St. Paul copy editor punished for attending peace rally

[flowomo]

from Romenesko:

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2005

Tim Mahoney, a part-time copy editor with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, was suspended for three days without pay for attending the Sept. 24 peace rally in Washington, D.C. In addition, he'll no longer be allowed to edit any stories about the Iraq war. A Newspaper Guild rep says: "He was exercising his beliefs -- religious, as well as social and moral--and the paper is saying he can't do that. And he's a part-time copy editor, for Christ's sake. I was speechless when I heard this."
Posted at 10:43:21 AM


from -- http://citypages.com/databank/26/1299/article13800.asp

via -- http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Is this a right wing rag?

I'm not familiar with the Twin Cities newspapers, so I don't know.

[GRocky]

4. Yes.

We have 2 large daily papers in the Twin Cities area: The Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune. Traditionally, the Pioneer Press endorses the Republican candidates for office. The Star Tribune, for the most part, endorses Democrats.

[Love Bug]

11. Which is why the PP won't get a thin dime from me

They endorsed Bush last year, even though many papers that endorsed him in 2000 switched to Kerry. Fuck the PP.

[katinmn]

18. Someone from the PeePee called yesterday trying to get me to

take advantage of their special subscription offer and I gleefully let them have it.

Not only is it ultra-conservative, they don't spend much time on local St. Paul news anymore. It's all burbs, burbs, burbs.

[Viking12]

10. Owned by Knight-Ridder

Along with the previously cited Republican endorsements, the paper has been on a crusdae to bust the Unions representing its workers.

[ixion]

2. so, will people who SUPPORT the illegal invasion be able to edit?

I mean, it seems like that so-called objectivity should go both ways. :grr:

[leveymg]

3. You wanna bet the Publisher and Editors are GOP?

We need a Press Protection Act that makes it illegal -- in the public and private sector -- to retaliate against working journalists for First Amendment protected activities.

Without teeth in the law, there are no constitutional protections.

[cantstandbush]

5. Isn't this why we said we invaded Iraq...to give them freedom?

this is just like being in totalitarian state. You can say or do nothing opposing those in power.

[AnneD]

6. Maybe...

Some letters to the editor about the bill of rights are in order.....

[rucky]

7. Let's back up a bit...

when did peace become a partisan issue? and if we're for peace, then the other side's for war? They never up and say they love war, but all their actions indicate it.

[MadHound]

8. Hopefully he sues the shit out of Pioneer Press

Blatant violation of freedom of speech, freedom of association, and probably a couple of others. This is such BS!

Liberal media my ass!

[northernsoul]

9. It probably has to be resolved through a union grievance process

I know a few insiders at the PiPress and I can guarantee you the rank and file are not happy with the direction this paper has taken.

[lcbart]

12. I decided to talk to the paper about it,

Here's how it went.

My letter to the Editor.

I do not live in the Twin cities – so I doubt you’ll value my opinion very highly. I just finished reading a story about a part time copy editor at your newspaper being disciplined for attending the Peace March in Washington.

This is outrageous! Since when does a part time job at a newspaper require having no political opinion. This man expressed his opinion, on his own time, at his own expense – it had nothing to do with your newspaper.

I only hope the residents of your cities become aware of this crass action, and express their opinion by not purchasing you newspaper any longer. I have a feeling that if he had attended a ‘Support the troops’ rally this would not be an issue.

Sincerely,


His Response.

Dear Ms. : Your e-mail re. the Pioneer Press copy editor who attended a peace march was passed on to me.

First, I do value your opinion -- just as I value the opinion of all readers.

Second, I'd like to clarify my position, which I thought I presented clearly to the City Pages reporter but which was not reflected in the City Pages story.

What Pioneer Press employees do on their own time is their business. I have no intention of telling them what to do. I have every intention of being involved in what Pioneer Press employees do while they are putting out this newspaper.

Sometimes, those interests intersect. When that happens, I firmly believe that I need to know about it -- ahead of time. Not to tell an employee what he or she can't do on their private time -- again, let me emphasize -- that's not my call. But working on a newspaper involves a sacred trust. And what someone does on their private time might impact what I can assign them to do on their work time.

Quite simply, Pioneer Press employees should not engage in activities that could lessen their value as a newsroom employee, harm our ability to do our jobs impartially or damage the newspaper's credibility. We cannot be a credible newspaper, together, if we act individually in ways that undermine our credibility as a whole.

Even with all that, though, I simply want staffers to recognize what activities fall under this description and then to talk to me ahead of time about how it might impact the newspaper's credibility and what it might mean for their future assignments should they still choose to engage in that activity.

I hope you'll agree that's quite a bit more complicated and nuanced than the position presented in City Pages. And I hope you can appreciate my position.

Thanks for your interest in the Pioneer Press. All future thoughts are welcome.

Thom

My response back.....

Sir,

Thanks you for your response, the fact that you take the time to respond indicates, at the very least that you are concerned by what has occurred regarding this matter.

In fact, though, your response belies the problem at the root of this matter. And that is that you believe that you know what activities a credible, reliable member of your staff can be involved in on their own time. This man did not march in a Communist or Socialist rally, nor did he take part in a Klan event, he simply took part in a march against war.

Are you really telling me that being against war compromises your employees’ value to your publication? Isn’t everyone, unless they have some mental disorder against War?

I fail to understand your logic; would this same policy apply to a sports editor who was a Yankee’s fan?

Yes – working for a news organization IS a sacred trust. But, when the news source involved begins dictating what speech its employees are allowed to express freely, then isn’t it narrowing and limiting the scope and understanding of its employees?

By the way, you assumed I am female from my name, which I am not. This does not offend me, because it has happened many times throughout my life. But what it does do is indicate to me a narrow mind.

Thank You for Your Time,

[Love Bug]

39. Good letters!

Makes me wonder what the PP's policy was regarding their staff attending the dozens of repuke-only Bush rallys during election season last year. I'll bet they didn't have a problem with that.

[FlashHarry]

13. You'll hate this, but...

...I think they were correct. I know it's naive, but I think reporters should recuse themselves from any hint of political activity. And, yes, though peace shouldn't be a partisan issue, we all know it is these days. Think, if he'd attended a pro-war rally, we'd be asking for his head on a platter.

I think that journalists (and their editors) should report the news. Period.

You may commence with the public stoning...

[woo me with science]

14. No stoning here...You are absolutely correct.

This is just Journalism Ethics 101. Editing copy is deadly serious business--it does NOT just involve punctuation marks. Copy editors choose what parts of articles to delete and which to emphasize by placing in paragraph one. Neutrality (and the appearance of neutrality) are essential to the credibility of a newspaper. Would people here want their news edited for presentation by someone who attends pro-war rallies?

[Book Lover]

16. Deadly serious?

I'm curious - do you work in publishing?

[Der Blaue Engel]

17. Let's see if this policy is extrapolated to other businesses

I'm a copy editor for a human resource consulting firm...I attend peace rallies. By your logic, I, too, should be suspended and censured. So when does it stop?

The bottom line is, it was ON HIS FREE TIME. If he started chopping up articles to reflect his bias, then it would be an issue. There is no indicating here that this is the case.

[Taxloss]

26. I often work as a copy-editor.

I have no problem decoupling my personal belief from what non-partisan work I do. That's called professionalism. Sub-editors aren't drones.

[Book Lover]

15. He's a copy editor, not a reporter

His job is to correct the grammar and regularize the style of the reporters; he's the text cleanup crew.

Stone thrown.

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. Text cleanup crew?

You mean I spent all that time on the phone, in the archives and online verifying facts, quotes and sources, deciding story placement, designing pages, selecting photos and graphics and writing headlines and cutlines in addition to editing local and wire stories — and I was just a guy with a word mop?

Man, they shouldn't have paid me so much.

:sarcasm:

[Book Lover]

25. Get off the cross, Mary

I have been in publishing for nearly two decades - I know what copy editors do. If you have been designing layouts while your job title was copy editor, then don't blame me because you were ripped off.

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. You obviously don't know what *newspaper* copy editors do

And if you choose not to believe me, take a look at http://www.journalismjobs.com">Journalismjobs.com. It's a rare ad for a copy editor that doesn't have "designer" immediately after it. Page design has been part of the job at the vast majority of papers for the last five years or more.

[Book Lover]

29. I must apologize, then

I work in books and magazines, not newspapers. Frankly, it's a sad thing to see - CEs are not trained designers, and trained designers can't get work.

[Oeditpus Rex]

30. Thank you

And, yes, it is sad. I know a senior copy editor at a major U.S. news magazine, and all she does is edit copy. If newspaper suits recognized the value of not making the copy desk into jacks and jills of all trades, the quality of their publications would rise tremendously. But they can't keep their 20-percent profit margins by hiring enough people to do the job as well as it should be done, so...

:rant:

[Kickin_Donkey]

36. I, too, am a copy editor/page designer ...

for a daily newspaper, and what you've described is exactly what I do.

As someone said downthread, we have a lot of power. We don't get bylines or our names in the masthead, but we essentially create the paper that people open up in the morning. And we literally have the last word about the pages that people read because we're the ones who tie everything together and we're the last line of defense before the material gets printed.

I'd also agree with your downthread comment that we are forced to be jacks of all trades and there's never enough staff to do cover our responsibiities well. I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off from the time I step into the newsroom till the last button is pressed to send the page to print.

[Taxloss]

27. That depends on the publication.

I was chief sub-editor for a weekly UK business magazine with a circulation of about 35,000. I ran a team of two other subs and a designer. We had an astonishing amount of power. My rank was equivalent to that of the news editor and the features editor; and I exceeded them both in seniority. We could rewrite, redirect, and kill stories at the drop of a hat without asking for permission. Of course we used this power with discretion, we were all on the same team. But you underestimate the power of the chief sub at your peril.

[Book Lover]

31. As I said above

this mingling of responsibilities is, in my view and on this side of the Atlantic, a sad piece of information. A position entitled sub-editor sitting higher on the totem pole than a features editor or, well, anyone really, doesn't make sense to me. Then again, not ever having worked in it, I can't speak for how the British publishing industry is structured.

[Carolab]

35. PERHAPS THE NEW YORK TIMES SHOULD ADOPT THIS.

THEN MAYBE JUDAS MILLER WOULDN'T HAVE MARCHED US OFF TO WAR IN THE FIRST PLACE???

OR ARE WE GOING TO JUST KEEP ON GIVING HER PRIZES AND AWARDS FOR JOURNALISM????

What this particular editor means is: I will not fire a reporter as long as their political beliefs mesh with MINE and those of my PUBLISHER!

[katinmn]

19. The same paper disciplined two reporters last fall for

attending a Bruce Springsteen concert because Bruce was going around the country telling people to vote.

There are some great reporters and editors there. There are also some neocons that are allowed to promote their views in their articles.

[HuffleClaw]

32. seriously ?

since when is what you do in yer off hours any of their business? and if they'd gone to a bush rally?

[Oeditpus Rex]

21. Some here might be interested in copy editors' views on this

If so, you might want to check back a few times, as this thread will grow over the next several hours:

http://www.testycopyeditors.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5580

[noamnety]

22. I wonder if their employees that attend church

are forbidden to write or edit articles having to do with religion or intelligent design.

[enki23]

23. i hereby demand the firings of all churchgoing reporters

every one who has, at any time during their working career, attended a church. period.

[twaddler01]

24. Good for him for attending

Is this legal what thay are doing? I have his support, that's for sure!

[dpbrown]

33. They hate us for our "freedoms"

Good thing the BFEE is stripping them from us, so they won't hate us anymore.

[ECH1969]

34. That pisses me off

[cassiepriam]

37. Just like Viet Nam era. This is all so deja vu.

It feels surreal.

[matcom]

38. How many copy editors attend church every Sunday?

they should be screened and barred from editing stories on religion