Flatland, Kansas City PBS’ nonprofit newsroom, announces an exciting editorial shift, marking a significant evolution in its mission, content strategy and community engagement. (File)

Flatland Reshapes Editorial Direction, Elevating Commitment to Social Equity

January 15, 2024 | Flatland | 2 min read

Flatland, Kansas City PBS’ nonprofit newsroom, announces an exciting editorial shift, marking a significant evolution in its mission, content strategy and community engagement.

“As the digital newsroom for Kansas City PBS, Flatland has earned a well-deserved reputation for its unwavering commitment to objective, award-winning journalism. This renewed content focus represents a strategic step forward, allowing Flatland to continue serving the Kansas City community with focused, impactful, in-depth reporting.” Kliff Kuehl, Kansas City PBS president and CEO, said.

This updated direction captures the newsroom’s dedication to social equity while highlighting its mission to fill coverage gaps and shine a light on critical issues impacting residents’ daily lives in our region.

Flatland’s main objective is to explore crucial topics such as housing, food, health care, sustainability, education, personal safety and economic opportunity. Flatland will raise awareness, inspire dialogue and drive positive change by focusing on these fundamental issues.

Flatland will continue to report on vital topics relevant to the metro’s most curious constituents, from critical coverage of the progress and impact of the highly anticipated streetcar extension to the city-sanctioned reparations commission tasked with exploring the efficacy of a reparations program in Kansas City The nonprofit newsroom will make strides to serve news deserts in our region’s rural communities, spotlighting the challenges, opportunities and history of those often disconnected from traditional news media.

As a digital newsroom, Flatland will harness the power of video shorts and other multimedia to connect local audiences to essential stories online and through its monthly 30-minute public affairs television show, “Flatland in Focus.”

“We are, at our core, devoted to public service journalism,” said Chris Lester, managing editor of Kansas City PBS/Flatland. “We want to deepen our coverage by bringing context and meaning to the issues that matter most to the people who live in the communities that we cover.”

As Flatland ushers in this new era after nearly a decade of service, it will continue to share untold stories that spark change and amplify unheard voices in Kansas City and beyond.