The Beacon (Kansas City)

The Beacon
The Beacon (Kansas City) 2020-12-13
TypeNonprofit
FormatOnline digital news
PublisherKelsey Ryan
Founded2020
Political alignmentNonpartisan
Headquarters300 E. 39th St.
Kansas City, MO 64111
Websitekcbeacon.org

The Beacon is a non-profit online news outlet in the Kansas City metropolitan area focusing on public-interest journalism.[1] It is Kansas City’s first regional nonprofit news outlet that is not a public television or radio station.[2]

It was founded in 2020 by Kelsey Ryan, a former Investigative journalist for the Kansas City Star[3] and a 2018 Pulitzer Prize finalist.[4] It launched earlier than planned on March 12, 2020, in response to community information needs with the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The news network is overseen by an eight-member Board of Directors and the Kansas City newsroom works with a 10-member community advisory board.[6][2] The news organization received initial funding from a Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge in 2019 and has received additional funding from the Solutions Journalism Network in order to write about broadband infrastructure in Kansas and Missouri.[2] It is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News,[7] Local Independent Online News Publishers (LION),[8] and the Kansas Press Association.[9]

The Beacon won the 2020 "Emerging Publisher" award from Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers.[10] It also won the 2021 "Community Champion" award from the Institute for Nonprofit News.[11]

In 2021, The Beacon expanded into a regional news network beyond Kansas City,[12] and launched a second local newsroom in Wichita, Kansas, called The Wichita Beacon.[13] The expansion into a regional news network from a single newsroom was spurred with a commitment of $1.1 million from the Wichita Community Foundation [14] and funding from the American Journalism Project.[15]

References

  1. ^ "The Beacon". Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion. 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  2. ^ a b c "Civic-focused news operation The Beacon establishes itself quickly in Kansas City". Local Media Association. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  3. ^ Evelyn Mateos (20 May 2020). "Former Star reporter forms online news outlet" (PDF). The Kansas Publisher: 4. Wikidata Q104167991..
  4. ^ "Newton graduate Kelsey Ryan a Pulitzer Prize finalist". Harvey County Now. 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  5. ^ "Covering the coronavirus is like covering a natural disaster, but 'everyone is going through it'". 7 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Community Advisory Board". The Beacon. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  7. ^ The Kansas City Beacon, Kansas City, Wikidata Q104214683
  8. ^ LION Publishers: Current Members, LION Publishers, Wikidata Q108936755
  9. ^ Kansas Press Association: Browse Full Member Database, Kansas Press Association, Wikidata Q108936678
  10. ^ Meet the winners of the 2020 LION Awards, LION Publishers, 2020, Wikidata Q104172657.
  11. ^ "24 winners named in INN's first national Nonprofit News Awards".
  12. ^ "The Kansas City Beacon is expanding to a second city, Wichita, with nearly $4M raised".
  13. ^ "Home". wichitabeacon.org.
  14. ^ "News | Wichita Community Foundation".
  15. ^ "American Journalism Project Announces New Nonprofit Newsroom Grantees, New Funding Partners". 17 December 2020.

39°3′27″N 94°34′47″W / 39.05750°N 94.57972°W / 39.05750; -94.57972