SPJ DC Pro Chapter Vice President Celia Wexler, expressing her own opinions not those of the chapter, looked at how the police raid on the Marion County (Kansas) Record is more than the act of an overzealous local law enforcement office.
“This is about a police force essentially shrugging off the law and the Constitution. It’s about an intrusion into newsgathering that almost never happens because it so profoundly violates one of our deepest American values – the primacy of the public’s right to know,” she said.
CNN – Opinion: The big story behind the police raid on a small-town paper
“We have seen so many laws broken and rights trampled over the last few years. Each time these boundaries are crossed, democracy is a little weaker, and people a little less empowered.
“This time it was law enforcement seizing a newspaper’s property. Next time, a governor may decide to arrest a blogger for saying unkind things about him. In Florida, a bill pending in the legislature would require bloggers who write about state elected officials to register with the state and file reports about how much they earn from their work or face fines.”
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