Here's Why TKC Would Rather Inspire KICK-ASS KANSAS CITY FREE SPEECH Discussion Than Offer Endorsements!!!

It's election day in Kansas City.

Turnout is expected to fall below 10% of all registered voters.

Even after protests throughout the nation and so many rallies and political chest-thumping from both sides of the aisle . . . Most people tend to overlook municipal Democracy and the very real choices that will impact their lives and wallets directly.

Part of the reason local turnout is so abysmal is due to lackluster coverage of the issues from mainstream media outlets. This time around the Mayor got away with skipping any debate or critical discussion of rising taxes and not a single media outlet or pundit called him on it. Moreover, discussion of local political issues is limited to about a dozen regulars on public TV that mostly go un-watched. Worst of all, the geo-politics of Kansas City prevent much interaction betwixt disparate groups who often live in a world of their own even amid this small Midwestern town.

A glimmer of hope: The Internets has offered some change to the status quo and locals who do want to engage can find more than enough mainstream and alternative info online regarding just about any local issue up for a vote.

Still, one tragic legacy of the dead tree media era continues to haunt independent online publishers . . . The sordid question of endorsements.

There are so many fond conceptions of "journalism" and newspapers but the reality is that in the glory days of print media -- Most publications simply served as hack mouthpieces for political factions and big biz. Endorsements are the legacy of machine politics and reflect institutional bias from news organizations who otherwise constantly tout their objectivity.

Through the course of this blog we've only endorsed 2 people and that was because the MSM coverage was so horrifically unfair that it deserved direct opposition.

Very much like life . . . TKC avoids telling people what to do. Similarly, when people tell me what to do, I mostly tune out. While an opinion, a great story or a revelation can be fascinating and inspirational. Handing down marching orders by way of endorsement is an authoritarian legacy of old school political corruption disguised as newspaper journalistic tradition.

Don't get it twisted, TKC is a place to share stories, info and opinion . . . But endorsements are part of the mainstream media hypocrisy that's quickly fading in the digital era when every denizen of social media has the potential to become a power broker.

As always, we share our view and offer a place for locals to do the same. In the end, you decide . . .