The Wichita Eagle selects senior reporter Dion Lefler as new opinion editor
Senior journalist Dion Lefler has been named The Wichita Eagle’s opinion editor.
An award-winning investigative reporter, Lefler joined The Eagle staff in 1998 and has extensively covered local and state government, politics and business.
“Opinion writing is investigative reporting — that’s where it all begins,” Lefler said.
“The difference between ordinary investigative reporting and opinion writing is that in addition to pointing out the problems in society, it allows the newspaper to also offer solutions to problems that are illustrated by that reporting.”
Editorial writing is nothing new for Lefler, who previously penned columns for The Los Angeles Daily News, The Pasadena Star News and The Oxnard Press-Courier while serving in a variety of senior editor roles.
In college, Lefler was a member of the national championship debate team at California State University, Northridge, and said strong arguments build a case through evidence. Opinions are secondary.
“You talk to people, you listen to different sides, and then you try to chart a course,” Lefler said. “Sometimes, one side is right. Sometimes, the other side is right. And sometimes, the proper course is somewhere down the middle.”
Eagle executive editor Michael Roehrman said Lefler’s depth of knowledge and experience made him an ideal person for the position.
“There are very few people in Wichita who know more about what’s happening behind the scenes than Dion,” Roehrman said. “He knows this town and knows what’s important to his fellow Wichitans. I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes in this new role.”
After nearly 40 years of accountability reporting, Lefler said he’s “extraordinarily excited” to offer constructive analysis on the topics that matter to Wichita, Sedgwick County and Kansas.
“One thing I’m extraordinarily passionate about is free and fair elections. I think that is at the absolute heart of American democracy,” Lefler said. “I am also an advocate for governmental transparency.”
Lefler was part of The Eagle’s reporting team that won the 2021 Victor Murdock Award for a three-part series exposing a political smear campaign concocted by a state legislator, a county commissioner and a city council member.
He co-wrote an investigative series exposing corruption in the Wichita mayor’s office and re-election campaign that was recognized with the prestigious George Polk Award in 2020.
Lefler’s business reporting efforts have also earned him the National Headliner Award and SABEW Best in Business honors.