We’re excited to welcome Sofi Zeman to The Beacon as our new Wyandotte County reporter, an addition to our newsroom that we’ve been working toward for several years.
Sofi joins us ready to dive in on day one, after spending the past year and a half hitting the pavement and building relationships across Wyandotte County for The Kansas City Star. She covered how people came together to help after catastrophic storms, what’s really happening with big developments promised years ago and who’s finding solutions to provide much-needed affordable housing. Now, she’ll keep building on that work and find new ways to serve our readers.
Before arriving in Kansas City and moving to Wyandotte County, Sofi was in Uvalde, Texas, reporting on how that community, its schools and its government responded to the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary. She’s an alumna of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. We’re looking forward to what both her care for people and eye toward accountability for those in power will bring to our coverage.
“I’m so excited to be part of The Beacon’s plans to expand coverage in Wyandotte County,” she said. “This area is so deserving and in need of quality and consistent reporting. I’m grateful to be able to contribute to that.”
At The Beacon, we’re committed to going where the gaps in access to local news and information are growing, particularly where independent journalism can provide the greatest public service. That means paying attention to communities where important decisions are being made but where residents may not have consistent access to the reporting they need to understand or participate in those decisions.
Wyandotte County has long been a priority for us. It’s home to diverse communities, a rich history and important conversations about local government, schools, housing, health and economic opportunity. Those issues affect people’s everyday lives, and they deserve the kind of consistent attention that comes from having a journalist dedicated to covering them.
We’ve wanted to make this investment for years, but building a nonprofit newsroom means finding the resources to support that work over time. We’re grateful to have reached the point where we can bring a dedicated reporter to Wyandotte County and begin building on the relationships and reporting we’ve already established in the community.
What dedicated coverage makes possible
Having a reporter focused on Wyandotte County means more than adding stories to our website. It means having someone who can attend meetings, get to know residents, ask questions of public officials and follow developments over time. It also means being able to pursue stories that might otherwise go uncovered, including the smaller decisions that can have a significant impact on people’s lives.
Sofi will work closely with our editorial team and have opportunities to connect her reporting with Kansas City Documenters, our program that trains and pays residents to document public meetings. Together, these efforts can help more people understand what’s happening in local government and participate in the decisions affecting their communities.
“Sofi’s commitment to do justice by those who call Wyandotte County home shows in her work and will allow us to do more impactful reporting,” said Allison Dikanovic, The Beacon’s editor-in-chief. “I’m excited to work alongside Sofi and any residents who want to be part of making our coverage a reliable, helpful and trusted local resource.”
We’re especially interested in hearing directly from Wyandotte County residents about what they want to know. What issues aren’t getting enough attention? What questions do you have about how your local government works? Where could better information make a difference?
“I spend most of my time working from local businesses across the county, so I’m sure you’ll see me around! If you spot me at your favorite coffee shop, feel free to bring up a few story ideas, or we can just chat,” Sofi said. “My inbox is also always open for feedback, questions and tips.”
Continuing to grow The Beacon’s reporting
Sofi’s arrival follows another important addition to our newsroom, Thomas Friestad, who recently joined The Beacon to expand our coverage of Kansas City government. We’ve also welcomed Allison Dikanovic as our new editor-in-chief, bringing new leadership and experience to our editorial team.
We’re excited about these additions because they allow us to do more of the reporting our communities have been asking for. We know there are still plenty of places across Kansas and Missouri where people need more reliable local information, and we’re continuing to look for ways to meet those needs.
We’re also focused on making these investments sustainable. Dedicated local reporting takes time, and we want our journalists to have the opportunity to build relationships, develop expertise and stay with stories as they unfold. Philanthropic support makes that possible, and we’re grateful to the people and organizations investing in the future of local news.
For now, we’re looking forward to introducing Sofi to Wyandotte County and seeing where her reporting takes her. We hope residents will reach out, share their experiences and help us understand what coverage would be most useful to them.
Thank you for supporting The Beacon and helping us bring more independent local journalism to the communities we serve.
Funding disclosure: The Beacon’s Wyandotte County reporting position is supported by a grant from the Hall Family Foundation. The Beacon maintains full editorial independence over our reporting and coverage decisions.
