Not every news outlet has a Jon Buchan behind the scenes (unfortunately)
Jon Buchan called me the other day to tell me he was finally hanging it up. Retiring at age 74 to swat more tennis balls, flick more fly-fishing casts and shoot more wildlife photos.
I had known this day was coming for some time, and dreaded it. Because while you’ve probably never heard of Jon Buchan, as a preeminent First Amendment lawyer he has been a crucial behind-the-scenes force fueling generations of excellence at The Charlotte Observer.
His retirement offers us a chance to reappreciate how, in an era of a million splintered news sources and misinformation, the Observer and many other responsible news outlets tenaciously fight to uncover news and information crucial to you — and hold powerful people accountable. That’s something we’ll keep doing, with support from our legal team.
Buchan had a stellar career in part because a lot of people in power, especially in government, don’t want the public to know what they’re doing.
Consider the ways that Buchan and the Observer fought against that on behalf of readers:
Police body cameras. Buchan repeatedly represented the Observer in court as we tried to get footage of police shooting and killing suspects. Frequently these recordings directly contradicted or shed new light on the initial law enforcement version of events. In one high-profile case, Buchan successfully argued for the release of dash camera and body cam footage of police shooting Keith Lamont Scott, an episode that led to days of street demonstrations in 2016.
Access to courtrooms and court documents. It was not uncommon for judges or lawyers to try to block reporters – indeed, the public in general – from courtrooms and records. Buchan repeatedly won access for the public, establishing important precedent along the way.
In 1989, for example, evangelist Jim Bakker faced federal criminal charges stemming from the Observer’s reporting on his ministry, PTL. Bakker’s lawyers sought to move the trial to another city and wanted to close a hearing on that topic. They argued if it were public and the trial wasn’t moved, potential jurors could be exposed to more damaging information about Bakker.
Buchan came back from a beach trip on a Monday to argue against closing the scheduled Tuesday hearing. He was denied by two different judges and appealed immediately to the federal appeals court. The appeals court delayed the Tuesday hearing hours beforehand and ultimately required that it be open to the public. In doing so, they established a precedent that the jury selection process (voir dire) is almost always sufficient to weed out biased jurors.
Public records and open meetings. Countless times, Buchan helped the Observer push local governments to follow public records and open meetings laws, a fight that sadly we continue to have to wage today.
Libel matters. It’s been fairly common over the years for people who have done something wrong to threaten the Observer with libel lawsuits if we publish a story about them. Our response, with consistent help from Buchan? We listen closely to the person’s concern, we ensure that what we are reporting is fair and accurate, and then we publish the truth. When suits are actually filed, we fight them and almost always win, almost always before trial, and we almost never settle. We have been able to do this because of our commitment to accuracy and fairness, along with Buchan’s close eye.
That’s just a taste of what Jon has done for Observer readers (and many other news organizations) in his 45 years working with us. We will miss him. But his voice will remain in our heads, his passion for transparency will remain in our hearts, and his wisdom will continue to guide our news report.
Taylor Batten is the managing editor of The Charlotte Observer.
