KC Star, Wichita Eagle win Scripps Howard Award for Marion newspaper raid coverage

The Kansas City Star and The Wichita Eagle have been recognized with a prestigious national journalism award for their combined coverage of a police raid on a small town Kansas newspaper.

The Star and The Eagle won the Scripps Howard Journalism Award for Distinguished Service to the First Amendment, announced Sunday. The Scripps Howard Awards, now in their 71st year, honors breaking news and investigative reporting excellence.

A team of 15 reporters investigated the moments leading up to and after the raid on the Marion County Record , which happened last August when the Marion Police Department, led by then-Chief Gideon Cody, illegally searched the paper’s newsroom. The home of editor and publisher Eric Meyer and his mother, 98-year-old Joan Meyer, was also searched, along with the home of a local councilwoman. Meyer’s mother died shortly after the raid.

Cody raided the properties as part of an investigation into alleged identity theft by a Record reporter, but the basis for the searches quickly fell apart. A local prosecutor withdrew the search warrants and Cody resigned weeks after the raid.

In August, special prosecutors charged Cody with interfering in the judicial process , a felony, over allegations he instructed a local businesswoman to delete text messages in the aftermath of the searches.

Additionally, several lawsuits have been filed in the aftermath of the raid.

The Star and The Eagle’s coverage of the raid also included exposing Cody’s troubled past with the Kansas City Police Department before leaving to become police chief in Marion. The papers also reported on how Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, who signed off on the searches, had a history of DUI arrests.

The editorial board of both newspapers denounced the raid , and The Eagle produced a documentary on Joan Meyer’s death.

“We’re thrilled to have the work of The Star and Eagle recognized in this national contest,” said Greg Farmer, executive editor of The Star. “Above all, though, we feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve the First Amendment and stand with our colleagues at the Marion County Record against this outrageous and heartbreaking abuse of power.”

The other finalists for the award were Hearst Connecticut Media Group for an investigation into how Bridgeport, Connecticut, ignored open record laws, and Open Vallejo for examining how Vallejo, California, destroyed evidence in multiple police shootings.

The Star’s Jonathan Shorman contributed.