News
2006-06-23
Newspaper
columnist in dispute with editor over participation in gay
parade
A gay New Jersey
newspaper columnist is in an apparent dispute with his
editor over his particip
A gay New Jersey
newspaper columnist is in an apparent dispute with his
editor over his participation in a gay pride parade in
Allentown, Pa., last Saturday. Frank Whelan has worked
for The Morning Call newspaper since 1981 but
has not returned to work since taking part in the
parade. Whelan and his partner of 25 years, Bob Wittman,
were asked to be grand marshals of the Allentown
event, run by Pride of the Greater Lehigh Valley,
according to a report by The Express-Times
newspaper. The Pride group’s Web site states:
“The selection of Frank and Bob by Pride
supports the need for marriage equality.” Whelan told
the Express-Times that Ardith Hilliard, editor
of The Morning Call, expressed concern that his
participation in the parade might run counter to the
paper’s ethics policy. By supporting same-sex
marriage, she said, it could appear that Whelan was biased
on an important social issue. “A
newspaper’s responsibility is trust as much as
it is news and information,” a statement from
Hilliard read. “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. Accordingly,
The Morning Call, like most newspapers, has
a code of ethics for its journalists to protect our
credibility and impartiality.” But Whelan said the
parade organizers were merely using his relationship
as an example and that he, himself, has taken no
position on same-sex marriage. “I have no interest in
being an advocate for gay marriage one way or
another,” he told The Express-Times.
Vicki C. Mayk, director of community relations and
communications for The Morning Call, said the dispute
has not gotten Whelan fired from his role of writing
the Ask Frank history column and a society-watch
column. “We had never planned to fire him about this
issue and have no plans to do so,” Mayk said. She
added later, “He’s a valued member of
our editorial staff, and we look forward to his return.
Beyond that, this is a personnel matter, and it’s our
policy that we don’t comment on personnel
matters.” (The Advocate)
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