JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

In August 2018, just a year and a half after she had been hired at The Kansas City Star, investigative reporter Kelsey Ryan got a 7 a.m. call at home telling her she was being laid off.

I remember her posting on the Kansas City Star Bylines Facebook page (totally independent of the newspaper) that she had a good cry and immediately set about determining what she would do next.

Months later she wrote…

“By 3 p.m., my work email was downloaded and my resume updated. And by 5 p.m., I realized I really didn’t want to ever work for another McClatchy paper. Or Gannett. Or GateHouse. Or (insert name of struggling newspaper company here). That in some ways, going to another newspaper was the easy route, to grab a lifeboat and hope it won’t sink itself in the next year or two. To bury my head in the sand, pretending more layoffs wouldn’t happen. Instead, I decided I would build a new ship.”

Kelsey Ryan

The “ship” she started to build is an online news publication called The Beacon. She’s made tremendous progress and has been meticulously laying the groundwork for a publication focusing on “local, in-depth journalism in the public interest.”

Her plan had been to start publishing stories later this year, but being a good newswoman, she saw a golden opportunity to step up to the plate and start swinging.

So, she accelerated her “soft launch,” and today The Beacon posted its first story — an informative piece full of the basic information I’ve been looking for locally, including how many Covid-19 tests had been run in Missouri (94, with four positive) and Kansas (143, with eight positive) and the fact that two big private labs, Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp, will soon start testing.

Andy Marso

The story’s reporter and writer is none other than Andy Marso, who stamped himself as an outstanding healthcare reporter during his three years at The Star. Marso left The Star last August to become an editor at FPM (Family Practice Management) Journal, which is affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians, based in Leawood.

Just three days ago — Thursday — Ryan announced that Marso and another former Star staff member, Cindy Gregorian, would be producing freelance stories for The Beacon. In addition, Ryan said she was hiring a part-time editor to help manage the accelerated roll-out. The Beacon’s first full-time reporter, who will be covering health and the environment, is expected to be on board this summer.

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Ryan, 31, was able to start publishing today because she had built such a solid foundation.

The Beacon has received funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Google News Initiative, the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, the Francis Family Foundation, the Gattermeir Family Foundation and the William T. Kemper Foundation.

It has also raised funds from individual contributors through the nonprofit Kansas Newspaper Foundation, which is serving as The Beacon’s fiscal sponsor until its own 501(c)(3) designation is approved.

The Beacon even has office space — donated — in the Plexpod-Westport Commons at 39th and McGee.

In January, Ryan announced the hiring of Jennifer Hack Wolf as audience development manager. Wolf spent 14 years at The Star, first as a photographer and later as editor of Ink Magazine.

Wolf has been leading an impressive community engagement effort, which included several public programs and lately (with the Covid-19 situation) moved online.

Recently, The Beacon started a private Facebook group called Kansas City Coronavirus Updates. Ryan said it has already attracted more than 1,200 members and added, “We are truly taking the questions and feedback from the community and integrating it into the coverage and fiber of The Beacon.”

Another major milestone came last month when Ryan introduced a 12-member board of directors. (Ryan emphasized it is a governing board and that all editorial decisions will be made by The Beacon’s journalists.)

Mark Horvit

One board member is Pam Fine, a former University of Kansas journalism professor and former managing editor of the Indianapolis Star and former managing editor and vice president of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. Other members include Mark Horvit, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and local attorneys Brittany Barrientos and David Oliver.

In an email today, Ryan said she was not planning to institute a paywall. “We want to serve the public and sustain on paid memberships over time,” she said.

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Ryan grew up in Newton, KS, and graduated from Emporia State University, where she was editor of her college paper. She began her newspaper career at The Joplin Globe and later spent four years at The Wichita Eagle before moving to Kansas City for her brief stint at The Star.

…This is a big day not only for Kelsey Ryan and The Beacon but also for Kansas City area residents who have been looking for more in-depth, local news.

Every indication is that Ryan is building a substantive and lively publication that will help many Kansas City area residents stay better informed about community developments and situations.

Congratulations, Kelsey, you’re off and running!