The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star began its life on the 18th of September 1880. William Rockhill Nelson and Samuel E. Morss established the paper in Missouri after selling their previous newspaper in Indiana. They moved to a city with three daily competitors already operating. The Evening Mail, The Kansas City Times, and the Kansas City Journal all vied for readers. Eugene Field, editor of the Times, mocked the new publication in verse. He called it bright and gossipy yet paltry at a dime a week. Nelson pursued a strategy of cheap advance subscriptions. He promised absolute independence in politics while dealing with all parties impartially. The paper purchased the Evening Mail in 1882 and changed its name to The Kansas City Star two years later. It expanded to include weekly and Sunday editions by 1901. Nelson announced the arrival of a twenty-four-hour news cycle that year. The office moved from Delaware Street to Wyandotte Avenue before settling at Grand Boulevard. Nelson died in 1915 leaving his fortune to support his family. His daughter Laura Kirkwood died in Baltimore in 1926.
Harry S. Truman worked in the mailroom of the Star during August 1902. He earned seven dollars in his first week and five dollars and forty cents the second. Truman later joked about this brief employment in an unmailed letter to editor Roy Roberts. He suggested history might remember the paper because he had worked there. The newspaper played a pivotal role in American politics starting in the late 1920s. Herbert Hoover was nominated at the Republican convention in Kansas City in 1928. Dwight D. Eisenhower concluded his presidency as a favorite of the city in 1960. Editor Roy A. Roberts joined the paper in 1909 and became managing editor in 1928. He pushed for Governor Alf Landon during the 1936 election. The Journal ceased publication in 1942 after losing its political machine backing. The Star launched radio station WDAF on the 16th of May 1922. It added television outlet WDAF-TV on the 19th of October 1949. Antitrust charges filed by the Truman administration in 1953 forced the sale of these broadcast stations. Time magazine featured the newspaper and Roberts on its cover the 12th of April 1948.
Ernest Hemingway served as a reporter for the Star from October 1917 to April 1918. He credited editor C.G. Pete Wellington with transforming his wordy high school writing style. Wellington enforced a specific set of rules known as The Star Copy Style. The guide instructed writers to use short sentences and short first paragraphs. It demanded vigorous English that was positive rather than negative. Hemingway referred to this admonition throughout his lifetime. The influence of this style guide remains evident in his later works. Nelson died in 1915 before Hemingway arrived at the paper. The editorial leadership under Wellington shaped the young writer's approach to journalism. This period marked a significant turning point in Hemingway's career development. The paper provided a rigorous training ground for future literary giants.
Employee ownership ended in 1977 when Capital Cities Communications purchased the Times and Star. Disney acquired Capital Cities/ABC in January 1996. The Walt Disney Company sold the paper to Knight Ridder in May 1997. Knight Ridder built a massive printing plant on the northeast side of Grand Avenue. The glass-enclosed facility began printing in June 2006 after nearly four years of construction. McClatchy bought Knight Ridder in June 2006. The Star sold its historic headquarters building at 1729 Grand Boulevard in 2017. Offices moved across McGee Street to the pressroom building. The company then sold the pressroom building in 2019 and leased it back for thirty years. McClatchy filed for bankruptcy in February 2020. Chatham Asset Management LLC bought the company at auction. Under Capital Cities ownership, the newspaper won three Pulitzer Prizes between 1982 and 1992.
The new printing plant opened in June 2006 with four sixty-foot-high presses. It contained a major redesign that shrank the broadsheet width from fifteen inches to twelve inches. Length also decreased from twenty-two inches to twenty-one inches. On the 4th of June 2006, the first edition came out from these new presses. In March 2020, the paper moved to a six-day printing schedule. This change eliminated the printed Saturday edition. Printing operations shifted to the Des Moines Register on the 10th of November 2020. The Star reported this move via an official statement. Financial challenges drove these restructuring efforts throughout the early 2000s. The headquarters building now sits empty while operations continue elsewhere. These changes reflect broader trends affecting print media across the United States.
On the 21st of December 2020, the paper issued an apology for its history of racism. Mike Fannin wrote a column stating the paper disenfranchised generations of Black Kansas Citians. He described how it reinforced Jim Crow laws and redlining over many decades. The column launched a six-part series examining past coverage failures. Reporters found the historical material routinely sickening to work with. The paper promised to deeply examine its own role in shaping the region. It acknowledged sins of both commission and omission during its early history. This admission marked a significant moment in the publication's long legacy. The initiative sought to address systemic issues within the newsroom and editorial decisions.
The newspaper has won eight Pulitzer Prizes since its founding. A.B. MacDonald received the 1931 award for reporting on a murder in Amarillo. Henry Haskell won Editorial Writing in 1944 for editorials from that calendar year. Alvin Scott McCoy took Local Reporting in 1954 for stories leading to C. Wesley Roberts resignation. Rick Atkinson earned National Reporting in 1982 while working for the Times. Jeff Taylor and Mike McGraw won National Reporting in 1992 for examining the Department of Agriculture. Melinda Henneberger received Commentary in 2022 for columns demanding justice for sexual predator victims. The paper was also a finalist three times including 1996 Explanatory Journalism. Public Service recognition came as a finalist entry in 2018. These awards highlight decades of distinguished journalism across various categories.
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Common questions
When did The Kansas City Star begin its life?
The Kansas City Star began its life on the 18th of September 1880. William Rockhill Nelson and Samuel E. Morss established the paper in Missouri after selling their previous newspaper in Indiana.
Who worked in the mailroom of The Kansas City Star during August 1902?
Harry S. Truman worked in the mailroom of The Kansas City Star during August 1902. He earned seven dollars in his first week and five dollars and forty cents the second.
What style guide influenced Ernest Hemingway while he served as a reporter for The Kansas City Star from October 1917 to April 1918?
Ernest Hemingway credited editor C.G. Pete Wellington with transforming his wordy high school writing style using The Star Copy Style. This guide instructed writers to use short sentences and short first paragraphs while demanding vigorous English that was positive rather than negative.
When did The Kansas City Star issue an apology for its history of racism?
On the 21st of December 2020, the paper issued an apology for its history of racism. Mike Fannin wrote a column stating the paper disenfranchised generations of Black Kansas Citians and described how it reinforced Jim Crow laws and redlining over many decades.
How many Pulitzer Prizes has The Kansas City Star won since its founding?
The newspaper has won eight Pulitzer Prizes since its founding. A.B. MacDonald received the 1931 award for reporting on a murder in Amarillo and Melinda Henneberger received Commentary in 2022 for columns demanding justice for sexual predator victims.