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 19, we interview veteran journalist Jim McLean, senior reporter at Kansas News Service. Kansas News Service is a collaboration of public media stations across Kansas that report on issues and events affecting the health and well-being of Kansans, their communities and the state overall.
Jim was previously managing editor for the Kansas News Service, founder of KHI News Service covering health policy, and news director and Statehouse bureau chief for Kansas Public Radio. He was also managing editor for the Topeka Capital-Journal.
He has received numerous awards for journalistic excellence from the Kansas Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
In this episode, he discusses how managing a supper club in the basement of a hotel led to a career in radio and journalism.
He also discusses the importance of public radio and how it’s evolved over the years. He shares stories from throughout his career and covering Kansas state government. He reflects on how the relationship with the media and public officials has changed, as well as the environment at the statehouse.
“There were partisan differences, but everybody was there essentially to do the public business. It wasn’t performance art like I think it is today,” he said. “People were respectful of one another. They had different opinions, but it was a constructive environment.”
He also discusses his experience working at the Kansas Health Institute (KHI), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that conducts research on health policy issues. While there, one of the most important things he learned about was the social determinants of health.
“So much more contributes to whether you’re a healthy person or not than just the health care that you receive,” he said. “In fact, on a percentage basis, that’s well down the line.”
While at KHI, he created and launched KHI News Service to focus on nonpartisan news coverage of health policy. That eventually split off from KHI and became housed at KCUR Public Media, where the team of reporters continues covering health policy and issues across the state.
In this episode, he also discusses:
- His journey into broadcasting and later politics
- How journalism and politics have changed during his career
- Sharing stories of Kansans through his podcast series titled “My Fellow Kansans”
- How getting stuck on ideological positions creates an inability to have constructive conversation on topics that affect everyone’s health, such as Medicaid
- The role media plays in helping the public understand potential policy impacts and his hope of sustaining media outlets that have vigorous editorial processes
And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Jim is an innovative leader in health care communications.
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