after former Mayor Cleaver over a trip he took and it took a long time for him to recover. Or that Mayor Kay Barnes backed down from cutting the Water Department and faced the newspaper’s ire; and that Mayor Mark Funkhouser tried to get rid of a city manager Abouhalkah supported.
His message is clear: The Star endorsed you. Cross Abouhalkah and the Star will make life miserable for you the rest of your term.
Abouhalkah felt he personally helped Funkhouser get elected, and when Funkhouser did not follow his dictates he and the Star were relentless in its criticism. It led to Funk being a one-term Mayor, a point of genuine pride for Abouhalkah.
“In recent weeks James has spoken out several times about his support for cutting the Fire Department and putting the police in the city’s health insurance plan,” says Abouhalkah.
“Today he must ensure that March 29, 2012, is remembered as a positive defining moment of his first term as Kansas City’s mayor.”
Or else.
“The POWER of the PRESS” starring Mr. Fairbanks and Ms. Ralston … surely that’s not a silent movie, is it? After all, the press cannot remain silent while “The City Beautiful” of William Rockhill Nelson’s time (or at least his grandest dreams and schemes) continues to go to hell in a handbasket. That said, a newspaper must be very careful in picking its battles. And even if it wins the battle it may end up losing the war in the long run. What would the landscape look like today if The Star hadn’t been forced to divest itself of WDAF-TV and Radio years ago? That was the price it ultimately paid for taking on the Democratic machine that eventually produced Harry Truman. The Star is reporting tonight that cuts are being made to the Fire Department’s budget, so some of Yael’s “yelling” has apparently been heard down at City Hall. I just hope he doesn’t have a fire at his place anytime soon. Or that The Star doesn’t need a ladder truck to help extract the rats way up there in the tower at 18th and Grand.
I bet that that “Feel Good” James has already figured out that Yael is a relic of the past who has sacrificed the jobs and lives of others to hang on to his paycheck. Yael is way past the time where he can go out with grace and dignity. I guess Raytown’s Best figured out that eating was more important than preserving our memory of him as the old Lion Of The Press. For those of who remember a time where Yael stood for something, what he has become is very sad. To Yael, this is just about surviving and squeezing out the last few bucks so he can live better when he is finally forced out. Just like the Funk, the day will come when he is expelled from the Star in the same manner that the whale got rid of Jonah.
Memo to Rick Nichols… Since YTA doesn’t live in Kansas City proper, he may not be affected by he cuts that just hit passed. This would be consistent with his normal, deceptive panderings. I don’t think his children went to school in the KCSD either… a minor and hidden fact that hasn’t stopped him from pontificating about the demise of the school district. I might add that whatever Yael commented about the theft of the lives of the children caused by the looting of he school system, things continued and continue to this day to get worse and worse. So much for concerning oneself with the pontifications of the guy who censors his own blog.
Any thoughts, YTA? Do you yearn for the old days, when what you wrote meant something and people reacted to what you had to say? What you have become makes me sad and sick
Just because Yael doesn’t live in Kansas City or had children go to KCSD doesn’t disqualify him from opinion writing. Food critics don’t have to be five-star chefs to know if the meal tastes bad…
Oh come on now Scottie! No need to stick your nose up Yael’s tuchas
YTA has been commenting on local issues such as the School Board for many years. Dont you think it would be better if he had some skin in the game?