Media Maelstrom: Two newspapers like the Marion County Record are dying each week

Cronyism, malfeasance and corruption flourish in the news deserts left behind

The outrageous police raid on a small-town Kansas weekly brought a heartening response: Stories in big news outlets, the revoking of the search warrant, and the return of the paper’s equipment. But a bigger problem remains: Newspapers like the Marion County Record are dying at a fast pace, threatening the journalistic mission of holding power to account. The numbers are alarming and the effects corrosive to democracy.