Author

Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, a nonprofit that supports student journalism throughout the state. He also teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. He lives in Leawood with his wife and two children.

OPINION
Eric Thomas photos of daughter

Cameras in hand, parents proudly document everything. Is that what’s best for our kids?

By: - October 9, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. Seventeen years ago, I pointed a gleaming silver camcorder at […]

OPINION
Kansas football fans cheer

Kansas celebrates victories in football, our morally fraught national pastime

By: - October 1, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. I wrote this column once on Thursday. I flailed around […]

OPINION
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s reelection could affirm political progress for women

By: - September 23, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. If you value women’s political progress, then the number of […]

OPINION
Graduates put messages on their mortarboard hats during graduation ceremonies. Eric Thomas wonders how we will mark our graduation from two years of COVID-19 concerns. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

What we lose when Kansas college graduates drift to surrounding states

By: - September 17, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. When a government invests in a bridge, that bridge serves […]

OPINION

‘Test-optional’ exams teach Kansas teens a lesson in contradiction

By: - September 9, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. On Saturday, my daughter will join thousands of fellow high […]

OPINION
Pages from the government’s released version of the F.B.I. search warrant affidavit for former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on August 27, 2022 in California are arrayed together. The affidavit was redacted for the protection of witnesses and law enforcement and to ensure the ‘integrity of the ongoing investigation’. (Illustration by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The best we can expect from Kansas Republicans: ignoring a doomed Trump

By: - September 2, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. It will be a good day when most of the […]

OPINION

Why is Kansas punishing its remaining teachers with these latest tortures?

By: - August 26, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. As Kansas schools, from kindergarten to post-graduate, have returned to […]

OPINION
This mailing from DraftKings, which is arriving at Kansas mailboxes this week, is one sign of the marketing blitzes on the way with the Sept. 1 start of sports gambling in Kansas. (Eric Thomas)

Early signs — and concerns — of how sports gambling apps will market to Kansans

By: - August 19, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. Thursday’s announcement that sports betting will begin Sept. 1 in […]

OPINION
Radio host Alex Jones records a video in front of the Virginia Capitol the night before a major pro gun rally. This week, a Texas jury awarded the family of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim $45 million in a lawsuit against Jones. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)

Elaborate lies spread through Kansas, U.S., can’t be dismissed as ‘conspiracy theories’

By: - August 12, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. Journalists have a problem with “conspiracy theories.” I put the […]

OPINION
One of the many yard signs weighing in on the Aug. 2 constitutional amendment vote in Kansas states its case. (Eric Thomas/Kansas Reflector)

Blaming mainstream media provides a misleading shortcut for Value Them Both

By: - August 5, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. On election night Tuesday, I read a tweet from Kansas […]

OPINION
The U.S. men’s national soccer team warms up before a friendly match against the national team of Uruguay on June 5, 2022, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Eric Thomas)

A guide to soccer in Kansas now that KC is hosting the World Cup in 2026

By: - July 29, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. Last month, the international governing body of soccer announced Kansas […]

OPINION
Wind farms stretch across fields to the north and south of I-70 in Kansas and Colorado. (Eric Thomas/Kansas Reflector)

We’re melting as we banter about the weather in Kansas

By: - July 22, 2022

Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Eric Thomas directs the Kansas Scholastic Press Association and teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the University of Kansas. Let’s talk about the weather. Yes, the weather. That […]