The small town newspaper raided by police

11/27/23 • 39 min

When Eric Meyer answered the door to the home he shared with his mother on August 11, 2023, he couldn’t have expected what was waiting on the other side.

The editor and proprietor of a small Kansas newspaper was being raided by police, who were looking for evidence of supposed illegal data access by one of his reporters.

Not used to seeing the police intervene so overtly and unabashedly in the workings of the press, Americans sent letters of support to the newspaper in their tens of thousands.

In this episode, Eric tells host Chris Stokel-Walker how he believes the raid was politically motivated; this small town scuffle potentially being an augur for the future of press freedom in a world where opinion is increasingly replacing fact-based news.

Producers: Christopher Hooton and Nicola Kelly

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When Eric Meyer answered the door to the home he shared with his mother on August 11, 2023, he couldn’t have expected what was waiting on the other side.

The editor and proprietor of a small Kansas newspaper was being raided by police, who were looking for evidence of supposed illegal data access by one of his reporters.

Not used to seeing the police intervene so overtly and unabashedly in the workings of the press, Americans sent letters of support to the newspaper in their tens of thousands.

Producers: Christopher Hooton and Nicola Kelly

Find out more about ARTICLE 19's work and follow us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/article19org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ARTICLE19org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/article19/

Previous Episode

The artist suing AI giants

Generative AI is overhauling the way we work and live - and giving superpowers to ordinary individuals to create smart copy and stunning images in fractions of a second, but at whose expense?

In this week's episode, host Chris Stokel-Walker speaks to Karla Ortiz, an artist from Puerto Rico who has drawn for Marvel, HBO, ILM, Universal and more. She has also launched a lawsuit against three large generative AI platforms, alleging mass copyright infringement of her work.

She tells Chris how she felt when she learned her artistic expression had allegedly been co-opted, and what impact it’s had on her both professionally and personally.

Producers: Christopher Hooton and Nicola Kelly

Find out more about ARTICLE 19's work and follow us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/article19org
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/article19/

Next Episode

AI's inequality problem

The world grows ever more dominated by artificial intelligence. We’re promised huge productivity gains and streamlining benefits to make our lives easier, but there are significant drawbacks.

The data underpinning AI is biased, the technology can amplify inequalities, and it's unclear who will set crucial standards for the sector and how they will be imposed.

In this episode, host Chris Stokel-Walker speaks to Rumman Chowdhury, Responsible AI Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center, who has long been a campaigner for equality in technology. She fears we’re giving the keys to our society to a small group of companies that have shown they can’t be fully trusted.

Find out more about ARTICLE 19's work and follow us on:
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ARTICLE19org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/article19/