Last week, in an effort to shore up its sagging revenues, The Kansas City Star eliminated the position of classical music critic, and with it Paul Horsley.
Clearly, management at The Star does not understand the vibrancy and importance the arts community . Its action ill serves classical music and dance by not having a dedicated reporter covering that beat. As the Lyric Opera, Kansas City Ballet, and Kansas City Symphony anticipate performing in the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in 2010, this decision is tantamount to the Royals making it to the World Series, only to have all the local baseball reporters fired from the sports department.
Will you help support the Lyric Opera by writing a letter to the editor of The Star, as well as the Reader’s Rep and let them know that The Star has a responsibility to cover the full breadth of the vibrant cultural landscape of this community, including music and dance, with a dedicated, full-time critic?
All letters should be made very personal, and should not have the tone or feel of a form letter. When writing to The Star, be sure to let them know:
- Whether you are a subscriber to the paper, and whether a lack of coverage of music and dance will impact your decision to renew your subscription to The Star;
- How the arts in Kansas City contribute $279 million annually in economic impact to the region, and a lack of coverage will have a direct and dramatic economic impact;
- How freelancer writers lack the ability to see the “whole picture” of music and dance in the community, and how a more limited view is a disservice to readers;
- How you use the arts coverage in the newspaper impacts your knowledge and support of Kansas City arts institutions;
- How diverse the readership of arts coverage is.
Please send your letters to both the Editor (letters@kcstar.com) and the Reader’s Rep (readerrep@kcstar.com). Letters can also be mailed to 1729 Grand, Kansas City, MO 64108. Letters should be a maximum of 150 words, include your name, address and daytime telephone number.
Additionally, send your letters to Peter Tira, Communications Director for The McClatchy Company (owners of The Kansas City Star): 2100 Q Street, Sacramento, CA 95816-6899, ptira@mcclatchy.com.
We would love to represent your voices here, on the Lyric Opera blog as well. Just click the comment button to share your letter with us.
Thank you in advance for your continued support of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and for helping us educate the owners of The Star about the importance of music and dance in Kansas City – and in Kansas City’s newspaper.
12 responses so far ↓
Ken Grenz // June 28, 2008 at 4:17 pm |
I sent this msg. to the STAR last Sat., 6-21-08…
I understand business & bottom lines, etc. Never-the-less, at some point if you do not fill that nice big new glass cage downtown with competent & vibrent staff to make a good paper, readership will see you to have to turn the lights off. It seems to be a tragic error to eliminate an arts critic position at a time when arts venues are reviving & growing their real estate at an exciting rate. No one to critique the world class symphony soon to be ensconced in a well-suited work of architecture just down your street? It will look bad for the STAR and for the arts community in the city.
I have not always agreed with some of Paul’s reviews–it is not necessarily supposed to be so. He has done his work professionally. He recently replied personally and in a timely manner to a question which I asked him. His, in my opinion, too harsh a critique of Verdi’s Requiem should non-the-less have not become the requiem for Paul’s tenure at the STAR.
Ken Grenz
Richard Matthis // June 28, 2008 at 4:37 pm |
Thanks for sending the word out, Paul!
I’d give up Jason Whitlock’s commentary (such as it is) to get Paul Horsley’s column back at The Kansas City Star.
Mary L Redmon // June 28, 2008 at 6:34 pm |
Dear Editor:
I was sorely dismayed to hear of the elimination of the Music Critic’s position. I am a subscriber to the Star and looked forward to Mr. Horsley’s reviews of the numerous music events that I attend. One of the attributes of a great city and a great paper is the support of the arts. Your removal of this position is a sad commentary on the Star’s values.
The arts in KC contribute about $280 million to the economy. Lack of coverage will certainly have an economic impact.
I suspect freelance coverage will be substituted, but that cannot have the depth and breadth of coverage that Mr. Horsley provided.
Please reconsider your decision.
Mary L Redmon, D.O.
Asst Clinical Professor
Dept. of Family Medicine
University of Kansas Medical Center
President, Kansas Medical Society
Lester & Jan K. Chafetz // June 28, 2008 at 10:04 pm |
We would not have been surprised if Paul Horsley, the KC Star’s chief music critic, had been hired away to a larger market like his predecessor. We are outraged that the newspaper has decided to eliminate his position as a cost-savings measure. We have been subscribers to the Kansas City Star for the 21 years we have lived in the KC Metropolitan Area. Additionally, we subscribe to the Sunday NY Times and the New Yorker magazine. Both of us make daily use of computers for information and entertainment. We are subscribers and contributors to the Kansas City Symphony and the Lyric Opera, and we used to subscribe to the Kansas City Ballet. (We dropped our subscription to the ballet about four years ago when they started to rely on recorded music, but we attended their recent performance of Romeo and Juliet with symphony musicians in the pit). We attend individual musical performances at Carlsen Center, the Folly, UMKC and other venues in addition to our subscriptions.
We have been in the habit of looking for Paul Horsley’s reviews of musical events we have attended, and we have enjoyed his articles on the burgeoning and improving classical music scene here. All of us are looking forward to the new Arts Center scheduled to open in 2010. In addition to being extremely knowledgeable and a fine writer, Paul Horsley has been a constructive force in the community. That the KC Star is giving up the best classical music critic we have had since we have been here causes us to consider whether or not we should drop our subscription to the KC Star. Certainly, the value of the subscription has diminished.
Lester and Jan K. Chafetz
Overland Park, KS 66209-1574
(913) 345-9010
Rabbi Alan L. Cohen // June 30, 2008 at 4:09 am |
I was personally shocked to learn that among the cuts in positions recently made at the Star was the position of the classical music critic, Paul Horsley. As a concerned citizen, any of the recent cuts are painful since I know that this will lead to many personal difficulties and financial hardships. I also realize many of these cuts were of people with long tenure at the paper and exceptional service during those years. Our community will be the poorer due to these changes.
Our community will particularly suffer with the loss of Mr. Horsley’s contribution. In a community that is taking great pride in the strides forward in the area of classical arts, this will be a tremendous loss. The arts not only contribute a great deal to the financial well-being of our community but also have significant impact on the quality of life in the community. A critical voice in the print media such as that of Mr. Horsley adds greatly to this latter dimension.
As a subscriber and reader of the Star, I will personally miss this talented and qualified voice that helps guide all of us in the choices we make. It also encourages the artists to perform at their highest levels. It serves to encourage even more and higher caliber art and artists to come to our area. This kind of reporting cannot be provided by one without these professional qualifications that Paul Horsley has displayed. His dismissal is a great disservice to the entire area covered by the Star readership.
Sincerely,
Alan L. Cohen
Rabbi Emeritus
Congregation Beth Shalom
Overland Park, Kansas
Kerianne M Tupac // June 30, 2008 at 4:30 pm |
Dear Editor,
It is with great consternation that I must protest the laying off of classical music critic Paul Horsley at the Kansas City Star.
I grew up in Kansas City enjoying the wonderful and diverse arts scene that the city affords. From the Kansas City Symphony to the Lyric Opera to the jazz clubs of downtown and the Vine Street area to the multitude of theatrical venues, Kansas City is a town that supports and values all aspects of the performing arts. I count the vast opportunities that I had as a child in Kansas City to witness and experience all forms of the arts as a key factor in my choice of career paths.
Key to the vibrancy of the arts scene is the support and participation of the Kansas City Star. Through its preview articles, in-depth features on artists, and reviews of events, the Star is integral to the depth of artistic development and cultural appreciation found in the metro Kansas City area. As more and more classical radio stations have fallen victim to the economic plight of commercialism, the permanent position of a classical music writer at one’s daily newspaper is paramount towards keeping the art form front and center in the cultural traditions of our society.
As a professional arts administrator, I know the value of having local newspaper arts coverage. The arts are an intrinsic part of Kansas City and a huge contributor towards the economic viability of the region. Arts organizations in the city, both small and large, not only employ a significant number of artists, they are touted as strong societal benefits to the major corporations that have chosen Kansas City as their base. The loss of an arts critic at the Star serves to negate the importance of the the arts to Kansas City, which would be erroneous.
Mr. Horsley has been with the Star for eight years. In that time, he has been a consistent voice for the power and amazing variety of music, particularly classical music, available to the citizens of Kansas City. It is wonderful to have a writer with the experience and knowledge of Mr. Horsley covering the classical music ‘beat.’ He is able to translate what many would consider ‘high art’ into language and emotions that speak to anyone. His relationships and history with the music organizations in the Kansas City area further elevate his insight into their work as well as the progression of individual artists within our community. The type of comprehensive coverage that Mr. Horsley provides is only possible with a reporter who is able to dedicate his time to what is a very large beat – it is not something a freelance writer could sufficiently cover.
While I currently live in Michigan, I visit the Star’s website on a regular basis to read Mr. Horsley’s articles. The entertainment section, with all of its arts reporter’s stories, is the first section I reach for when I travel home for a visit. I enjoy knowing what it happening as well as the opportunity it provides me to keep in touch with old friends and colleagues. Indeed, the work of Mr. Horsley often reminds me of what I miss most about my hometown – the stimulating, ever-changing, and myriad of cultural options that Kansas City provides.
I strongly urge the Kansas City Star to re-instate Mr. Horsley. The loss of such a tremendous voice for the arts and people of Kansas City is a tragedy.
Sincerely,
Kerianne M. Tupac
Marketing and Communications Director, University Productions
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Ann Arbor, MI
Ann Arbor, MI
Yvonne Jameson // July 1, 2008 at 1:30 am |
To the Editor of the Kansas City Star:
As a long-time subscriber to the Kansas City Star, I want to register my disappointment over the departure of Classical Music Editor Paul Horsley. As we look forward to the opening of the Performing Arts Center and performances by the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Ballet in that exciting new venue it seems an especially poor time to dispense with the services of a knowledgeable critic who has covered these organizations for the past ten years.
Kansas City is exceedingly fortunate to have an outstanding array of classical music organizations – we can choose from not only the major organizations (the Symphony, Kansas City Ballet and Lyric Opera) but from literally dozens of widely acclaimed smaller organizations – the Kansas City Chorale, Summerfest Concerts, New Ear, Friends of Chamber Music, the Harriman Arts Program, Wylliams/Henry Dance Theatre, Conservatory of Music Signature Series, Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Heartland Men’s Chorus, to name just a few . The Star’s reviews of their performances not only bring their work to the attention of the ticket-buying public, they also provide valuable information about the quality of their work when the organizations apply for foundation grants.
Kansas City suffers from a paucity of coverage on the arts although these organizations attract visitors to our city on a year-round basis and have an annual economic impact of close to $300 million. We claim to value the arts and speak of their value in making Kansas City a great place in which to live. It saddens me that our major print medium, the Kansas City Star, continues to provide many pages of coverage for sporting events yet continually reduces the amount of coverage the arts receive. I hope you will reconsider and reinstate a professional classical music editor to provide coverage of Kansas City’s outstanding performing arts scene.
Sincerely,
Yvonne Jameson
yujameson@aol.com
Alberta James Daw // July 1, 2008 at 4:13 pm |
Alberta James Daw
812 West 60th Terrace
Kansas City, Missouri 64113
ajdaw@swbell.net
Mr. Peter Tira
Communications Director, The McClatchy Company
2100 Q Street
Sacramento, CA 95826-6899
Dear Mr. Tira,
As a long time subscriber to The Kansas City Star I wish to assure you that interest in the arts in all forms is vibrant and growing in Kansas City. Therefore I find it puzzling that the “Star” no longer carries regular commentary on fine music. The Lyric Opera, The Kansas City Symphony, the Summerfest Chamber Music Ensemble,the Kansas City Chorale, the Kansas City Ballet, City in Motion are just the tip of the musical iceberg.
You may be aware of the sports teams that call Kansas City home; the Royals, Wizards, and Chiefs, for example. These draw spectators from hundreds of miles. Would it surprise you to learn that the arts bring far more money into the city than do sports?
In two years the new Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts will be completed providing ballet, symphony and opera performances an outstanding showcase. People throughout the Midwest need to hear about the great music performances happening here in Kansas City from a knowledgeable and enthusiastic writer. Please re-instate the classic music editor.
Truly,
Denise Tiller // July 8, 2008 at 5:27 pm |
I’m a 2008 Midwest Voices panelist at the Kansas City Star and I just put up an article on their blog at voices.kansascity.com . They will notice it if gets a lot of responses.
Our girls love Opera Camp and we’re new season ticket holders because of our experience there.
Denise Tiller
kcopera // July 9, 2008 at 6:42 pm |
The Music Critics Association of North America sent this letter to several newspapers
Although the members of our organization understand all too well the severe pressures felt by newspapers today, we are nonetheless dismayed by the number of cases in which classical music critics have been removed from the payroll as a result of cost-saving measures. These include the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Seattle Times and, most recently, Kansas City Star (affecting one of our board members) and Miami Herald. It is hard to understand such decisions, even in the current economic downturn, considering the vibrancy of the classical music scene in those cities, not to mention the history and stature of those publications.
There is hardly a newspaper in the country today that hasn’t declared, as part of its self-preservation strategy, a determination to be considered the primary, most valued source of local news about the community. Makers and lovers of classical music are obviously as much a part of the local scene as anyone else within a newspaper’s reach. At any orchestral concert, opera production, chamber music and recital program, you will find the very people a newspaper must still surely want to retain –- subscribers. That those attending classical music events also invariably include influential movers and shakers from the city’s political, financial and social circles ought to help fuel a newspaper’s interest in staying connected to them.
Music lovers may read a variety of things, in print or online, but they invariably put a value on coverage of their local organizations in their local daily press. And they appreciate the opportunity to read, on a regular basis, the words of an informed staff critic. Critics — not just classical music critics, of course — play an essential role in the artistic process, which involves an ongoing cycle of creation and reaction. But they typically do much more than write reviews. They produce a steady flow of feature stories and hard news, trend pieces, analyses and more (it’s strange that so many newspapers, necessarily focused on the financial side of the business, don’t seem to recognize that critics represent good value for money). They also serve, in effect, as consumer guides, helping people make decisions about how they spend or donate their money. Only a local paper can provide this benefit. And employing a staff critic sends a strong, clear message that the local paper recognizes the true value and newsworthiness of classical music in the community.
Many music (and other arts) groups are steady advertisers, of course. That factor, in these days of frugal bottom lines, should also command some degree of respect and attention from any newspaper. Eliminating or downgrading coverage of the work being done by those advertisers might viewed as a myopic policy.
What happens culturally says as much about a community as what happens in sports, government and business. Having writers on staff qualified to report and comment on local classical musical activity — and the other arts — should be as important as having good reporters cover athletic events or town hall meetings. Critics are among the writers who help to give a newspaper its personality, its value and, we would argue, its soul.
Given the number of people in a newspaper’s community who are involved, one way or another, in classical music, and given the positive impact of that art form on any city’s economy and national image, there is ample reason to have a knowledgeable, engaging critic on staff writing about the subject. Newspapers who have sent their classical music critics packing should reconsider; newspapers eying further cuts should resist this lamentable and counterproductive trend.
The Board of Directors
Music Critics Association of North America
Carol Bayer // July 9, 2008 at 8:31 pm |
Paul Horsley, by far represents the best thing that has happened for the performing arts in Kansas City . He has been instumental in the surge of perfection in all of our productions. In saluting him for his expertise in reporting and evaluating the performances we wonder why the Kansas City Star does not recognize a “Star”.
Why critics are important « // July 10, 2008 at 11:37 am |
[...] This is too important a time for the arts in Kansas City without raising our voices in protest to The Star’s decision. Have you spoken out in support of the arts? [...]