Topic: Local media

Photo of Dave Ranney, John Marshall, and Mike Shields

Interview of John Marshall, Mike Shields and Dave Ranney, July 30, 2025

Interviewed by Jim McLean

In this 2025 oral history interview, Jim McLean explored with John Marshall, Dave Ranney, and Mike Shields some of the issues they covered as Statehouse reporters and how news coverage has changed over the last fifty years. The three reporters, who all worked at Harris News, describe providing in-depth coverage, such as Marshall’s descriptions of school finance debates, Shields’ work on Kansas water issues, and Ranney’s articles on social services issues that impacted Kansans’ lives. Marshall noted that through Ranney’s reporting on social issues, “we found that for the first time we could raise the consciousness of almost the Show Moreentire community of Kansas. Made this an issue. Made this something that people talked about and were concerned with, especially legislators.” They shared their thoughts on how Harris News made “Kansans aware of Kansas” and the importance of covering local stories about local people and not just Topeka, Kansas City, and Wichita. They noted that today “we’ve lost the quality control of the information being presented out there.” They also recognized Dale Dennis, formerly at the Kansas Department of Education, and Richard "Dick" Ryan, former Director of the Kansas Legislative Research Department, as sources of detailed information to ensure that Kansans received accurate and reliable news from the Statehouse.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

Show Less

Interview of Martin Hawver, August 13, 2025

Interviewed by Jim McLean

In this 2025 interview, Martin Hawver discussed his career in journalism, focusing on his years reporting from the Kansas Statehouse. Hawver’s interview examined the role that his Hawver’s Capitol Report played in providing news and insider analysis about Kansas politics and government for three decades. Hawver reported Statehouse news and described how the issues being debated would affect Kansans. He had a reputation for asking the questions no one else would ask, often in a signature quirky manner. Hawver focused on what people needed to know, and delivered the news in a unique style. His goal was to Show Morewrite “what people think is interesting, what they ought to know, what they wish they know, what they hope other people don’t know.”

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

Show Less

Interview of Leroy Towns, September 5, 2025

Interviewed by Jim McLean

In this 2025 oral history interview, Leroy Towns described how his interest in politics led him to a 44-year career as a reporter, press secretary, and educator. During the interview, Towns recalled his unconventional start as a student reporter covering the Vietnam War for the Kansas State Collegian before beginning a career as a Statehouse correspondent for The Topeka Capital-Journal and then for the Harris News Group. Towns reflected during the interview on his shift from reporting when he became press secretary for Governor Robert Bennett. A significant portion of the interview focused on his decades-long role as chief of Show Morestaff for Pat Roberts, when Roberts represented Kansas in Congress. From that vantage point, Towns recalled witnessing the nationalization of politics and a decline in bipartisan collegiality. Throughout the interview, Towns offered insights into the evolving media landscape and the loss of local news coverage.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

Show Less

Interview of Sarah Kessinger, December 11, 2025

Interviewed by Jim McLean

In this 2025 oral history interview, Sarah Kessinger described her reporting career before taking on the challenge of publishing a weekly newspaper. Kessinger was Statehouse reporter for Harris News that served many community newspapers across Kansas. At the time of this interview, she was the editor and publisher of The Marysville Advocate. She observed that small, locally-owned newspapers look for ways to get the next generation to understand that “a newspaper is there as a resource for them to become better informed and better citizens in their community.” She also noted that, "there’s a lot Show Moreof rhetoric online that people believe, and that rhetoric doesn’t have to be vetted like we have to vet what we report and make sure that it’s accurate…we have a legal liability to report the truth.” She also highlighted as an issue confronting newspapers the lack of communication from national, state, and local elected officials. Kessinger questioned whether government officials realize the “damage they’re doing by shutting out the media and not being transparent.” In Kessinger's opinion, if media “can’t keep [important issues] in front of the public, then we all lose in the end. It’s a weaker society in general.”

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

Show Less