Topic: Online news media
Interview of Sherman Smith, June 8, 2026
Interviewed by Jim McLean
In this 2026 interview, Sherman Smith, the editor-in-chief of the Kansas Reflector, discussed a career in the evolving landscape of journalism in the early 21st Century. He recounted his observations of the newspaper industry’s transition from hard copy to digital media and his experience starting out in the early days of that transition at the Topeka Capital-Journal. Smith was in an excellent position from which to observe the changes that occurred in both reporting and the business model of local newspapers as he held various positions over a decade and a half at the Capital-Journal. Smith Show Moremoved from the for-profit to the non-profit news sector, founding the online-only Kansas Reflector in 2020 — a time when many traditional news organizations were in decline. He described the importance of reporting to citizens’ oversight of state government and the role now filled by non-profit, digital-only news media across the nation. Smith observed that the public continues to appreciate ethical investigative reporting that holds public figures accountable. In Smith’s words, “The appetite for quality journalism has not gone away. I think that gives me hope for the future.”
Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview