No Surrender: St. Paul 'Pioneer Press' Suspends Two for Attending Vote for Change Concert; Union Fights Back

By: Joe Strupp UPDATED 1:00 PM EDT

Editor Vickie Gowler of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, who suspended two reporters for attending one of the recent pro-Kerry "Vote for Change" concerts that raised money for political causes, said she would have compensated the reporters for the money they'd spent on tickets if they'd approached her about the issue.

"I encouraged people to talk to me or the managing editor if they had any concerns," Gowler said, citing a memo she issued Sept. 27 warning staffers not to attend the concerts headlined by Bruce Springsteen and others if their beats suggested a potential conflict. "If they came to me, they might have brought up issues that I didn?t know."

Gowler said she found out that the reporters had attended the concert when a senior editor overheard someone talking about it.

Gowler said reporters Chuck Laszewski and Rick Linsk, who are part of the paper's investigative team, were suspended for three days for attending the concert on Oct. 5. Because their assignments span such a broad spectrum, Gowler considered them to be in conflict. "They get involved in covering things that relate to politics and elections," Gowler said.

In fact, the editor said she had been planning to assign one of the reporters to follow a developing story on issues surrounding a new computer voting system for Minnesota, which involves Republican Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer.

"I don't know how I would explain to readers if they challenged why one of these reporters was covering a Republican state officeholder on a controversial state issue," Gowler said. "We had to assign someone out of the political reporting team."

Union officials filed a grievance Oct. 13 against the paper on the reporters' behalf, which prompted a hearing Monday. Gowler attended the hearing, but would not discuss what occurred.

Minnesota Newspaper Guild Typographical Union executive officer Mike Sweeney said the guild asked for the suspensions, which were served earlier this month, to be rescinded, but the paper declined. He said the case would go to arbitration, but not until 2005.

"They went way overboard with this," Sweeney said about the suspensions. "The newsroom ethics policy was bargained with the union and this (memo) does not meet the standard of that. The issuance of the memo violated the contract."

There is some dispute over whether the Sept. 27 memo was approved by an official from the guild. Gowler said a union steward approved the memo, but Sweeney said no formal OK was ever given.

Gowler said several Pioneer Press editorial staffers had asked if they would be allowed to attend the concerts, but she believes only one of those -- a librarian -- actually went. She said the librarian was found not to be in conflict.

The concerts, which raised money for a number of progressive political causes, have sparked ethics discussions in several newsrooms. Editors have taken different approaches to the situation, ranging from The Plain Dealer in Cleveland not barring anyone from attending to The Washington Post forbidding every reporter from attending, even if they do not cover politics.

The issue sparked some controversy at the nearby Star Tribune in Minneapolis, where reporters were originally told not to attend at all, then asked to avoid the concerts if they believed it posed a conflict.