wfn.org | GAC narrowly rejects paper on role of the news service

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7452 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

28-September-2002
02378

GAC narrowly rejects paper on role of the news service 

by Leslie Scanlon
Outlook National Reporter
Reprinted with permission

LOUISVILLE - The General Assembly Council (GAC) of the Presbyterian Church
(USA) narrowly turned down a proposal on Saturday, Sept. 28, to clarify the
role of the Presbyterian News Service.

Some cautioned that the proposal, approved last May by the Advisory Committee
on the News, could give denominational leaders more leeway to try to
influence the coverage the news service provides. The news advisory committee
exists to protect the editorial freedom of the news service.

The measure was defeated by the narrowest of margins - a 21-21 tie that was
broken by the council's vice-chair, Vernon Carroll of Montana, who at that
moment was moderating the meeting and thus in a position to cast the
tie-breaking vote.

Gary Luhr, director of the PC(USA)'s Office of Communications, of which the
news service is a part, explained before the vote was taken that the paper
was written as an attempt to clarify questions that arise "with some
regularity" about the role of the news service - and to ensure that the
denomination's "institutional voice" would be included in stories the news
service writes, particularly on controversial subjects.

Luhr pointed out that the Presbyterian News Service has won awards from the
Associated Church Press for "best denominational news service," and "we're
very proud of that ... Nobody is proposing that we turn the new service in to
a public relations office. That's not the intent." Saying that the
denomination's "institutional voice" should be included in Presbyterian News
Service stories is not a way of saying that denominational leaders should be
able to influence the news service's stories, Luhr added, but of saying that
when many Presbyterians are speaking out on controversial issues - including
special interest groups - those stories should include as well the opinions
of denominational leaders and an explanation of the church's official
policies or positions.

The news service already is governed by editorial guidelines that say it
shall operate "with freedom and integrity," shall "report the facts
accurately, clearly, fairly, impartially and promptly," and shall adhere to
the ethical standards of the Associated Church Press.

Despite assurances from both Luhr and the Advisory Committee on the News that
no attempt was being made to restrict the editorial freedom of the news
service, some Presbyterian journalists have voiced significant concerns about
the proposal.

John Bolt, a council member who works as an Associated Press bureau chief in
West Virginia and who was a member of the news advisory council for six
years, argued for the defeat of the paper regarding the role of the news
service.

Bolt said he's a journalist by trade, "a journalist by God's calling." And
while the paper is "innocuous" on its surface, "I worry about the
implications buried in this language. I worry about a different
administration in a different time grabbing onto some of the language in the
document and using it to in fact spin."

Already, Bolt said, there has been an example of the first paragraph of a
news service story being changed at General Assembly "because it didn't
exactly sound right" to some of those in leadership. The real audience for
the news service is Presbyterians in the pews, Bolt said, "not the people at
100 Witherspoon," the PC(USA)'s headquarters in Louisville. "The Presbyterian
News Service exists to report on the church for the church," he said. "It is
not the institutional voice for the church." Marj Carpenter, a council member
who's a former General Assembly moderator and former Presbyterian News
Service director, said she thought the measure should be defeated - but in
case it wasn't, she also proposed changes in the wording to remove language
about what the news service "should" do.

"If we tie their hands too much I guarantee you Presbyterians will find
something else to read," Carpenter said, "and it won't be out of 100
Witherspoon no matter how many communications experts we hire in different
divisions" at the PC(USA) headquarters.

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