Papers in rural Kansas, and in small towns across the country, work tirelessly and with limited resources to report the facts to their communities on a daily basis.
With the unprecedented police raid of the Marion County Record in Marion, Kansas, last week, small-town newspapers, and the role they play in society, have found their way into national discourse.
Susan Lynn, editor and publisher of the Iola Register, told KCUR's Up To Date that if the Register was raided like the Record, residents would likely question the motives of the paper or police.
“We really depend on our relationship with law enforcement officers and so if that looks like it's threatened, then I think it is very disturbing for a community,” she says.
Sarah Kessinger, editor and publisher of the Marysville Advocate, told KCUR that reporting news in a small town is often about the relationships you have to maintain.
“We all live next door to the local police officer or interact with them in the Rotary Club or in different ways,” she says. “I've always had the good fortune of having law enforcement around who understood that and that we had to do our job and they had to do their job.”
- Susan Lynn, editor and publisher of The Iola Register
- Sarah Kessinger, editor and publisher of The Marysville Advocate
