Why does the Wichita Beacon keep losing reporters?

The Wichita Beacon launched in 2021 with three reporters, all via Report for America. But by the end of July 2022, all three had left for new jobs, as had The Beacon’s first editor. Beacon founder and publisher Kelsey Ryan announced she was stepping away in mid-July.

Startups are notoriously challenging workplaces, so that level of turnover in the first year, while significant, could have indicated early bumps in the road that would eventually even out. But in the two years since, at least four more reporters have departed the Wichita Beacon, as has a second editor. Their tenures ranged from three months to two years. The revolving door has meant the Wichita Beacon hasn’t been fully staffed — with three reporters and an editor on the editorial side — since January 2022.

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