PODCAST “MY FELLOW KANSANS” EXPANDS THE REACH OF PUBLIC MEDIA • MORE RATINGS FROM DIARY MARKETS

Since the fall of 201, the podcast My Fellow Kansans (MFK) has been tackling the tough issues that face the people of the Kansas.  

MFK concluded its first season with accolades. Now season two of MFK has started with a focus on rural life in the state.

Kansas was a bloody free state just prior to the Civil War. 

Then the state was at the center of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. 

For the past three decades Kansas has become known for its red-state conservative politicians. Then, in 2018, there was push-back.

Kansas News Service [link], in Topeka, produces MFK [link].  It is a collaborative project that includes the newsrooms of KCUR, Kansas City, KMUW in Wichita, Kansas Public Radio in Lawrence and High Plains Public Radio in Garden City. KCUR is the director and fiduciary for the collaboration.

The podcast is distributed by NPR Podcasts [link], the four collaborating stations and via commercial and noncom stations. A print version is also distributed at no cost to newspapers in Kansas.

In season one, MFK told stories about politics in Kansas. Season two, which started on October 18, 2019, looks at the reality of life in rural Kansas. There are troubling signs.

Once-thriving towns continue to shrink. Folks working in agriculture have been hit hard by tariffs and increasing consolidation of landowners. Health care providers are struggling to serve fewer people spread out over hundreds of miles from the closest city.

Jim McLean

To hear on of MFK at its best, check out the November 14^th episode, Even Remade, A Town Struggles [link]. 

Reporter Jim McLean, who is also the managing director of Kansas News Service, tells the story of Greensburg, Kansas, a town of fewer than 1,000 people located 90 minutes west of Wichita.

Greensburg has been struggling for many years. 

Then a tornado in 2007 devastated much ofthe town. 

For awhile new hope emerged. 

The leaders of Greensburg decided that the town should become a green, environmentally sustainable place. 

People were optimistic. But powerful forces drove even more people away despite its makeover.

Kansas News Service and MFK are supported by by the Kansas Health Foundation, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, Sunflower Foundation, REACH Healthcare Foundation, the Health Forward Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

KMUW IN WICHITA SHOWS BIG GAINS IN NIELSEN RATINGS

As the rural parts of Kansas continue to loose residents, the states cities are booming. 

People move to places like Wichita for employment, healthcare and more opportunity. NPR News/Talk station KMUW [link] has been a big part of the growth.

KMUW had come a long way in the past two decades. We checked the Spark News’ retro ratings file and learned that 20 years ago, in the Fall 1999, Arbitron said that KMUW had a 2.2 AQH share and 23,300 estimated weekly listeners.

By October 2019, KMUW more than doubled their AQH share. KMUW had an estimated 51,400 weekly listeners.