Bill Kurtis Talks Journalism

About this event

@ Internationally acclaimed television journalist, producer, news anchor, author, and Kansas native son Bill Kurtis will present “Bill Kurtis Talks Journalism” on Sunday, Sept. 13, at 2:00 p.m., hosted by the William Allen White Community Partnership. The program will be held at the historic Emporia Granada Theatre, 807 Commercial St. When Kurtis was asked to fill in on a temporary news assignment at WIBW-TV in Topeka, Kan., his reporting on a devastating tornado outbreak led to an on-air news reporter position and a successful news anchor career in Chicago. Today, the retired journalist with the distinctive voice may be best known for hosting NPR’s “Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” radio program and as narrator for the movie “Anchorman.” Kurtis’s latest book, “Whirlwind: My Life Reporting the News,” was published by University Press of Kansas just last year. The program will include panelists Alec Loganbill, Kurtis’s editor at the University Press imprint Plainspoken Books, and Max McCoy, award-winning journalist and author, as Kurtis speaks to the 2026 Red Rocks theme of ‘Journalism and Kansas.’ “Whirlwind” will be available for purchase at the event from local indie bookstore Middle Ground Books, enabling buyers to get the famous newscaster’s autograph that day. To top off the event, the Kansas Business Hall of Fame, under the direction of Dr. John Rich, will provide cake and festive accompaniments so all in attendance can help celebrate Bill Kurtis’s birthday. “The William Allen White Community Partnership is especially grateful that Mr. Kurtis has generously waived the speaker fee for his Emporia program that embodies our 2026 theme of ‘Journalism and Kansas.’ Admission to the program is free, and donations given for this event will help fund badly-needed maintenance and upkeep projects at the historic home of William Allen White,” Kathie Buckman, William Allen White Community Partnership board president, announced. A QR code enables donors to donate directly…