The Wichita Eagle
Encyclopedia
The Wichita Eagle is a daily newspaper
published in Wichita, Kansas
. It is owned by The McClatchy Company
, which publishes 31 other newspapers, including The Kansas City Star
.
It is the largest newspaper in Wichita, Kansas and the surrounding area.
was publisher of the Beacon for many years, and the two papers competed for 88 years.
in 1974, which combined the two newspapers into The Wichita Eagle-Beacon in 1980. In 1989, the Beacon name was dropped, and the newspaper became The Wichita Eagle.
, one of the earliest and most vocal proponents of civic journalism
(also known as public journalism) which believes that journalists and their audiences are not merely spectators in political and social processes, and that journalists should not simply report dry facts as a pretense that their reporting represents unadulterated neutrality, which is impossible. (see Objectivity in Journalism
) Instead, the civic journalism movement seeks to treat readers and community members as participants. With a small, but growing following, civic journalism has become as much of an ideology as it is a practice.
The Wichita Eagle was at the forefront of this movement. For example, for elections held in 1990, the paper polled 500 residents to identify their top concerns for the state. Then, over the course of the elections, reporters for the paper attempted to pin down the candidates on how they felt about these issues, and printed a pull-out section each week with a list of the issues and where the candidates stated they stood. If the candidate refused to take a stand, that was also reported. This is in stark contrast to the former practice of simply reporting the facts about a candidate's speech. As a result, voter turnout in the Eagle' s primary circulation area was 43.3 percent, compared with 31 percent for the rest of the state.
when McClatchy bought Knight Ridder in 2006.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. It is owned by The McClatchy Company
The McClatchy Company
The McClatchy Company is a publicly traded American publishing company based in Sacramento, California. It operates 30 daily newspapers in 15 states and has an average weekday circulation of 2.2 million and Sunday circulation of 2.8 million...
, which publishes 31 other newspapers, including The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
.
It is the largest newspaper in Wichita, Kansas and the surrounding area.
Origins
The Eagle was founded and first edited by Marshall Murdock, and had its inception in the spring of 1872. Its chief competitor, the Beacon, launched in October of that year. Prominent newspaperman and politician Henry J. AllenHenry Justin Allen
Henry Justin Allen was the 21st Governor of Kansas and U.S. Senator from Kansas .Allen was born in Warren County, Pennsylvania to John and Rebecca Elizabeth Allen...
was publisher of the Beacon for many years, and the two papers competed for 88 years.
Merger
In 1960 the Eagle purchased the Beacon. Both newspapers continued to be published, the Eagle in the morning and the Beacon in the evening. In 1973, Ridder Publications bought both newspapers. Ridder and Knight Newspapers merged to form Knight RidderKnight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...
in 1974, which combined the two newspapers into The Wichita Eagle-Beacon in 1980. In 1989, the Beacon name was dropped, and the newspaper became The Wichita Eagle.
Introduction of civic journalism
The paper built its national reputation largely under the editorship of W. Davis "Buzz" Merritt Jr.W. Davis Merritt
W. Davis "Buzz" Merritt Jr. was editor of The Wichita Eagle from 1975 to 1996. He is considered one of the fathers of civic journalism, a new school of thought that advocates using public opinion and involving citizens in the journalistic process, and journalists in community, to set an...
, one of the earliest and most vocal proponents of civic journalism
Civic Journalism
The civic journalism movement is, according to professor David K. Perry of the University of Alabama, an attempt to abandon the notion that journalists and their audiences are spectators in political and social processes. In its place, the civic journalism movement seeks to treat readers and...
(also known as public journalism) which believes that journalists and their audiences are not merely spectators in political and social processes, and that journalists should not simply report dry facts as a pretense that their reporting represents unadulterated neutrality, which is impossible. (see Objectivity in Journalism
Objectivity (journalism)
Parent article: Journalism ethics and standardsObjectivity is a significant principle of journalistic professionalism. Journalistic objectivity can refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these qualities.- Definitions :In the context...
) Instead, the civic journalism movement seeks to treat readers and community members as participants. With a small, but growing following, civic journalism has become as much of an ideology as it is a practice.
The Wichita Eagle was at the forefront of this movement. For example, for elections held in 1990, the paper polled 500 residents to identify their top concerns for the state. Then, over the course of the elections, reporters for the paper attempted to pin down the candidates on how they felt about these issues, and printed a pull-out section each week with a list of the issues and where the candidates stated they stood. If the candidate refused to take a stand, that was also reported. This is in stark contrast to the former practice of simply reporting the facts about a candidate's speech. As a result, voter turnout in the Eagle
Recent events
The Eagle became part of The McClatchy CompanyThe McClatchy Company
The McClatchy Company is a publicly traded American publishing company based in Sacramento, California. It operates 30 daily newspapers in 15 states and has an average weekday circulation of 2.2 million and Sunday circulation of 2.8 million...
when McClatchy bought Knight Ridder in 2006.