Things are getting a mite testy over at the
Deseret News.
Nine reporters and an intern at Salt Lake's other newspaper mounted a "byline strike" - in other words, removed their names from the stories they filed - in Tuesday's paper, in protest over the demotion of two editors and a change in policy that is turning the
D-News into a Mormon-centric publication.
The reporters will not be punished for their insolence, the
D-News' managing editor Rick Hall
told the
Tribune's Paul Beebe. "If they want to express themselves that way, they certainly can," Hall said.
Hall and the
D-News' editor, Joe Cannon, reassigned two editors - deputy managing editor Chuck Gates (who will now be a "special writer," whatever that means) and business editor Julianne Basinger, who will join the copy desk - who criticized Cannon's drive to turn the LDS Church-owned paper into a niche publication aimed at Mormons.
(Obligatory disclaimer:
The Deseret News and
The Salt Lake Tribune share advertising, printing and circulation operations.)
For people outside the news business, a "byline strike" may seem like a toothless protest - and, admittedly, it is. Within journalism circles, it's a major diss. In the end, the only thing a journalist has to claim credibility is his or her good name. Withholding that good name is the ultimate vote of no-confidence in your superiors.
Labels: Deseret News, journalism, LDS
