Posted on Aug 20, 2023
Small Kansas paper raided by police has a history of hard-hitting reporting
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https://www.npr.org/2023/08/19/ [login to see] /kansas-paper-raid-marion-profile-local-journalism
After police raided their newsroom, journalists at the Marion County Record spent all week dealing with its aftermath: interviews with national and international news organizations, conversations with their lawyer about legal action, attempts to get their equipment back.
Last week's raid drew wide condemnation as a press freedom violation — and it diverted the Record's five full-time staffers and seven part-timers away from their typical reporting.
"The story we should be writing this week is not about us; the story we should be writing is about the budget of the city of Marion," said Eric Meyer, the paper's publisher and owner.
After police raided their newsroom, journalists at the Marion County Record spent all week dealing with its aftermath: interviews with national and international news organizations, conversations with their lawyer about legal action, attempts to get their equipment back.
Last week's raid drew wide condemnation as a press freedom violation — and it diverted the Record's five full-time staffers and seven part-timers away from their typical reporting.
"The story we should be writing this week is not about us; the story we should be writing is about the budget of the city of Marion," said Eric Meyer, the paper's publisher and owner.
Small Kansas paper raided by police has a history of hard-hitting reporting
Posted from npr.org
Medics
Newspapers
Journalism
Freedom of Speech
Posted 10 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Papers like the Record bear witness
Small papers, in Kansas and across the county, offer transparency on day-to-day local government affairs, Abernathy added — including city budgets, which the Record is hoping to cover once the turmoil inflicted by the raid dies down.
Victor Pickard, a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said papers like the Record serve the function of bearing witness.
But local newspapers — let alone those with the resources to report in-depth investigations — are increasingly rare, due in large part to the collapse of the advertising revenue model that newspapers have long relied on.
The effects of this decline, Pickard said, are damaging.
"Levels of corruption rise, civic engagement declines, people are less likely to vote. Even taxes go up — there's more financial waste in local communities," Pickard said. "There's so many of these costs that occur whenever we lose a newspaper."
..."Papers like the Record bear witness
Small papers, in Kansas and across the county, offer transparency on day-to-day local government affairs, Abernathy added — including city budgets, which the Record is hoping to cover once the turmoil inflicted by the raid dies down.
Victor Pickard, a professor of media policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said papers like the Record serve the function of bearing witness.
But local newspapers — let alone those with the resources to report in-depth investigations — are increasingly rare, due in large part to the collapse of the advertising revenue model that newspapers have long relied on.
The effects of this decline, Pickard said, are damaging.
"Levels of corruption rise, civic engagement declines, people are less likely to vote. Even taxes go up — there's more financial waste in local communities," Pickard said. "There's so many of these costs that occur whenever we lose a newspaper."
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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