By Tracy Dingmann

Former city councilor and county commissioner Steve Gallegos made the Journal this week for a bizarre protest on Civic Plaza in which he burned copies of the paper.

Gallegos said he was angry about the Journal’s news stories and editorials over the past month that he felt did not properly represent the character of his friend and colleague, former deputy county manager John Dantis. The paper had run several stories and editorials that hit Dantis hard over allegations of nepotism and favoritism toward his son, who had worked for the county before resigning under threat of termination last month. In the face of the widely-publicized allegations and a related investigation, Dantis announced he would retire effective July 30.

On July 6, Gallegos led a demonstration of about 20 people who shredded and burned copies of the Journal to protest what they called the paper’s harsh treatment of the longtime jail chief. (Read “Ex-County Official Decries Journal Coverage” here.)

Why Did Gallegos Burn The Paper?
Gallegos said he was protesting the Journal’s stories and editorials, including a story on July 1 that raised alarm about the prospect of Dantis claiming his unused annual vacation leave and sick time (read “John Dantis Could Walk With $160,000” here). The paper followed the story with a strident editorial on July 5 (read “It’s Time to Make Over the Extreme Payouts” here) decrying city and county policies that allow deputy department heads and others to accumulate unlimited amounts of leave.

From a Journal story about the protest:

Gallegos said Dantis is a caring man who’s worked hard to help people, especially those struggling with addiction.

“If someone makes a mistake, are we going to knock ‘em to the ground” over and over? Gallegos asked. “That’s not who I am.”

Front Page Scandals

It is undeniable that the Journal has a relentless focus on pouncing on the misdeeds of certain public employees – whether the “perps” are stopping an empty and out-of-service Rail Runner to grab a quick lunch at LotaBurger or embezzling millions of dollars from an impoverished rural school district.

Many longtime readers of the Journal have noted that there seems to be nothing the paper loves more than parlaying these scandals (of widely ranging actual importance) into front-page news stories and fodder for stern editorials. Oftentimes the focus of the criticism ends up leaving his or her post in the face of the publicity storm.

I have heard from many Journal readers who strongly dislike that kind of coverage from the Journal and think that, in some cases, the deluge of stories and editorials aimed at one person or agency can be unfair.

I am not sure, however, that Dantis is the best example for those who complain about the Journal’s apparent vendettas against certain people or groups. There are a number of troubling aspects about the Dantis case that seem to have warranted the close scrutiny he has received.

Taking Gallegos To Task

As for the bizarre paper-burning in the public square – it is clear that, in his protest, Gallegos was reacting emotionally to what he perceived as unfair criticism of the character of his friend…and not so much about the county’s leave policies or the specifics of the allegations against Dantis.

In an UpFront story on July 8, Journal writer Leslie Linthicum strikes the right tone in talking Gallegos to task for the rather silly method he chose for his protest (Read “Putting the Torch to the Town Crier” here).

But what I found the oddest about this whole saga wasn’t anything Leslie noted in her excellent piece.

It was the quote from Journal Editor Kent Walz in the original story about the paper-burning.

From the story:

Journal editor Kent Walz noted the county’s own investigation findings and that a key supervisor recently was charged with bribery in the house arrest program.

“Given these developments, it is interesting that Steve Gallegos seems more interested in the Journal’s reporting than the problems,” Walz said. “His statement sounds like a longtime county political insider trying to change the subject and blame the messenger.”

Never, Never Quote an Editor

Ok, so here’s the real problem.

Editors are, simply put, supposed to stay out of news stories.

Here’s why.

Newspapers have a news gathering side and an editorial side. Traditionally, newspapers observe a healthy separation between the two, in order to increase the credibility of their claim to present unbiased news.

It’s an old fashioned idea, but it’s one the Journal talks about – A LOT.

Certainly the Journal pays huge lip service to this principle, by calling itself the state’s “Paper of Record” and positioning itself as an objective reporter of fact.

But here’s where that principle breaks down. At the Journal, one guy – Walz – runs the news operation and the editorial page. To put a finer point on it, he both dictates the news coverage and opines every day on the editorial page.

Speaking as a newspaper purist – that’s bad enough. I don’t need to see him popping up as a source for news stories, too.

If the Journal wants to cover a news event and present comment on that event, shouldn’t it find actual people to quote, instead of spoon-feeding readers canned quotes from the editor of the paper?

Lacing a “news” story with a quote from the editor – literally, giving him the last word – violates the Journal’s own internal policies of keeping Journal employees out of the news.

In this case, allowing Walz to inject his point of view into a news story was apparently more important than maintaining the paper’s journalistic principles.