Sometimes you get the call that changes everything and today we’d like to tell you about that call. The Recommended Daily will cease daily publication today, as founder Jonathan Bender has joined Kansas City Public Television as their new food content editor.
This may not come as a surprise to everyone that has been a loyal reader – we’ve been working with KCPT and Flatland, KCPT’s digital magazine, for the past year on an extensive partnership. [Hint: They’re good people.] But it does represent a new chapter filled with tremendous possibilities and that’s why I wanted to write about it here and address you, as an audience, directly. This is where we go from third person (about the business) to first person (as in me, Jonathan Bender).
I launched the Recommended Daily in December of 2013 in order to provide Kansas City with a digital food and drink news publication that could shine a light on the food community here. The response was immediately positive and the local restaurant scene has exploded over the past several years. There’s been no shortage of interesting people or food to cover. The initial strategy for the Recommended Daily included identifying and partnering with established media companies on content creation. KCPT has been a valued partner because of their stated mission of serving the community and desire to represent all of Kansas City. In fact, we had talked about partnering as early as 2013.
As a commitment to covering food and drink, Kansas City Public Television created a new role for 2017: a food content editor position. At a time when not a lot of media companies are taking chances, KCPT is willing to commit resources to telling the story of the people and culture of our community through the lens of food. Their commitment, plus the experience of working with the team within the building over the past 18 months, convinced me that this was a rare opportunity.
It would be an opportunity to tell bigger and more in-depth stories. It would be an opportunity to tell stories across a variety of media through video, audio, and digital pieces. It was a chance to build on what I started with the Recommended Daily and shift my focus entirely to the act of storytelling. This is also the rare opportunity where I will not only get to continue to work with the people who have contributed to this site, but also collaborate with new talented people. This is not a leaving behind — it’s an amplification for what’s to come.
I also want to take this moment to thank the supporters, readers, advertisers, sponsors, volunteers, partners, and audience of the Recommended Daily. To those who lent your time and talents, thank you. It was your feedback and advice that provided the foundation for the work that I will continue at KCPT.
This site will remain as an archive of the work and stories we covered. I think it has its own place. New content will be created for and live on KCPT, 90.9 The Bridge, and Flatland. And there’s going to be a lot of great, dynamic content in the months to come. Please tune in every Tuesday morning on The Bridge from 7 to 9:30 a.m. to hear my food updates with Jon Hart.
Thanks for your continued support. Please keep reading and watching and sharing.
Best,
Jonathan Bender
