Allentown
Morning Call feature writer Frank Whelan doesn't understand the fuss
over his role as co-grand marshal, with his partner, Bob Wittman, of [June 17's] Gay Pride parade in their mid-size northeastern
Pennsylvania city.
Whelan, as well as parade organizers,
view his participation as a tribute to the couple's relationship of 25
years. But his boss, editor Ardith Hilliard, has raised questions over
whether Whelan's role constituted an endorsement of marriage rights and
therefore breached the paper's ethics policies, meant to ensure
impartiality.
Whelan, 56, was suspended without pay for
two days from the paper, where he writes the "Ask Frank" history column
and a society column, Editor & Publisher reported. Alleging a
possible violation of his civil rights, he planned to meet with an
attorney on [June 23].
The newspaper, through its Merge weekly
publication and mergedigital.com, was a sponsor of the Pride event.
Newspaper officials declined specific comment, telling the
Express-Times newspaper it was a personnel matter. But Vicki C. Mayk,
the paper's director of community relations and communications, praised
Whelan as a "valued" employee. She issued a statement from Hilliard,
which the paper itself quoted in its coverage of the Pride parade --
also noting that Whelan and his partner rode in the lead parade car
with their city's mayor:
"A newspaper's responsibility is
trust as much as it is news and information. To ensure the credibility
and independence of The Morning Call, it is paramount that our
journalists guard against conflicts of interest and the appearance of
conflict," Hilliard's statement said.
"Accordingly, The
Morning Call, like most newspapers, has a code of ethics for its
journalists to protect our credibility and impartiality."
Discussions
over the role of journalists in public community events arise
frequently in newsrooms, with policies varying widely, said Kelly
McBride, a faculty member and ethics group leader at The Poynter
Institute, a St. Petersburg, Fla., school for journalists and
journalism students and teachers.
"Most newspapers don't
have a standard policy on this kind of stuff -- they have a very vague
policy," McBride told the PlanetOut Network. "Their policy usually says
something like, don't join public protests or take a political stance
on an issue.
"Marching in a Gay Pride parade would be
considered a political stance to some because of all the issues
surrounding the fight over equal rights for gay people. For others, it
would be considered like marching in the St. Patty's Day Parade if you
were Irish," McBride said.
"That's what gets confusing about it."
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