The Changing Landscape of Local Journalism
Event Details
The Changing Landscape of Local Journalism:
Non-profits, For-profits and What it Means for Communities and Democracy
Wednesday, March 24 | 5:00-5:45 PM CDT
A livestream event (Facebook and YouTube | no registration)
Two digital nonprofit news organizations covering Kansas, The Kansas City Beacon and the Kansas Reflector, launched last year, ushering in a new era of expansion in state and local journalism after years of contraction.
The Reflector, a Topeka-based website, is carving its niche providing coverage of the Kansas Statehouse and offering commentary about statewide issues. The Beacon, founded by former Kansas City Star Reporter Kelsey Ryan, will follow up it initial year with a significant expansion that includes the launch of a Wichita newsroom with its own executive editor and editorial team that will be part of a regional network.
The rise of digital-only nonprofit news organizations in Kansas comes as traditional for-profit media – newspapers, radio stations and even local television news – are struggling: The COVID-sparked recession has all but wiped out an already fragile advertising market that those outlets relied on for revenue. Publishers and media observers worry that many newspapers in Kansas and across the nation may be wiped out, leaving cities and counties without a reliable source for local news and information.
Kelsey Ryan in conversation with Chris Green
But advocates of the for-profit journalism model, such as Joey Young of Kansas Publishing Ventures, say there is still a viable path for locally owned publications to sell subscriptions and advertising to the local community. Most community news in Kansas is still being produced by for-profit ventures.
Join Journal managing editor Chris Green and a panel of experts for a livestreamed virtual discussion on the growth of non-profit journalism in Kansas and across the country, the future of for-profit community journalism, and what it will take to address the adaptive challenge of sustaining the local journalism necessary for communities to thrive.
Tune in on our Facebook or YouTube channels.
The panel will feature:
- Kelsey Ryan, Founder & Publisher, The Beacon
- Joey Young, Majority Owner, Kansas Publishing Ventures
- Bonita Gooch, Editor-in-Chief, The Community Voice
- Jonathan Kealing, Chief Network Officer, Institute for Nonprofit News
- Joel Mathis, Journal correspondent
Read the story here. For more information on The Journal, visit klcjournal.com. The print edition featuring the story about local journalism can be purchased at the Kansas Leadership Center’s online store.
