We have some big news to share. Allison Dikanovic is joining The Beacon as our next editor-in-chief.

Allison starts Sept. 14 and comes to us from The Kansas City Star, where she most recently led local government accountability coverage. She has spent her career thinking about many of the same things we think about every day at The Beacon:

• How journalism can be more useful.
• How newsrooms can listen better.
• And how strong accountability reporting can help people understand and navigate the institutions that shape their lives.

We set a high bar for this search, and the pool was incredibly competitive. Some exceptional journalists and newsroom leaders rose to the top, which made the decision both exciting and difficult. From the beginning, though, we knew we wanted this to be a process that involved the people who know The Beacon and its work best. Our staff was deeply involved, and we listened closely to what they thought about the candidates and what they wanted in their next editorial leader.

As we got further into the process, something started happening that was hard to miss. Our team started campaigning for Allison.

They were excited by her ideas, her energy and the way she talked about journalism as a service to communities. They could see themselves working with her and building with her. And they weren’t alone. By the end of the process, our board and others close to The Beacon were remarkably aligned around Allison, too. For a decision this important to The Beacon, that kind of shared excitement meant a lot.

Allison’s career helps explain why.

Before moving into accountability editing at The Star, she launched its service journalism team, focused on answering readers’ questions and producing useful, timely local information. At THE CITY in New York, she helped turn thousands of questions from residents into editorial strategy and built community partnerships around that work. Earlier in her career, she reported for Wisconsin Watch and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, where her work included local government, housing and solutions-focused reporting.

She holds a master’s degree in engagement journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and journalism from Marquette University.

“As Kansas City keeps growing and changing, I’m excited to help build a news source that wholeheartedly puts our neighbors first,” Allison said about becoming The Beacon’s next editor-in-chief. “I want The Beacon to be a go-to place to learn about the decisions and forces shaping life in KC, who stands to benefit and what you and your neighbors can influence.” 

All of that lines up remarkably well with where we want to take The Beacon.

We know we can’t, and shouldn’t, try to cover everything. Instead, we’re working to become increasingly precise about where journalism is most missing, what information communities need and where our reporting can make the greatest difference. That requires listening before deciding what people need from us, identifying real information gaps and putting serious reporting resources behind them. And the work isn’t finished when we hit publish. We have to make sure that journalism actually reaches the people it was intended to serve.

The Beacon already has a team that cares enormously about this work, and we wanted someone who would bring that same drive to leading it. Someone who sees journalism as an act of service, who wants to build alongside an ambitious team and who is excited about engaging a new generation of journalists and news consumers in what local journalism can be.

We found that in Allison.

She’ll also be building from a strong place.

Chris Lester has led our newsroom through an important period of growth and transition with tremendous judgment, steadiness and care. Under his watch, every Beacon reporter has been recognized with an award for their journalism in the past 18 months, an extraordinary reflection of both the talent in this newsroom and the standard Chris has helped set. He stepped into the role when The Beacon needed him, made the newsroom stronger and helped us arrive at this moment ready for what comes next. We are enormously grateful to Chris as he retires and to the entire team whose work has brought The Beacon to this point.

There is a lot ahead for us. The Beacon is still young enough to question assumptions about what a local newsroom has to look like, and established enough to know much more about where we can make a difference. We can listen closely, be disciplined about where we put our resources and keep getting better at serving communities with the journalism they are most missing.

That’s the opportunity in front of Allison and this team, and we couldn’t be happier that she chose to take it on with us.

Welcome to The Beacon, Allison. We’re so excited to get started.