Meet the Tribune: News reporter Roger McKinney on his journalism career and his origins

Allow me to introduce myself.

I'm Roger McKinney, Columbia Daily Tribune reporter and a newspaperman since 1990, when my first byline appeared in the Parsons Sun in Parsons, Kansas.

My first story? Events at the Labette County Fair. I'm pretty sure the demolition derby was featured.

I grew up in the same county, in Chetopa, venturing 50 miles to Pittsburg State University for my degree.

Although some of my generation might cite Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein as their journalistic influence, I think I was more heavily influenced by Hunter S. Thompson. I read his "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72" and I was hooked.

I haven't tried to copy his style, though. And no one should.

I've been at the Tribune since 2014, except for a nine-month period I'm calling a sabbatical.

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Favorite thing about Columbia?

My favorite thing about Columbia is that it is a true university town, with all the cultural events and activities that offers.

I saw Sleater-Kinney at The Blue Note when they reunited.

Favorite moment on the job?

Being asked to pin down a favorite moment on the job is a hard assignment because there have been so many of them.

Even just this year in Columbia, I have enjoyed what became weekly interviews with MU Ukrainian students Vlad Sazhen and Irynka Hromotska. Through those interviews, I was able to learn one of my stories resulted in a donation to a Ukrainian charity one of the students was promoting.

I have reported on the Mid-Missouri John Brown Gun Club throughout my time here, and a member last year put me in touch with the Burgeners, a homeless family enduring frigid temperatures in a makeshift camp.

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My special moments in my 19 years at the Joplin Globe include covering the 2011 tornado, even as my wife and I tried to salvage whatever we could from our destroyed apartment while setting up a new one.

A series of stories I wrote about a private detective investigating an area police department who died under suspicious circumstances earned me a second-place award in investigative reporting from the Missouri Press Association.

Also, the paper allowed me outside of its readership area to cover the Dalai Lama when he spoke at the University of Arkansas. Revealing a bias, I'm a fan.

Every now and then someone calls to compliment me on a story I have written, which is always an unexpected surprise. It's quite rare when anybody calls to complain.

Favorite place in town?

My favorite places in town include the Activity and Recreation Center, where I swim several times a week, and Ragtag Cinema.

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Interesting fact about myself?

Those who know me well know I'm a huge Beatles fan, and the occasional Beatles- related story appears in the Tribune. I've been to Paul McCartney concerts in Kansas City, Tulsa and St. Louis and a Ringo Starr concert near Seattle.

Not as many know that I juggle, but the Tribune newsroom now has two jugglers.

Craziest journalism moment?

A crazy journalism moment that comes to mind is when the Tribune had enough reporters that we rotated working weekends. This weekend was my Saturday to work and it was snowing. My editor, Ryan, allowed me to go home before it got too bad.

I think it was around 10 p.m. when I got the call that there had been a murder. My car couldn't get up the hill from my apartment, but I could see police lights at the top of the hill. So I bundled up and trudged up to East Broadway, where it connects with Highway 63, on foot. There I saw our photographer and I hitched a ride with him to the sheriff's department for the news conference and I filed a cursory story around midnight.

That was a wild night, and my career so far has been a wild ride.

Roger McKinney is the education reporter for the Tribune. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: meet-the-tribune-roger-mckinney-on-journalism-career-and-his-origins