KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As part of News Literacy Week, KSHB 41 News wants to show viewers how it covers the news.
Our parent company, E.W. Scripps, partners with The News Literacy Project every year to highlight the credibility of news.
Every shift at KSHB 41 News in Kansas City, Missouri, begins with an editorial meeting.
The shifts meet early morning, during the day and in the afternoon and reporters pitch story ideas during the meeting.
Managers like executive producer Pansy Hall decide which stories to pursue. She looks for stories with impact and balance.
“A good pitch is not just an idea,” Hall said. “It needs to come in fully developed as in who are you going to talk to, what is your focus.”
Reporters write scripts before creating pre-packaged stories. Producers write most of the words you hear anchors read on air.
Hall and other managers proofread the content before photographers and editors piece together the videos.
“We need to make sure that information we’re providing is accurate, relevant, and impactful,” Hall said.
Realtime editors like David Medina take tips from the community, listen to police scanners, assign reporters to breaking news and confirm information with sources.
“We’re pretty much the first in line when news comes in and it’s one of our main jobs to get it out to the rest of the newsroom,” Medina said.
What viewers see on air almost always ends up on our website. Sometimes the news is online before it’s on TV thanks to the realtime team.
It also oversees publishing stories on the website and on social media. Medina and others follow several steps to edit and fact-check articles before publication.
“Credibility and trust toward our audience is important,” Medina said.
Hall says diversity in political views, races, genders and religion within the newsroom leads to the best final result.
“Everyone brings a different experience to the newsroom, everyone has a voice, and everyone will have a different insight into what a story is and what makes a good story,” Hall said.
It takes a team representing everyone to be a voice for everyone.
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