Remembering NPR's Ken Barcus, a tough editor with a big heart
Ken Barcus, longtime Midwest bureau chief for NPR's National Desk and a revered mentor to public radio journalists, died Tuesday in Cleveland. He was 67.
His death from complications resulting from throat cancer was confirmed by his family.
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.
"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. "He never stopped pushing for stories that illuminated life away from the coasts. Even after decades in his job, he wanted to make sure no one ever thought of the region as 'flyover country.'"
Or as Ken put it, "[I wanted] to make
