Jeffry Couch News Today

The decline of printed newspapers has resulted in news deserts, “ghost” publications, and increased public mistrust of the media. Undeterred, local journalists soldier on.

Last August, police in Kansas executed questionable search warrants on the offices of the Marion County Record, a weekly newspaper that has been publishing since 1869, along with the homes of the publisher and a local city councilwoman. At issue was how the paper obtained a local businesswoman’s driving record, which revealed the woman had had her license revoked for a DUI offense; she had been seeking a liquor license for her Marion restaurant. After a public outcry, the police chief was...