The man behind the myth: Tony’s KC
I’ve dropped out of the Kansas blogging scene in the years since I moved out to California, but I still have fond memories of the other bloggers in the area. Perhaps the most prolific, and undoubtedly the most influential, of the Kansas City bloggers was Tony Botello, of Tony’s KC. He’s a provocateur, sometimes spinning elaborately bigoted tales that leave readers wondering just how big a jackass he really is, all while skewering local politicians and spinning a personal myth involving living in his mother’s basement.
Via NYU professor Jay Rosen, I just learned that The KC Pitch Weekly has done a long profile of Tony, and it’s awesome. It turns out Tony is more or less what you expect. He really does spend most nights in his mother’s basement, and he probably is as misogynistic as is online avatar. And he really did change politics in Kansas City, not to mention journalism. Here’s the badass quote of the piece:
“We’re all sort of struggling to stay relevant,” says Peggy Phillip, the news director at NBC affiliate KSHB Channel 41. “The dilithium crystal is local content. Yahoo can’t take it from us â yet. So I appreciate Tony’s content. It’s another perspective. It’s another set of eyes â and, in his case, breasts and other parts.”
I don’t miss Tony’s KC the way I miss Greg Beck, but I’m sure glad he’s still going strong, and getting the recognition he deserves.
