![]() Ken enjoys a paddle on Ohio's Grand River in July 2015. That's where he and his wife, Ellen, whom he married in 1988, raised their daughters, Julia, now 29, and Kate, now 27. ![]() He went on to become an editor on the National Desk, and in 1998 he persuaded NPR to move his job from D.C. Ken's NPR career initially included a stint as an overnight editor for Morning Edition ("NPR's version of hazing," he later joked). Prior to joining NPR, Ken reported for member station WAMU in the District of Columbia, and he worked for nearly eight years at Monitor Radio, the now-defunct broadcast arm of The Christian Science Monitor newspaper, where he covered the White House and served as Washington bureau chief. ![]() Ken nearly went to law school but had a change of heart and instead entered American University's graduate program in journalism in Washington, D.C., from which he received his master's degree. in liberal studies from Sonoma State University in Northern California. He graduated from Cleveland Heights High School and received his B.A. 18, 1955, in Cleveland and grew up there. "I wouldn't be here today without his support and kindness," Ammad says. Radio is creating pictures in the mind, and he brought that home to me and to others so intensely and so well."Īmmad Omar, chief editor on NPR's National Desk, counts himself lucky that Ken took him under his wing when he was a young producer in his early 20s working in Chicago. He wanted to create vivid scenes and bring our listeners to the place where the story is. In the process of editing his reports, David says, "we butted heads every now and then, but it was always to make the story better. NPR correspondent David Schaper, who is based in Chicago, calls Ken "unforgettable" and says, "I owe my career to him." Or as Ken put it, " to make sure that people would choke on the words 'Rust Belt' or 'flyover' when they think about my region." Even after decades in his job, he wanted to make sure no one ever thought of the region as 'flyover country.'" "He never stopped pushing for stories that illuminated life away from the coasts. "Ken was a passionate advocate for coverage of the Midwest," says NPR's managing editor for news, Vickie Walton-James, who was Ken's supervisor for 14 years. ![]() Over an NPR career that spanned three decades, Ken made an indelible imprint: He brought in countless stories and trained dozens of reporters and editors across the Midwest, from Ohio to the Dakotas. His death from complications resulting from throat cancer was confirmed by his family. Ken Barcus, longtime Midwest bureau chief for NPR's National Desk and a revered mentor to public radio journalists, died Tuesday in Cleveland. He took great pride in countering stereotypes of the Midwest and in mentoring scores of young reporters. Ken Barcus, NPR's Midwest bureau chief, died today at age 67. ![]()
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