Holly Edgell
Managing Editor, The Midwest NewsroomContact: hollyedgell@kcur.org
Job Title: Managing Editor
Topic Expertise: Investigative, climate, housing, diversity, inclusion
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Geographic Expertise: Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Florida. Belize.
Education: Kent State University (1995) MA in journalism; Michigan State University (1990) BA in journalism
Language: English; advanced (but not fluent) Spanish
Honors & Awards: Emmy Award for Best TV Newscast (KOMU/2003); IRE Award for Best Podcast (2022 Midwest Newsroom/KCUR Studios); RTDNA Regional Murrow Award for Investigative News (2022 Midwest Newsroom/STLPR)
Memberships: Holly is a member of National Association of Black Journalists and Journalism and Women Symposium. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the non-profit Humans of St. Louis.
Conflicts of Interest: When appropriate, Holly will recuse herself from writing or editing news coverage related to Humans of St. Louis and any organization she is affiliated with.
About Holly
Holly Edgell is the managing editor of the Midwest Newsroom, a public radio collaboration among NPR member stations in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.
Holly was previously the editor of a four-station collaborative coverage initiative on race, identity and culture. Based at St. Louis Public Radio, she led a team of four reporters in St. Louis, Hartford, Kansas City and Portland, Oregon.
Holly came to St. Louis Public Radio as a journalist with more than 20 years of experience. In addition to working as a television news producer in several cities, in 2010 she launched 12 St. Louis-area websites for Patch.com, the hyperlocal news initiative introduced by AOL.
Also in St. Louis, she took on a wide range freelance reporting assignments for news organizations such as The National Catholic Reporter and the New York Daily News.
In 2012, she was part of the leadership team that launched WCPO Insider (WCPO.com), the first local television news initiative to introduce an a la carte subscription model for exclusive, in-depth content that audiences could not find elsewhere.
She later served as Director of Digital media for KSHB-TV in Kansas City and WEWS-TV in Cleveland.
In addition to newsroom experience, Holly taught journalism at the University of Missouri and Florida A&M University. She was also a member of the first cohort of Google News Lab trainers. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists. Holly holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in media management from Kent State University. Born in Belize, Holly loves travel, true crime and history podcasts and crossword puzzles.
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Staff cuts, the closure of regional printing presses and cuts to printed editions characterize Lee Enterprises as it tries to expand its digital subscriber base while keeping existing print customers and advertisers on board. -
In the wake of the May 16 tornado, applications for demolition permits on private property doubled. Property owners are making tough decisions to raze their homes, and whether to stay or leave the city. -
Information is emerging about how many people in north St. Louis did not have homeowners insurance when storms ripped through the region on May 16. Still, the data is just an early estimate, against the backdrop of a rising number of homeowners around the country who don’t have policies. -
If you are among those who are without coverage and sustained damage to your property, the Midwest Newsroom and STLPR invite you to share your story with us. -
A new survey from The Midwest Newsroom and Emerson College Polling Center asked registered voters in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska about measures on Nov. 5 ballots as well as a variety of political, social and economic subjects. -
Many educators say their districts aren’t supplying everything their students need. Non-profit groups, community organizations and even the courts are stepping in to help meet needs across the Midwest, but education advocates say it’s not a long-term solution. -
The federal government says new safety standards and building materials mean home buyers priced out of site-built houses have viable options. As storms become stronger and more frequent, experts are tempering expectations. -
The rules will affect new residential construction projects funded by the federal Housing and Rural Development agency. Now, lawmakers are pushing the agency that oversees the nation’s two largest mortgage backers to adopt similar measures. -
The annual “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association shows some progress for the region and the nation in smog reduction but reports that particulate pollution levels are deadly. -
Lincoln’s Board of Curators commissioned the third-party review in January, after its vice president for student affairs died by suicide. Antoinette Candia-Bailey emailed a scathing indictment of President John Moseley before she died. -
Given the Show-Me state's proximity to the South — and its history as a slave state — researchers decided to ask how Missouri residents thought about their identity. -
A St. Louis family-owned funeral home purchased the 19th-century building and converted it into an operation for performing alkaline hydrolysis — a water-based alternative to traditional cremation.
