Sidney Steele
Sidney is a multimedia journalist and newsroom leader committed to sharing information that helps communities navigate the world around them.
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Her professional work and academic research are focused on promoting civic engagement by building relationships with local communities and examining the effects of media bias.
In 2024, Sidney led in-person engagement efforts at The Kansas City Star to transition traditional print subscribers to digital publications. Sidney has reported in the Missouri State House, fact-checked state leaders and hosted a weekly political talk show.
From 2018 - 2020, Sidney was a fellow with the Campus Election Engagement Project and member of the executive board of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, where she created institutional programs to help students engage with the electoral process, many of which still exist today.
Sidney holds a Master's in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University and Bachelors degrees in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Missouri.
Sidney is based in Kansas City where she currently works as a morning news producer at KSHB 41. In her free time, Sidney enjoys teaching yoga at CorePower Yoga and spending time with her boyfriend and two cats. ​
Publications
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‘I lost my mind’: The Smashing Pumpkins blow fans away at rousing Kansas City concert, The Kansas City Star, Aug. 20, 2024
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For over a century, the Plaza bunnies have been an Easter tradition in Kansas City​, The Kansas City Star, Mar. 12, 2024
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‘The track record speaks for itself’: Chiefs fans share game day rituals, superstitions, The Kansas City Star, Jan. 26, 2024
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‘Follow the smoke and look for the Ferris wheel’: Chef J BBQ set to join Pennway Point (and Arrowhead), Startland News, Aug. 25, 2023
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Young Kansans could prove to be a powerful voting bloc on Election Day, The Kansas City Beacon, Oct. 21, 2020.
Master of Arts in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University
Over the last half-century, the Republican Party has won the hearts and minds of the rural midwest with its emphasis on social and cultural issues and working-class values. The movement known as the Great Backlash has been characterized by an emphasis on social issues, which it has tied to pro-business economic policies through elaborate association in mass media.
This thesis takes an in-depth look at the process through which national ideology becomes hegemonic as it is disseminated to local communities, looking specifically at radio broadcasting in rural Missouri.
Taking a Production of Culture perspective, this thesis shows how the industry structures of broadcast radio have tied conservative talk radio to local news and country music stations in rural communities, and how these formats work together to subtly disseminate conservative ideology into the common sense of rural Missourians.
Using content analysis and audience interviews, this thesis examines the messages in radio broadcasts and how they are received by people in rural communities to find common themes at play in both music and talk formats.
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Read Sidney's thesis, "What's the Matter with Missouri: Talk Radio and Conservative Culture in Rural Missouri."
