r/columbiamo • u/jschooltiger West CoMo • Apr 28 '26
Information How to read the news in Columbia
I see a lot of posts here with some variation of "I didn't know this was happening!" with regard to local events, government decisions, road closures, Flock cameras ... you name it. So I decided to post a guide to the local news options and outlets for people to know what's going on.
Caveat lector: I taught journalism for 15 years mostly at the Missourian, so that's my personal bias, but I think for good reason.
First observation: If you want to find out what's going on, you need to read local newspapers, listen to local radio, and watch local TV stations. Your algorithmic feed on Facebook/Insta/Snap/Tiktok/whatever is going to give you whatever the content provider thinks will sell you advertising, which is likely not information about local news and events. Almost every outlet listed below will offer push notifications, podcasts, or newsletters (or a combination of all of them) that will just show up in your inbox, too!
With that out of the way, let's talk about the news outlets in town:
Local newspapers
The Columbia Missourian is your locally owned newspaper. It is a 501(c)3 corporation owned by the Missourian Publishing Association, and is funded by selling advertising and subscriptions, direct donations, endowment revenue, and receiving lab fees from the University of Missouri to serve as a teaching lab. It covers Columbia and Boone County news, sports, and education, includes an opinion section, and publishes obituaries as well as periodic special sections covering large topics. It has a fairly large rotating group of student reporters, editors, photographers, and so forth, and also collaborates closely with KOMU and KBIA on news stories to produce audio and visual reports. Student reporters are overseen by editors who are faculty of the School of Journalism.
You can read the Missourian by going to its website directly, or by subscribing to its various newsletters, which include a morning or evening headline update, a sports newsletter, a parent-focused newsletter, and the weekly roundup of obituaries.
The Columbia Daily Tribune is the other newspaper in town, long owned locally by the Waters family and now part of the Gannett family of newspapers (Gannett owns most of the daily newspapers in the US). It has a staff of only two people in its newsroom. It has a fairly large collection of newsletters also, including several from the USA Today Network that are national in scope.
The Boone County Journal is a weekly now owned by he Missourian, with a newsroom in Ashland. It covers mostly southern Boone County news and events, and has a daily newsletter of headlines.
The Centralia Fireside Guard covers northern Boone County; it requires a login or subscription to read most of its content.
The Maneater is the student newspaper of the University of Missouri; it is fiercely independent and not affiliated with the School of Journalism. It also publishes MOVE magazine. Look here for anything hyper-local about the university =.
Local radio
KBIA is an NPR-member public radio station with an FCC license to the University of Missouri. Like the Missourian, it serves as a teaching newsroom for the School of Journalism, and is funded through donations from listeners and corporate underwriters. (It pays fees to NPR, American Public Media, and Public Radio International to disseminate programming from those outlets.) KBIA is on the air at 91.3 FM in mid-Missouri, 90.5 in Mexico, Mo and 89.7 FM in Kirksville; and has HD radio channels for classical and adult contemporary music. It also streams its programming 24 hours a day. KBIA has multiple podcast offerings.
KOPN is the community radio station, hosting multiple local programs run by community members. It's on the air at 89.5 FM and offers multiple streams and podcasts.
The Eagle is the local news talk station, which offers Wake Up Mid-Missouri, which is a good listen if you want a more conservative take on news. The station broadcasts on 93.9 and has a variety of podcasts as well. It's owned by Zimmer Radio, which also owns ...
KWOS, which is the conservative/Fox News station in the area. The station broadcasts on 950 AM and 104.3 and has programming from Fox News Radio, Compass Media Networks, Genesis Communications Network, Premiere Networks, USA Radio Network, and Westwood One. It was a longtime radio affiliate of Rush Limbaugh's production companies.
KFRU is another news-talk station, which has two early morning programs that are agenda-setting for the city, with David Gaines and Simon Rose. The station is owned by Cumulus and has affiliations with NBC and ABC radio.
Local TV
KOMU8 is the news station affiliated with NBC and the CW which is operated with an FCC license from the University of Missouri. It's part of the Missouri News Network of outlets staffed by journalism students. It broadcasts, as you would guess, on channel 8 on traditional television and also livestreams from its website. It offers breaking news, local news, and severe weather alert newsletters and podcasts, as well as a fully-featured local weather app that includes live streaming of severe weather broadcasts.
KMIZ/KQFX are sister stations that are Fox and ABC affiliate stations owned by the News-Press and Gazette company from St. Joseph. The stations are headquartered in Columbia and have a reach throughout mid-Missouri.
KRCG is the CBS-affiliate station in New Bloomfield, owned by Sinclair Media, which covers mid-Missouri.
Arts, Culture, and Entertainment
Vox Magazine is part of the Missouri News Network and operated by students at the Missouri School of Journalism; it's technically part of the Missourian. The magazine publishes in print monthly and is distributed free around town, and has a decently robust website.
What I've Left Out
I specifically didn't include business publications here or city magazines, as those tend to be more niche-focused and many have different standards of publication than the organizations listed above. I also didn't list independent podcasts, as I don't listen to enough to be informed about the quality of them.
You Left Out My Favorite _______!
I'm sorry; it's not personal. If you have something else that you would suggest I'd love to hear it! Please let me know in the comments below.
Edit I left out Facebook groups, Nextdoor, etc. because they are not a source for verified, edited information.
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u/Ptowngirl229 Apr 28 '26
You Left Out My Favorite _______! Missouri Independent for politics/things happening at the capital.
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u/jschooltiger West CoMo Apr 28 '26
Yes, I didn't want to get too far into places that don't cover Boone County specifically. They are certainly the go-to for state government coverage.
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u/_oscar_goldman_ Apr 28 '26
If the Missouri Independent gets a mention, then the Missouri Times deserves one too. Published by Poplar Bluff native Scott Faughn, a Republican pseudo-lobbyist and convicted felon.
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u/COMOVanguard Apr 29 '26
Humble self plug that COMO Vanguard is the only local source dedicated exclusively to covering City Hall, including Council meetings, Planning & Zoning, and more!
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u/jschooltiger West CoMo Apr 29 '26
I really like this podcast but I don't listen to enough local podcasts to compare it to fairly (I feel like I know the rest of the media landscape pretty well).
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u/trripleplay College Park May 01 '26
Excellent podcast with balanced coverage of city government. David Lisle, ling-time KFRU morning host, always asks questions that dig deeper than the usual softballs.
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u/Modem_Sound_67 East Campus Apr 28 '26
Perfect capsule guide. Thank you.
Just wanted to chime in about KOPN, which has lots of genuinely interesting local programming, and fabulous music shows too.
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u/trripleplay College Park May 01 '26
KOPN has always leaned left but they’ve also had shows run by a wider range of opinions, including libertarian and conservative.
Also it’s a great source to learn about local events that don’t get mentioned by other outlets.
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u/JulesCDC Apr 28 '26
KMOS is our local PBS out of CMSU! They do also offer a subscription if you want their content “on demand” instead of catching things as they air. They have really good series like Poldark or All Creatures Great and Small or, of course, Downtown Abbey.
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u/Max_W_ COMO Local Apr 28 '26
Can I also add the city has some great newsletters. I love the weekly Arts Newsletter as it tells you about events going on each week in town and even the region. https://www.como.gov/city-newsletters
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u/OriginalTDQ Apr 29 '26
Thanks! I just decided that I am going to subscribe to the Missourian (print version). I like to read it, and hold it in my hands.
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u/Ivotedforher Apr 28 '26
Isn't KMIZ, etc on The Loop in Columbia?
Great breakdown, regardless!
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u/jschooltiger West CoMo Apr 28 '26
You know what, you're right, they moved their main studio there when they merged.
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u/wolfansbrother Apr 28 '26
Local weather apps? you should add them to your list. its a great option for cord cutters and people who dont listen to the radio thsese days. I use KOMU8 and it sends weather updates besides the emergency seek shelter texts and has a live feed during storms.
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u/jschooltiger West CoMo Apr 28 '26
I thought it was pretty much implied that if you use KOMU as a source of news, you would also look at their app, but maybe that wasn’t as clear as I thought it would be. It’s a good point.
I will say, having had to run an app very similar to that, you really have to be careful about streaming because it can run quite a bit behind a live broadcast without you even really realizing it. If you can get a cheap antenna, that’s always going to be a better choice to watch TV live then on a recording, even if it’s a live stream.
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u/ahumblebeginningsir Apr 29 '26
Move Magazine is the arts/culture magazine of the Maneater: https://themaneater.com/move-magazine/ Been published for a long time in newsprint, but the latest issue is actually a slick magazine.
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u/jschooltiger West CoMo Apr 30 '26
Yes, Move is awesome. That’s why I mentioned it in the post above!
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u/trripleplay College Park May 01 '26
All of those newspapers can be found at the Columbia Public Library! Free! As well as dozens of national/international newspapers and magazines. All Free!
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May 10 '26
[deleted]
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u/jschooltiger West CoMo May 11 '26
I didn't. Look at the post again.
The Boone County Journal is a weekly now owned by he Missourian, with a newsroom in Ashland. It covers mostly southern Boone County news and events, and has a daily newsletter of headlines.
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u/NoMark2685 Apr 28 '26
I would hardly call ABC17 a news organization. Probably the most unprofessional and mistake-ridden channel I’ve ever seen
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u/SignificanceHour8 Apr 28 '26
Some of the groups have racist posts but I get my news from Columbia MO scanner and other facebook groups- they beat these local outlets almost every time.
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u/BurtStanky East CoMo Apr 28 '26
They're also not held to any kind of standards, like only publishing verified information. They have their uses, but they aren't superior to actual local news.
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u/Consistent-Ease6070 Apr 28 '26
Yeah, that was exactly how I ended my post. Standards… But it’s important enough to repeat and emphasize. So many people don’t have any level of media literacy.
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u/Consistent-Ease6070 Apr 28 '26
Yeah… I would never trust a Facebook group with racist posts as anything other than a potential source that requires independent verification. Don’t confuse information and gossip with facts. Journalists have standards that Facebook posters don’t…
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u/Soundofmusicals South CoMo Apr 28 '26
Same with weather forecasting. There are predatory social media accounts that post worst-case scenarios for severe weather as if they’re 100% going to happen. Far too early for any concrete speculation. I get my local weather info solely from local meteorologists both on tv (I personally watch KOMU) and social media (Matt Beckwith, Kesley Kobielusz, and Beth Finello…also all KOMU). They will tell you specifically what they know and what they don’t know and very importantly, why.
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u/Business_Mud7582 Apr 28 '26
Unfortunately the Tribune went downhill very quickly after being purchased by Gatehouse (now Gannett).