“Every morning, I wake up to an email from Sherman at 4:02 a.m.,” Jami Reever said, as she introduced the Kansas Reflector discussion panel Tuesday evening. “They’re more than friends at the Kansas Reflector; they are our allies.”
The Emporia chapter of Women for Kansas hosted Lyon County native and Kansas Reflector Editor in Chief Sherman Smith, Reflector Opinion Editor Clay Wirestone, and Reflector columnist and former ESU professor Max McCoy for Tuesday evening’s wide-ranging panel discussion held at the Lyon County History Center. The Reflector editorial team offered their insights on Kansas politics and answered questions from the more than 40 people in attendance on issues of the day.
“We are a nonprofit news organization,” Smith began. “We see journalism as a public good. We allow everybody to read us for free–there’s no paywall. We also allow other newspapers to publish our work for free.”
In response to a question about the current legal climate, specifically for news organizations, Smith said, “It’s not the legislators so much as the people who bought the legislators.” He added that the Kansas Press Association has a fund to which free press supporters can donate.
“I’m proud we have one of the most favorable legal environments here in the U.S. for the press,” Wirestone said, “based on our Constitution’s First Amendment and bedrock court decisions. Challenges come from multiple fronts, lawsuits designed to bankrupt a news organization–or because a large organization with other business before the Trump administration could care less about the news side. It’s all about the money.”
All three journalists repeatedly referenced the 1964 landmark case of The New York Times v. Sullivan. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the newspaper, upholding First Amendment freedom of speech protections. Wirestone emphasized, “People today want to make it easier to sue. I’d like to feel optimistic, but these are going to be a trying few years.”
McCoy weighed in. “The conflict for me is capitalism versus journalism. Investigative journalism is not really suited to a capitalistic environment. Pay close attention to Sullivan. At least two Supreme Court justices have said they would like to lower the bar. This should ring alarm bells everywhere.”
Audience members asked about the 2023 raids on the Marion County Record. Smith noted that there are yet loose ends, and lawsuits are ongoing. He added that there will be a hearing for the Marion police chief later this spring, adding that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation files on the case will eventually be turned over. “Colorado is much less restrictive than Kansas.”
In response to a question about the Kansas Department of Education, Wirestone said, “The theoretical shutdown of the U.S. Department of Education is very much unfolding now. I read on the way in that they’re laying off half of the DOE staff. Like much of this administration, the struggle is to figure out what’s really going on in any given moment. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The thing to watch is what actually happens to funding coming into the state. If dollars stop going out to local school districts, that’s where issues will begin to pop up.”
Another audience question dealt with the constitutional amendment currently before Kansas legislators that would change how state supreme court justices are chosen. Smith noted that, should the amendment pass and judges be elected by popular vote rather than being selected by the governor, “unlimited funding and support from dark money could allow people or companies to undo rulings they don’t like–things like abortion and school funding. The courts could be controlled through elections. The Kansas Supreme Court has the highest rate in the nation of cases overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past 15 years–and that’s indicative of an even longer trend.”
McCoy said, “We are in an era of ongoing constitutional crisis. The United States was recently added to the Human Rights Watch List.” On March 9, the U.S. was added to the CIVICUS Monitor watchlist, due to declining civil liberties. “That should alarm all Americans. The prevailing opinion to “sit back and let things take their course” may have worked in the past, but there’s something afloat globally today. We are in danger of losing our status as leader of the free world. Thousands of workers have been purged, just in the last few weeks, and employees are being required to take loyalty tests. These are not American ways.”
“How do you stay unbiased?” asked an audience member.
“Truth is always our north star,” Smith replied. “Accuracy. Knowing that the two sides are not always equal. In trying to get to the truth of something–whatever that means–I have to know that this isn’t about me. My role is to get the news to you.”
“Truth, for me, is fact in context,” McCoy said. “There is a danger in engaging in both-sides-ism. It’s possible to accurately report both sides and still miss the truth. The obligation is to bring your expertise, bring facts into context. My best columns ticked all sides off.”
In a sentiment echoed by many in the audience, the question was posed as to how we can get to a better place.
“It’s no surprise that the Marshall people were quite upset,” Wirestone said, referencing the recent Oakley town hall event. “As a politician, you want a win–and that audience was not in the mood to give Marshall a win. If you’re going to be a politician, there must be a willingness to walk on glass. Will I sit here and let people yell at me? This feels like we’re in a spiral–like the Civil War, or World War I. Neither side wants to take a step back. My best hope–because we cannot ignore that really singular political figure in the White House today–is that we make it through these next four years in reasonable shape, that we figure out how to find a bridge with Trump.”
McCoy countered, “My fear is that we will not survive the next four years intact. My answer is action: vote, contact your legislators, engage. This is different than it was in 2016; this cult figure has a lot of people organizing for him. They’ve already made many parts of Project 2025 come true. We must make our voices heard, nonviolently, in a civil manner. Resist wherever you can. I’m not seeing a sense of community. All the fights are taking place online. We need to return to in-person civic communion. There are certain cultural values we all share, as Americans. Don’t let anyone silence you. It’s going to be a long haul.”
Women for Kansas is a grassroots initiative designed to energize and educate individuals and groups of women across the state for the purpose of ensuring the election of moderate candidates to public office who advocate for moderate policies. Learn more at www.womenforkansas.org.
The Kansas Reflector started in the midst of the pandemic. Launched in July 2020, the Reflector is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. For more information, visit the Reflector website at www.kansasreflector.com or find them on Facebook and Bl
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