Is it ever OK for journalists to take a stand politically?
“With endorsements of legislation and ballot measures in California and Missouri, two Guild locals have decided the answer is a conditional “yes.”
The Pacific Media Workers Guild is supporting “sunshine” measures, the type of vital open records and access laws that are essential to a free press. In Missouri, the United Media Guild has gone a step further.
The local’s Executive Committee voted unanimously in January to endorse a $1 increase in the state’s minimum wage, as well as a proposal to cap interest rates on payday loans. Both measures will appear on November’s ballot, if backers submit enough petition signatures.
Well aware that it’s an unusual step for journalists, local leaders see the issues as a matter of conscience, not partisanship. For instance, payday lenders in Missouri reportedly charge an average of 444 percent interest, and can legally charge up to 1,900 percent.
Announcing the endorsement on its website, the local said, “This is loansharking and to pretend otherwise is reprehensible,” noting that Missouri “currently has more payday lenders than Starbucks, Wal-Marts and McDonald’s combined.”
Local President Jeff Gordon said the endorsements are in line with the board’s philosophy: “Although we will never endorse candidates, due to the conflict-of-interest concerns of our journalists, we will rally behind some broader issues,” such as pro-union and working families legislation.
“Our journalists cannot personally participate in some of these fights,” Gordon said. “In many cases they can’t even sign petitions. But they understand why we must be involved in certain battles.”
In California, both the Pacific Guild’s Executive Committee and its Representative Assembly voted in January to endorse the “Disclose Act,” which would require political advertisements to make it clear who’s paying for them.
The local also endorsed a bill to improve reporters’ access to state prison inmates, a means of improving the system’s accountability. As Rebecca Rosen Lum, a freelance member of the local, reported on FogCityJournal.com, “The prisons have been operating virtually free from public scrutiny,” despite costing taxpayers nearly $10 billion annually.
“Our union recognizes the professional-ethics issues that political involvement raises for journalists,” said Richard Knee, a freelance writer who is on the local’s legislative committee, a group mainly comprising members who aren’t journalists.
“But what held sway at the recent EC/RA meeting was the argument that we need to speak out on matters with sunshine and/or First Amendment implications because they directly affect our ability to do our job,” Knee said.