With the recent departure of News Director Dusty Page, Radio Park GM Steve Lloyd was faced with the challenge many small-market operators face on a regular basis: replacing talent. While departing talent is not a problem unique to small markets, the availability of on-air personnel willing to work in small towns and within today's economic realities is often a challenge. It's one VirtualNewsCenter is uniquely able to solve for a growing number of small market operators.

The KIRX newsroom was the first of what VirtualNewsCenter now calls "1 Plus Us." When Lloyd first engaged VirtualNewsCenter it was for a single long-form afternoon cast, filling a spot left open by the departure of the cluster's afternoon news person. With Page continuing to do morning and midday coverage, and both he and VirtualNewsCenter staff collecting news throughout the day, the news operation became a blend of local and remote talent. KIRX uses VirtualNewsCenter's content collection and management platform to create and share content seamlessly between Kirksville and VirtualNewsCenter's staff nationwide.

When Page chose to pursue an entrepreneurial dream in another industry, Lloyd turned to VirtualNewsCenter to increase coverage on the three-station cluster. The VirtualNewsCenter staff expanded from two to four people, and the daily content includes three long-form casts on KIRX, plus an AM Drive cast on KTUF and KRXL, the cluster's FM's. Two part-time employees fill out the roster, attending local board meetings and major events. Both have limited experience in radio news, so VirtualNewsCenter is also providing training opportunities for these individuals as Radio Park's news operation continues in a blended mode.

The anchor staff for the cluster includes VirtualNewsCenter's Don Mathisen, based in New York City; Deb Albertson, based in New Orleans; Dale Forbis, based in Orlando; and company founder Scott Roberts, based in Wichita. 

Operations Manager Duncan Miller said recently, "our news has not sounded this good in a long time. It's more local now than it has been for years, and we're getting frequent positive comments about the coverage on the street." Part of VirtualNewsCenter's commitment to Radio Park is its first-ever online news presence, with news stories posted throughout the day on the KIRX website.