distantly owned, locally operated

People seem to long for local authenticity and connection. This morning, our public radio station, KCUR, held a roundtable discussing the role of the media in recent events like the election and the swine flu outbreak. The panelists spent the last twenty minutes speculating on the future of locally focused journalism. All of the panelists, save one a professor, were local writers and newscasters. One subject, perhaps taboo and difficult, not covered, the business of news failed to get any mention. I waited on the phone to contribute this comment, but Steve Kraske ran out of time. Steve and the others, especially Sylvia Maria Gross of KCUR, do a great service to the “sound and feel” of this city with their voices and love for the written and spoken word. I worry about them because all of our primary media resources (TV, radio, and the KC Star) are distantly owned. Budgets, cuts, and all the downsizing talk happens out of Kansas City. That fact must worry them a great deal and inhibit their creativity.