The Pitch has a new (and local) owner

A bit of housekeeping as we rub away the eye gunk and crawl into the year of our Lord 2018: The Pitch has a new owner and a new editor.  

The new owner is Carey Media. That entity is led by a local couple, Stephanie and Adam Carey. Stephanie will serve as publisher of The Pitch. Stephanie is also the CEO of Carey Media; Adam is chief operating officer. The Careys acquired The Pitch from Southcomm, the Nashville-based company that has owned The Pitch since 2011. The deal closed on December 31. 

The new editor is me. My name is David Hudnall. I’ve written about arts, culture, tech, crime, and politics for The Pitch on and off since 2005, when I was paid $25 a pop to write blurbs for the Calendar section. As editor, I’ll be making nearly double that. 

Answers to questions you may have: 

Who are these Carey people? 

They’re fortyish, live in midtown, and grew up in the Kansas City area. Stephanie is a former journalist who previously worked for the (now-shuttered) local publication The Daily Record, the Rocky Mount Telegram in North Carolina, and an NPR affiliate in Evansville, Indiana. Most recently, she worked as a digital media consultant for a company called Second Street. Adam works in tech for a local company called Cambrian. This is their first and only media acquisition. They seem nice. 

What does the sale mean?

For one, it means that The Pitch will be locally owned for the first time since 1999, when founder Hal Brody sold the paper to New Times. Here’s what Stephanie says in the press release about the sale: 

“The Pitch is staying the independent voice of the city. More than anything, we are extremely focused on Kansas City journalism. We bring passion and respect for the craft, and our combined experience in local media, news and marketing make us the perfect new home for The Pitch.”

More from the release: 

“[Stephanie] plans to use her background in journalism and media software sales to continue The Pitch’s tradition of independent and investigative reporting, to make the publication a leader in multimedia engagement, and to provide the local business community with new channels for visibility.”

What does it really mean, though? 

My impression of what we have here is an owner who is a longtime reader of The Pitch, has a sincere appreciation for alternative journalism, understands our mission, and has no interest in changing that mission. We will continue to do all the same stuff we have always done: investigative stories, arts coverage, food reviews, etc. (I should note here that we will be doing all this stuff without Scott Wilson, our editor of the past seven years. Scott is a freakishly smart person who nevertheless decided it was a wise idea to hire me on two separate occasions. His thoughtful editing has made me a much better writer, and hopefully some of that good stuff will rub off on me in my new role. I will miss barging into Scott’s office, without knocking, and bothering him with my various personal and professional problems. But, I suppose, life goes on.) 

A new, supportive owner is the good news. The bad news is that local media is a very difficult place to turn a buck. Over the last decade, Craigslist, Google, and Facebook have essentially destroyed the business model of publications like ours. We’re working with pretty limited resources over here. What I’m saying is: If you like what we do, and want to support something local, consider buying an ad or attending one of our events. It all helps. 

Is The Pitch going to become a sponsored content advertorial rag? 

No. I would have quit if that were the case. 

Are you bringing back the Events calendar?

Yes. 

Are you looking for new contributors?

Yes. Aspiring muckrakers and writers of color are particularly encouraged to get in touch. Email me: david.hudnall@pitch.com. I’m on Twitter at @davidhudnall. 

Are you looking for juicy tips?

Oh god, yes. Send to tips@pitch.com. 

Media news is boring. Go read Barb on Greitens or Angela on rock climbing or Deborah on the latest at the Unicorn. Or wander out into this winter hellzone and pick up the latest Pitch, which hits the streets today. It’ll warm you up. Thanks for reading, and happy new year.