Longtime Kansas City TV anchor Cynthia Newsome dies after cancer battle
Cynthia Newsome, former anchor of KSHB 41, died Tuesday, the TV station confirmed.
Throughout her 25 years on Kansas City television, Newsome worked as a reporter and anchor, and later community relationships director for KSHB 41, according to the station website.
A tribute to Newsome on KSHB 41’s website reads, “For decades, Cynthia’s warmth, grace, spirit and determination always pulled you in.”
“Forever honoring the woman, journalist and friend, Cynthia, you will forever inspire us.”
Before coming to Kansas City in 1997, Newsome worked in Oklahoma City, where she reported on the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, an act that killed 168 people, including 19 children. The bombing by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the history of the United States.
Off-air, Newsome co-founded the nonprofit Awesome Ambitions with Star journalist Angela Curry. The organization focused on college and career readiness for Black and brown girls.
Cynthia Newsome, award-winning journalist
In 2012, Newsome was inducted into the Silver Circle by the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the organization that awards local Emmys.
The Silver Circle Award is a lifetime achievement award given to television professionals who have devoted 25 years or more to the industry. It acknowledges a legacy of excellence, community service and industry membership.
At the time she received the award, Newsome was lauded for coverage in Oklahoma City, giving voices to the survivors and victims. Newsome’s interviews were later chronicled at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
In 2008, Newsome’s reporting on radon awareness and lung cancer garnered the American Cancer Society’s 1st Place award for community awareness.
The Kansas Association of Broadcasters later honored Newsome for stories on mold found in Central High School. In December 2025, in recognition of Newsome’s contributions as a news reporter, anchor and director of community partnerships, KSHB named its newsroom “The Cynthia Newsome Newsroom” in her honor.
Markl Johnson worked with Newsome at KSHB from 2011 to 2014. Johnson said, “Anytime we had an exchange in the newsroom, it was just, it was just pure delight.”
Johnson, who an executive producer at the time, said Newsome was known as a “solid anchor,” who stayed sweet and kind. Her voice went up an octave when she said her signature phrase, “It’s just little old me.”
With the Precious Doe case, Johnson said even with the “horrific” news, “when (Newsome) delivered it, it settled you, it gave you kind of a peace.”
Cancer battle
Newsome endured a long battle with cancer, which she shared on the air. Newsome was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, which went into remission a year later, according to her KSHB profile. The breast cancer returned seven years later and in May 2025, she was diagnosed with brain cancer.
“I like sharing my story because there are so many other people who are going through what I’m going through as well,” Newsome said in 2025.
In 2021, she told the KU Cancer Center that one time, she and her husband, Ed Newsome, laid in bed as she cried about losing her hair. Ed Newsome remarked that he was also losing his hair too.
“I will never forget that. I went from being on the verge of crying to laughing out loud,” she said.
Memories from Ed Newsome, Cynthia’s husband
All around Kansas City, and even in Alaska, people recognized Cynthia Newsome. And as her husband of two decades, Ed Newsome was there for it all.
In a Wednesday interview with The Star, Ed Newsome said he stayed up until 1 a.m. this morning reading comments praising his late wife.
“The one that really inspired me was the fact that people recognized that she was sick with cancer, but she did not let cancer stop her from doing what she wanted to do.”
The couple loved to travel: in the past year, they had visited South Africa, Saint Lucia, and Houston. Just this month, the couple went to Canada to ride the Rocky Mountaineer train, visit her older brother and watch the new Michael Jackson movie.
A member of United Believers Community Church, Cynthia Newsome understood her work – through journalism and Awesome Ambitions — as an extension of her faith.
Ed Newsome said his wife used her faith to learn how to talk to people, feel what they were going through and give them the chance to express themselves
“She loved her job and those she worked with,” he said.
By sharing her journey with viewers, Ed Newsome said his wife gave “others hope to believe that they can have a successful life, even with cancer.”
A year ago, Cynthia Newsome was told she had six months to live, he said.
“We loved and lived every single day as if it was the last day. And so the last day came yesterday.”
“And she still lives in everybody she touched.”
Tributes
Social media is covered with memories of Newsome, from family, former coworkers and those who looked up to on television.
Gary Lezak, longtime KSHB 41 meteorologist, shared that when Newsome and him worked together in Oklahoma City, they played on the same benefit basketball team.
“If I made a list of the top 10 nicest people I have ever met, she would be near the very top of that list. She always had a beautiful smile, a caring heart, and a way of making everyone around her feel special,” Lezak wrote.
Newsome hosted 10 years of galas for Rose Brooks Center, a domestic violence shelter. The organization posted “Cynthia used her voice to uplift our community through her decades in journalism, and her unwavering commitment to Kansas City’s nonprofit sector. We were incredibly fortunate to call her a friend.”
In a statement, the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists said the organization recalled how Newsome frequently worked with high school and college students during its annual summer journalism academy.
“The Kansas City Association of Black Journalists mourns the loss of Cynthia Newsome, a longtime anchor and executive at KSHB-TV, Channel 41,” the statement reads. For decades she has been a valued member of the news media and an outstanding part of Greater Kansas City.
The local group is an affiliate chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, which has its headquarters in Washington D.C.
“Ms. Newsome had been one of the founders of Awesome Ambitions, which brought together many notable women in the Kansas City area to help countless normally underserved girls with few opportunities and role models realize their worth and grow into outstanding young women.”
Travis Newsome, Newsome’s brother-in-law, wrote on Facebook Tuesday, “She left us early enough today to do the evening news in Heaven.”
Keith King, former KSHB 41 anchor who shared the desk with Newsome for 10 years, wrote Wednesday morning, “Cynthia, thank you for being a good friend and an example of professionalism and kindness. Rest in peace knowing you’ve left behind a huge legacy.”
The Star’s Eric Adler contributed.
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 9:58 AM.
