Mark Zieman
Mark Zieman was appointed president and publisher of The Star in March 2008. Before that, he was vice president and editor for 10 years, leading the newsroom to numerous national and regional awards, a major redesign and development of the successful newspaper online site, KansasCity.com. He previously served as managing editor, projects editor and an investigative reporter. Prior to working for The Star, Zieman was a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, covering space, aviation and technology in Texas. Zieman received his journalism degree from the University of Kansas and earned an Executive MBA from Rockhurst University. He is married to Rhonda Chriss Lokeman, a Star columnist who is nationally syndicated through Creators Syndicate. They have four daughters.
To reach him call (816) 234-4878 or send an e-mail to zieman@kcstar.com.
Miriam PepperMiriam Pepper, vice president, editorial page, joined the 10-member editorial board as editor in November 2001. She previously served as the paper’s Readers’ Representative for six years, writing a weekly column. Earlier in her career at The Star she covered the Missouri legislature, local and state politics, City Hall, special projects, and started two business columns on workplace issues and working women. Before joining The Star, Pepper worked for The Associated Press in Jefferson City covering the state legislature and as a sportswriter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She grew up in St. Louis. Pepper is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and is married and the mother of two young adults.
To reach her, call 816-234-4421 or send e-mail to mpepper@kcstar.com.
Yael T. Abouhalkah
Yael T. Abouhalkah first became interested in journalism in junior high school. Since then he has been a news reporter, a sports reporter, an editor and, since 1984, an editorial writer.
He graduated in 1978 from the School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. Abouhalkah worked as a reporter at The Milwaukee Journal, then returned in late 1979 to the Kansas City area to serve as an editor on the Mid-America desk of The Kansas City Times. In 1984, Abouhalkah joined the Editorial Board. His topics include Kansas City government and neighborhoods; Clay, Platte, Johnson and Jackson counties; and national and local energy policies.
To reach him, call 816-234-4887 or send e-mail to abouhalkah@kcstar.com.
Lewis W. DiuguidLewis W. Diuguid joined the paper in May 1977 after graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. He has been a reporter, a photographer and has held several editing jobs. He has written a column for the newspaper since 1987. He serves on the Editorial Board, writes a column and administers the paper’s philanthropic efforts. He is the author of A Teacher’s Cry: Expose the Truth About Education Today and Discovering the Real America: Toward a More Perfect Union.
To reach him, call 816-234-4723 or send e-mail to lduiguid@kcstar.com.
E. Thomas McClanahanE. Thomas McClanahan writes a weekly column and editorials on a variety of topics, including national defense, labor, international trade, Russia, the Asia-Pacific region and transportation. He has been with The Star since 1984 and a member of the Editorial Board since 1987. Prior to that, McClanahan worked for United Press International in Cheyenne, Dallas and Denver, and the Colorado Springs Sun. McClanahan graduated from the University of Colorado with degrees in history and journalism. He is a 1988 Jefferson Fellow and has traveled extensively in Asia. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1969.
To reach him, call 816-234-4480 or send e-mail to mcclanahan@kcstar.com.
Matt Schofield
Matt Schofield, joined The Star’s editorial board in April, 2009. Before that, he was The Star’s deputy national editor. He is a previous European Bureau Chief for McClatchy Newspapers (formerly Knight Ridder Newspapers), based in Berlin. He has reported from four continents and 40 countries.
In 2003 he was embedded with U.S. Marines during the invasion of Iraq, and has returned to write about that nation four times. He spent the summer of 2006 covering Israel’s war with Hezbollah. Before his foreign assignments, he wrote for The Star for two decades, first as a school and courts reporter in Independence, then as a national correspondent covering the Great Plains and finally as a senior writer. His stories include “Meth Diary” a seven-part series on a young woman overcoming addiction, “Justice” a nine-part series on efforts to solve the murder of a Marysville, Mo., woman and “Tobacco on Trial” a three-part series looking at a Kanas City law firm’s defense of tobacco companies.
A journalism graduate of the University of Kansas, he is also a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. His awards include a 2009 Investigative Reporters & Editors first place for a series of stories on former Guantanamo Bay detainees. He is married to Lorelei, and they have four children.
He can be reached by phone at (816) 234-4847 or by e-mail at mschofield@kcstar.com
BarbShelly
Barb Shelly, an editorial writer and op-ed columnist, writes about Kansas government and politics; crime and courts; higher education; and scientific research and bioscience development. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bshelly. Shelly joined The Star in 1984 and has been a metropolitan columnist, assistant metro desk editor, and a metro desk reporter covering City Hall, police and crime, and social services. She came to The Star by way of the Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard, where she reported on city government and special projects, and the Reading (Pa.) Times, where she covered education and general assignment. Shelly graduated from Penn State University in 1977 with a degree in journalism. She lives in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City with her husband, son and three cats.
To reach her, call 816-234-4594 or send e-mail to bshelly@kcstar.com.