between the lines

My favorite reporter at the Star is DeAnn Smith. It might be because she was my main competition when I worked for the weekly, so I'm inclined to pay more attention to her stuff. But she really is a master at slipping in those little details that signal the real story to folks who know a thing or two about how power works in KC.

Like, I love this piece about Gayle Holliday.

It's all packaged like a total puff piece. But then Smith slips in these breezy little asides to let you know what's really going on. Like when she follows a praising quote from Emanuel Cleaver with:

And Cleaver should know. Holliday is chairwoman of the executive committee at Cleaver’s church, St. James United Methodist, which makes her his boss.

Beautiful!

Or when she sets up a kiss-ass quote from outgoing school superintendent Bernard Taylor with:

Taylor gushes when it comes to Holliday, who helped organize his going-away party.

I spoke with Holliday recently for a story I wrote for the premiere issue of KC Business, which will hit the stands next week (I think). She wasn't too keen to talk with me, saying that I always seem to find something bad to write about here. Which is true. And true.

She said to me, "I really am a nice person."

I actually felt a little bad when she said that, because, yes, the upcoming article will be most unflattering, and, yes, she really is a nice person.

But no one's doubting the nice person part. With so many connections, one would assume a level of niceness. The question is more a matter of public trust. Are certain people automatically qualified for no-bid, six-figure contracts simply because they're nice to all the right people?