Hotline Gets Cold Response p.10

By: M.L. Stein ALEGAL-ASSISTANCE hotline for journalists covering the Republican National Convention in San Diego has drawn a cry of outrage from the Newspaper Guild.
The problem for the Guild is that the cost-free, 24-hour service, set up by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, was being handled by the Nashville and San Diego law firm of King & Ballow, which the Guild has labeled a union-buster.
The company's lawyers would come to the aid of any reporter arrested at the convention, the committee said.
Guild president Linda K. Foley was "outraged" when she learned of the committee's arrangement with King & Ballow, according to a Guild press release.
Foley said she would discourage Guild members from using the hotline, but she "doubted many would care to take advice from a firm that has made its money and its reputation from busting unions, including the Guild."
In an interview with E&P, Reporters Committee executive director Jane E. Kirtley, a lawyer herself, said she had been unaware of anti-union charges against King & Ballow, which represents several newspapers in labor issues.
"The committee does not get involved in any disputes between labor and management," she said.
Kirtley described King & Ballow as an experienced, competent law firm that has helped the Reporters Committee by preparing, without fee, a compendium of Tennessee open records and meetings laws since 1989 as part of a 50-state record. It also conducts free First Amendment seminars for journalists, she added.
Kirtley also pointed out that law firms represent various clients whose wishes they are obligated to carry out.
"We don't mean to alienate Guild members, who also are part of our constituency, but we have made similar agreements with other law firms at national political conventions for several years," Kirtley said. "It should be noted that the King & Ballow hotline was set up under our terms. I hope no one has to use it, but it's there if anyone needs it."
Kirtley said she was on a trip when the Guild announced its objections to the hotline and was able to contact only a few members of the Reporters Committee board. To her knowledge, Charles Babcock of the Washington Post was the only member who advised canceling the King & Ballow connection.
Two other board members came out against cutting the hotline with King & Ballow.
Los Angeles Times Washington correspondent Sara Fritz commented: "We've long depended on pro bono law firms to defend reporters. They [King & Ballow] are offering the hotline free. This strikes me as an effort to help us."
Chip Bok, editorial cartoonist for the Akron Beacon Journal, said: "It may be unfortunate that this law firm was picked, but it's like any other contribution we get. Now that it's in place, we may as well accept it."
Interviews with a sampling of reporters covering the Republican convention did not reveal any great concern over the King & Ballow help line.
"It's silly to object to a law firm providing legal services because you don't like some of their other clients," said Liz Rubin, a reporter for the Montgomery Journal in Rockville, Md., and a former attorney. "When you are a lawyer, you don't always represent people who are popular."
The Houston Chronicle's Chris Woodyard observed: "I don't think King & Ballow are out to screw the press. For one thing, they are bound by their legal canons to help us in the best way they can. I see no harm in the deal."
Reginald Stuart, Knight-Ridder's convention manager, thought the hotline affiliation was "very unusual. But if you live long enough, you will see some strange bedfellows. This is probably not the best alignment of allies. I'm surprised."
Doug Pierce, one of the King & Ballow lawyers working the hotline, wondered what the fuss was all about.
"We are doing this pro bono," he said. "This is a goodwill gesture on our part, and it was accepted in that vein. The Guild is always making unwarranted allegations."
Pierce said the hotline's business was slow.
"There have been a few inquiries on legal points," he related, "but we haven't heard of any serious problems."
?(Guild president LInda K. Foley said she would discourage members from using the hotline, but she " doubted many would care to take advice from a firm that has made its money and its reputation from busting unions, including the Guild." ) [Photo & Caption]
?("We don't mean to alienate Guild members, who also are part of our constituency, but we have made similar agreements with other law firms at national political conventions for several years," said Jane E. Kirtley of the Reporters Committee.) [Photo & Caption]