Calif. Paper Opts to Keep McManus

By: E&P Staff "Ethics & Religion" columnist Michael McManus will remain in The Reporter of Vacaville, Calif., but the newspaper plans to keep a close eye on him.

In a story, The Reporter quoted several readers upset that McManus hadn't disclosed that his Marriage Savers organization received $10,200 from the Department of Health and Human Services.

One reader said of McManus: "This guy, writing on the ethics page, did something that I think virtually anybody in that field would recognize as a blatant conflict. The issue is about disclosure."

But Reporter Editor Diane Barney said the federal money didn't go to McManus. "We'll allow him to continue his column," she added, "as long as he goes the extra mile and always discloses any conflict of interest and preferably steers away for any columns that present a conflict."

Last week, the Reading (Pa.) Eagle dropped McManus' column, which is self-syndicated to about 35 papers.