On Friday 11th August police officers raided the offices, staff, and home of Joan Meyer, 98, the co-owner of a small Kansas newspaper. She collapsed and died a day later on Saturday after the raid by local police investigating a leak left her “stressed beyond her limits”, according to the publication.
The News Leaders Association has released the following response:
"The News Leaders Association stands with the Marion County Record after the recent outrageous police raid of the Kansas newsroom and of the home of one of its owners. Police seized computers, servers, and cellphones of journalists, and searched through personal documents at the co-owner's home.
"This assault on American democracy and the First Amendment cannot be deemed business as usual. Collecting information -- aka reporting -- is not a crime. If government officials believe a crime may have been committed in the collection of information, the usual course is for the government to serve a subpoena to an alleged offender, which journalists and news organizations can then challenge in court before any action is taken. That's not what happened here.
"The August 11 raid amounted to government intimidation and with a dark and sorrowful ending the next day when Joan Meyer, the 98-year-old co-owner of the family-run Record, died.
"There remain many questions about this case and the motivations for this illegal assault on the Marion County Record and established press freedoms. Let there be no question that the Record, along with news media throughout the nation, will not rest until the facts are gathered and the truth is exposed -- without fear or favor."
Keep up-to-date with publishing news: sign up here for InPubWeekly, our free weekly e-newsletter.
