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Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.
In episode 59, we interview Clay Wirestone, who returns to Pioneers in Health for the second time. Clay serves as the opinion editor at the Kansas Reflector, a non-profit news operation that is part of States Newsroom. The Kansas Reflector provides in-depth reporting, diverse opinions and daily coverage of state government and politics. It’s free to readers and other news outlets.
Clay’s work has appeared in more than 100 outlets in two dozen states. He has written columns and edited copy for newsrooms in Kansas, New Hampshire, Florida and Pennsylvania. He has also fact checked politicians, researched for Larry the Cable Guy, and appeared in PolitiFact, Mental Floss and cnn.com.
In this episode, Clay shares about his new book, “Opinionated.” Opinionated provides an eye-opening tour through the golden age of Kansas journalism and proves why local newspapers and incisive commentary are indispensable for an informed public. His book covers the 1920s through the 1970s.
However, he shares the history of opinion writing in Kansas that started even before then. He said during the Civil War, there was a lot of commentary about whether Kansas would be a slave state or free state. Hundreds of newspapers on various sides were voicing their opinion for or against slavery at the time.
“I think that created a really kind of fertile soil in Kansas, because essentially you had this tradition started that everyone was going to have their voice heard, and their voice was going to be loud and passionate,” he said.
He said part of what drew him to write this book was that many of the Kansas editors throughout history were well known, which isn’t the case in other states.
“That’s not true everywhere else. There is something different about Kansas,” he said.
Today, though, he serves as only one of two full-time opinion editors across the state.
“While I think you cannot overstate the importance of reporters — you cannot overstate the importance of news coverage — there is something really special about a local opinion voice,” he said. “And that is what I really emphasize in the book.”
In this episode, he also discusses:
- Why there are far fewer full-time opinion editors today
- His approach to writing the book
- The history of The Iola Register, which has been run by five generations of family
- William Allen White
- Nick Chiles and the Topeka Plaindealer
- Other prominent journalists at that time
- His research approach for the less prominent writers in his book
- The Harris Group of newspapers
- The role of commentary
And much more! Listen now, and learn more about this new book covering innovative leaders in Kansas.
Please see the Pioneers in Health page on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes.
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