AAN News
VVM Sells The Pitch of Kansas City to Southcomm, Inc.
Village Voice Media announced today it has sold The Pitch of Kansas City to Nashville-based media company Southcomm, Inc., which also owns LEO Weekly and Nashville Scene.
(FULL STORY)
Village Voice Media |
03-18-2011 12:20 pm |
Industry News
C.J. Janovy Says Goodbye to The Pitchnew
In a farewell column cloaked as a "Memo to Self," outgoing editor-in-chief of The Pitch C.J. Janovy tells readers (and herself):
Part of the reason you're handing over The Pitch to a new editor is because, after nearly 20 years as a journalist in this town, you've pretty much said everything about the city that you want to say -- for now, anyway.Janovy will be replaced by Westword web editor Joe Tone, who starts on June 28.
. . . it's time for me to do something else — and it's time for me to see what someone else can do with The Pitch.
The Pitch |
06-22-2010 12:28 pm |
Industry News
The Pitch Names New Editornew
Current Westword web editor Joe Tone has been named the next editor of The Pitch. He will take over for C.J. Janovy, who is moving on to a communications job at the University of Kansas Medical Center. "I'm just thrilled about getting to Kansas City and getting to work," says Tone, who has also served as the managing editor at Cleveland Scene. "The city is obviously brimming with great stories, and The Pitch newsroom is well armed to tell them. Filling those ass-kicking boots of C.J.'s is going to be no small feat, but I'm looking forward to trying."
The Pitch |
06-09-2010 11:26 am |
Industry News
The Pitch Wins National SPJ Awardnew
Pitch staff writer Nadia Pflaum has won a 2009 Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists in the Feature Reporting for non-daily papers category for "Aftermath." Judges chose the winners from over 1,300 entries; the awards will be presented Oct. 2 during a ceremony in Las Vegas.
Society of Professional Journalists |
05-04-2010 3:48 pm |
Honors & Achievements
After Pitch Story on Alleged Assault, Missouri Pol Won't Run Againnew
Missouri state Rep. Roman LeBlanc announced on Friday that he won't be seeking reelection after a story in The Pitch detailed his sexual involvement with an 18-year-old college student who he had mentored since she was 15. The student accused LeBlanc of sexually assaulting her, but prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to file charges against LeBlanc, who has maintained his innocence.
The Pitch |
03-29-2010 12:37 pm |
Industry News
The Pitch Wins 12 Local Press Club Awardsnew
The Kansas City alt-weekly's haul in the 2009 Heart of America awards included first-place finishes for Blog and Entertainment writing (The Pitch swept the latter category). In addition, editor C.J. Janovy was named "Member of the Year" for her "several years" of service as chair of the awards committee. The awards were given out by the Kansas City Press Club, a local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Kansas City Press Club |
06-15-2009 8:12 am |
Honors & Achievements
VVM Memo Discusses Company-Wide Layoffs and Cutbacksnew
In a Dec. 31 memo to all Village Voice Media staffers, CEO Jim Larkin and executive editor Michael Lacey say "this year we have found it necessary to make staff reductions and have placed all staff openings on hold." The memo also details "additional measures" being taken by the company to weather the current economy storm. All VVM senior managers and officers (including Larkin and Lacey) are taking 15 percent pay cuts, all publishers and editors are taking 10 percent pay cuts, and VVM is suspending its match into the company's 401(k) plan. MORE: Westword loses three editorial staffers, The Pitch lays off several, City Pages parts ways with two, and New Times Broward-Palm Beach eliminates several positions.
Westword |
01-06-2009 9:55 am |
Industry News
New Editor Named at New Times Broward-Palm Beach
Eric Barton, the managing editor of Village Voice Media's The Pitch in Kansas City, will take over soon as the company's top editorial employee in Fort Lauderdale. According to a VVM press release, Barton "was closely involved in the growth of The Pitch's website" during his tenure in Kansas City, and he helped Pitch.com "double its traffic by adding blogs, video, audio, podcasts and slideshows." Barton takes the reins at New Times Broward-Palm Beach on September 22.
(FULL STORY)
Village Voice Media Press Release |
08-08-2008 12:52 pm |
Press Releases
Another Alt-Weekly Writer Weighs in on 'The Weekly'new
"Now I know how the line workers at a bottling plant must have felt when they heard about Laverne and Shirley!," Chris Packham of Kansas City's The Pitch writes in reaction to the sitcom "set in the office of a dishy alternative weekly publication and blog" that ABC is considering. "You totally know this thing will be like Sex and the City with nose rings and ironic T-shirts. TV is not always the worst -- for instance, it's awesome when it tells stories about Battlestars or Detective McNulty -- but this has the unmistakable whiff of horrible, usually depicted by cartoonists as wavy stink lines."
The Pitch |
07-23-2008 12:25 pm |
Industry News
The Pitch Publishes Two Versions of Cover Story: In Spanish and Englishnew
The Pitch |
05-01-2008 9:05 am |
Industry News
Ruling Overturned; K.C. Papers Get Green Light to Publishnew
On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals overturned Judge Kelly Moorehouse's decision last week to bar The Pitch and The Kansas City Star from publishing stories based on a confidential letter written by the attorney for Kansas City Board of Public Utilities. Following the reversal, the Pitch reposted its original story based on the document, which addressed the utility's potential violations of federal pollution regulations.
The Pitch |
03-07-2007 8:07 am |
Legal News
Judge Orders Kansas City Papers to Remove Website Articlesnew
On Friday afternoon, a Missouri judge ordered The Pitch and the Kansas City Star to purge online stories about the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) that were based on a confidential letter written by BPU's attorney. Judge Kelly Moorehouse's ruling (PDF file) states that the letter is "privileged legal communication," and also barred the papers from publishing information contained in the confidential document or "otherwise referring to it in any public medium." Attorneys for The Pitch have requested an emergency hearing to settle the matter. "This judge made a serious error," says Steve Suskin, legal counsel for the Pitch's parent company, Village Voice Media. "The injunction so clearly violates the First Amendment that we have no choice but to fight for these fundamental principles in the appellate courts." (The Pitch's original story is still available online in a Google cache.)
The Pitch | The Kansas City Star |
03-05-2007 11:19 am |
Legal News
The Pitch Puts Public Utility Officials in Hot Waternew
An article by the Kansas City alt-weekly alleging that Board of Public Utilities officials have racked up excessive meal and entertainment expenses has resulted in an internal ethics commission investigation, according to the local ABC affiliate. The Nov. 30 article, by Pitch reporter Justin Kendall, details how BPU administrators spent $15,000 on meals and entertainment in 2004 and 2005 -- including alcohol tabs at numerous sporting events. The story breaks during a time of public anger over the rising price of electricity and water in Kansas City. The BPU Ethics Commission is scheduled to review the allegations next month.
KMBC-TV News |
12-15-2006 10:33 am |
Industry News
Pitch Writer Spins Education Beat Into Book On Inner-City Debate Teamnew
The Wichita Eagle |
10-10-2006 1:58 pm |
Industry News
Kan. Agency Changes Procedures After Article in The Pitch
The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp., a state economic-development agency, announced Monday that it will document more details of investment projects, the Kansas City Star reports. The company had hired an independent law firm to review its processes after a May 4 Pitch story in which writer David Martin described a project that received funding even though its application contained easily checked inaccuracies.
07-26-2006 10:37 am |
Industry News
