The Gazettes Lose a Dozen Staffers and Face a Boycott After Banning Positive Coverage of Gays and Abortion Rights
BY STEVEN T. JONES
A policy prohibiting balanced coverage of homosexual or abortion issues has caused an exodus of employees from Gazette Publications, a string of newspapers started in the last few months by millionaire developer David Weyrich.
At least 12 people working for the various Gazettes have resigned in protest over a just-announced policy of refusing to run advertisements or editorial coverage that portrays homosexuality or abortion in a positive light.
"We will not accept any advertising or editorial in those areas," said Todd Hansen, the chief operating officer for the Gazettes and Weyrich's right-hand man in other business ventures.
He said the papers will continue to publish viewpoints and advertisements that condemn homosexuality and abortion: "My policy is that the pro-life position will be in the paper."
The policy has angered many in the communities served by the Gazettes and prompted calls for a boycott. But the policy has been most shocking to the journalists who work for the papers. They all vehemently deny Hansen's publicly stated contention that Gazette employees knew of the policy.
"They put all the employees under the umbrella of their opinion," said Therese Vannier, a SLO Gazette media consultant and photographer who quit over the issue. "We didn't know about this, but they tried to make it seem like I have the same opinion they had."
"This is an issue that goes way beyond anything about homosexuality," said Ron Bast, who resigned as editor of Atascadero Gazette over the issue. "This is about journalistic ethics."
"My definition of community is different than theirs. I thought I was doing community journalism," said Kathy Johnston, a SLO Gazette reporter who resigned in protest. "As far as I'm concerned, they can do what they want, but I don't know who's going to be working for them."
Sources say the Gazettes have also lost advertisers over the issue and that their phones have been jammed with people demanding to be taken off their mailing list. The five papers are mailed free to each home in the communities they serve,
covering about 126,000 households.
Although Hansen acknowledged the policy is causing the Gazettes to lose employees, advertisers, and readers, he made it clear that nothing will alter the policy.
"We are not going to change our philosophy," Hansen said.
That philosophy is being outlined in an open letter that David and Mary Weyrich are including on the front pages of each Gazette today, according to a knowledgeable source.
"This issue has everything to do with integrity and nothing to do with journalistic ethics, the picture painted with a broad brush over the last week or so in other media. Call us old-fashioned but it hasn't been too many years since our professed beliefs were the accepted norm in America. Society has changed to the detriment, we believe, of us all as a people. Truth does not change...we have not changed," reads a portion of the draft statement furnished to New Times.
"We strongly believe in the family, as God defines it, and we are strong supporters of the sanctity of life. These are not always popular beliefs in our society today."
The controversy is ironic for the Gazettes, a chain of newspapers designed to be noncontroversial, to focus on "positive" news even when covering hot topics like the Copelands’ proposed development in SLO.
Genesis
The current problems began in Atascadero after David and Mary Weyrich, who are religious conservatives and big supporters of Catholic causes, noticed their paper contained a calendar listing for meetings of the group Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays, or PFLAG.
Despite assurances that each paper would be autonomous and have editorial freedom, Hansen ordered the listing removed from the paper. He then refused to run a letter to the editor criticizing the decision and ordered all items that touch on the issues of homosexuality and abortion be cleared through him.
As word of the budding controversy began to leak out of the organization, Atascadero Gazette publisher Steve Martin last week met with Hansen to clarify the paper's policy and autonomy.
Not satisfied with the new direction of the paper, Martin resigned Feb. 15. Two days later Hansen met with editor Ron Bast, who resigned afterward, as did reporter Anne Quinn, who had resigned from the Atascadero News last July over issues of editorial integrity.
"I quit the Atascadero News for the same reason [she alleges that the publisher stepped in after she tried to write an article about a developer who is friends with the publisher], and when I was hired at the Gazette I was told it wasn't an issue," Quinn said. "I believe that a newspaper has to stay neutral, and they crossed the line and didn't want to be neutral anymore. They wanted to take a side."
Alerted by the resigning employees, both the Tribune and KSBY jumped on the story. Hansen's appearance on television fueled the flames of the controversy when he claimed employees already knew of the policy, which he outlined publicly for the first time.
"We feel everyone has their rights, as we have our own right. Our right is to promote positive, family-driven values. Some don't fit, and we don't have to run them in our paper," Hansen told KSBY.
"We saw Todd Hansen on TV last night and heard what he had to say, and we were absolutely astounded," said SLO Gazette editor Michael Ray, noting that Gazette employees were not aware of the policy.
The day after KSBY broke the story, there was an already-scheduled meeting of the Central Coast Press Club, when area journalists gather to discuss issues. SLO Gazette publisher Steve Owens was on the panel, ensuring this issue would dominate the hour-long discussion.
"I'm a reporter at the San Luis Obispo Gazette who didn't know this policy was in place," Cheryl Lyons declared at the meeting. When asked what she would do about it, she said, "I'm still grappling with that." On Tuesday, Lyons resigned.
Owens repeatedly proclaimed that his paper was "neutral" and would avoid any coverage of homosexuality or abortion issues. But after his definition of neutral was challenged, and after Hansen, who was at the meeting, reiterated the Gazette policy of including the pro-life position in the papers, Owens was forced to admit there was a problem.
"We have some philosophical differences at this point," said Owens, later adding, "I will be sitting down with David and Todd. We will be hammering out a program that is acceptable to everyone."
After meeting with Hansen and Weyrich on Monday, sources at the Gazette said the impasse remains. And the Weyrichs' letter to readers makes it clear that the policy of one-sided coverage of abortion and homosexual issues will remain.
Exodus
With the policy firmly in place, the Gazettes have seen an exodus of employees, just as they were launching new papers in Five Cities and Los Osos as well as real estate and entertainment sections that would run in all five papers.
Atascadero Gazette reporter Emily Jagger joined Martin, Bast, and Quinn, writing in her resignation letter, "I can no longer work in an environment that is intolerant of certain people, lifestyles, and choices. Where will it end?"
Los Osos columnist Ann Calhoun quit even before that paper could debut. In San Luis Obispo, reporters Johnston and media consultant Vannier called it quits, as did columnist Dave Congalton, who writes about pets, and environmental columnist Pat Veesart of the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County.
"The revelation of the Gazette's homophobic policy makes it impossible for ECOSLO to help a paper that works to exclude gays and lesbians," Veesart said.
"I'm out," Congalton announced on Friday. "I'm in a tough position because I have to choose between my compassion for animals and my compassion for humans. In my mind, it was a no-brainer."
Both Veesart and Congalton applauded the employees who are making a stand on principle.
"Anybody serious about journalism had to walk," Congalton said.
"I've got to applaud all the Gazette employees who walked over this. It's really tough to back your principles up with your wallet," Veesart said.
In fact, it’s so tough that even as SLO Gazette managing editor Michael Ray criticized the new policy, he said that he couldn't afford to quit over the issue.
"If I weren't in debt, I would probably walk over this," Ray said on Friday.
Then on Tuesday, Ray reversed his stance, saying he will resign after realizing that he would be losing the editorial freedom he has enjoyed.
"As I understood it then [Friday], the San Luis Obispo Gazette would be allowed to continue its operations with the same degree of autonomy that we had enjoyed during our first 18 weeks. But that is no longer the case, as you'll see in the letter from the Weyrichs that will be published in Thursday's Gazettes," Ray said.
Also turning up the heat on the Gazettes are PFLAG and other community groups opposed to the policy, who held a protest in San Luis Obispo on Tuesday urging a full boycott of both the Gazettes and Weyrich's other business ventures, including Martin & Weyrich Winery in Paso Robles.
"We are asking for community support to let Weyrich know we won't stand for this," said Becky Jorgeson, president of the area PFLAG chapter. "We're supporting the gay community and letting Weyrich know his policy is wrong and will not stand. This will not be our last protest."
Revelations
During the Central Coast Press Club meeting, Cal Poly journalism professor Randy Murray framed the issue as a matter of freedom of the press versus social responsibility.
"He doesn't have to be socially responsible," Murray said.
While Murray called Weyrich's policy "reprehensible," he argued that the First Amendment allows publishers to hold reprehensible views and to publish them in their newspaper or otherwise lets them dictate editorial coverage.
"We have a right to control the content of our papers," Hansen agreed.
That's true, but it also butts up against the concept of editorial integrity. For most journalists, being told by the owners or business side of the newspaper what to cover or how to cover it violates a basic journalistic principle.
As Atascadero's Emily Jagger wrote in her resignation letter, she was "very disappointed that half the staff had to resign from jobs they loved, in order to save their journalistic values."
Hansen and Weyrich, who have no newspaper publishing experience, appear to have little understanding of the editorial integrity concept and seemed caught off guard by the strong reaction from their staff.
"This guy is totally clueless," Bast said of Hansen.
Hansen said he cares less about upholding accepted journalistic principles than with staying true to his religious values and noted, "People have a choice to work where they want to work."
What has really rankled many Gazette journalists is the feeling that they were tricked. Many Gazette journalists knew of Weyrich's conservative politics before taking the job. Although few of them met the man before going to work for him, they say they received assurances through intermediaries that Weyrich’s views would not color the editorial coverage.
The question now is whether the public, both advertisers and readers, will take a walk as well.
"To me, this gets down to the practical stuff," said Bob Hervey of PFLAG. "This policy is politically incorrect, and it is economically foolish."
Others in the community go further, claiming they will actively work to either change the Gazette policy or force Weyrich to shut down the business. They urge direct action over passive opposition.
"We will hurt him where he lives," Jorgeson said. "This will not stand."
She said PFLAG and other groups will write letters to all Gazette advertisers and other associates of Weyrich, letting them know they will boycott his supporters.
John Klimala of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of the Central Coast said changing the Gazettes’ policy "will really depend on how much economic pressure we can put on him."
David the Goliath
Those who believe they can economically squeeze Weyrich into submission face an uphill battle.
The barrel-chested publisher has been heard to proclaim, only half in jest, that he wants to be known as a modern-day version of another grandiose newspaper man from the North County: William Randolph Hearst. And, at least on the Central Coast, he appears to have the money to do it.
By mailing his papers unsolicited to every home, business, and post office box, Weyrich’s papers have a circulation three times that of the Tribune or New Times. He has in a few months become a major player on the local journalism scene.
Weyrich's main source of wealth came from the 1998 sale of Martin Media–the billboard company he co-owned with brother-in-law Tom Martin–for $610 million.
Since then, Weyrich has aggressively made his mark on the county: taking control of Martin & Weyrich Winery, buying land for development projects, making big contributions to nonprofits and Catholic organizations, and launching his media empire.
In addition to opening five Gazettes in San Luis Obispo County, the company last year announced that it would be buying a printing press, a multimillion-dollar purchase.
But the main focus of Weyrich's efforts has been in real estate development through companies he controls, including Weyrich Development Co. Inc., Weyrich-Pahler Co. LLC, Martin-Weyrich Winery LLC, and Tank Farm Properties LLC, which Weyrich formed last month to do development projects in San Luis Obispo, including buying an $800,000 property three weeks ago.
Among the development projects currently under way within the Weyrich empire are:
• The construction of 175 upscale homes on the east side of Paso Robles;
• A $10 million expansion of Martin & Weyrich Winery (to include a bed-and-breakfast inn);
• The conversion of 150 acres of historic pasture lands into vineyards north San Luis Obispo Country Club Estates (rumored to also include an 18-home housing development in the near future);
• Along with business partners David Crabtree and Steve Landaker, the $2.5 million redevelopment of Atascadero's historic Carlton Hotel (which includes a waiving of nearly $115,000 in fees normally paid by developers); and,
• A proposed big-box shopping center along U.S. 101 in Templeton. That's just the first project proposed for the 840-acre Santa Ysabel Ranch (straddling U.S. 101 between Templeton and Paso Robles), which the Weyrichs bought for about $8 million last year.
The Weyrichs have always been aggressive promoters of their conservative religious values, starting with the series of Martin Media billboards that read "The Family That Prays Together Stays Together."
Last month, Mary Martin used a California Newspaper Publishers Association mailing list to solicit support from California newspapers for her nationwide "Campaign of Compassion."
Although the solicitation made no reference to the campaign's anti-abortion bent, it requested the papers run a "public service display ad" for Care Net, which just happens to be an anti-abortion pregnancy counseling network supported by the Weyrichs whose ads run prominently in each Gazette.
The Weyrichs have also begun to flex their muscle in local political races. As of Jan. 22 Weyrich had given $6,750 to local political causes and candidates, more than any other individual in the county, with almost all of that going to support the re-election of Supervisor Mike Ryan. Final pre-election campaign statements are due today, with Weyrich's total likely to rise.
But much of his power comes from his largesse. Weyrich has given handsomely to Cuesta College, to local food supplier Loaves and Fishes, and a reported $1.25 million to SLO's Mission College Preparatory High School, which gets ample coverage in the SLO Gazette.
In addition, his plans to resurrect the Carlton Hotel have scored big points with the Atascadero business community, which has long been seen as a linchpin for redeveloping that city’s downtown.
Lamentations
Despite Hansen's declaration last week that "We are not going to change our philosophy," it appears that the Gazettes did soften their hard line a little on Tuesday.
"We will accept any letters to the editor," Hansen said, specifically noting that the Gazettes will even run letters promoting homosexuality and abortion. "Everyone has a right to speak."
Although Hansen specifically said Friday that the Gazettes would not run such letters, he tried to characterize that as a misunderstanding, saying the Gazettes have always had an open letters-to-the-editor policy.
"That is the community's forum," he said.
When it was pointed out that the Gazettes have weeded out pro-choice and anti-homophobia letters in the past–including a letter marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade in SLO and one criticizing the exclusion of PFLAG listings in Atascadero–he said those were not dictated by Gazette policy.
"We are very disturbed by the tone of what's going on at this newspaper. If this is a community newspaper, it ought to reflect the views of the community, not just the owners," said Heather Mendel of Planned Parenthood, whose pro-choice piece was censored by the Gazette. "We will not have anything to do with this paper unless there is a drastic change in policy."
Yet the Gazette's latest free-expression policy still doesn't extend to columnists, editors, or reporters, said Hansen, who perceives their output to be reflections of the newspaper ownership.
As such, columnist Teresa Mariani just last week had a column she had written about Prop. 22, which seeks to reaffirm California's refusal to recognize gay marriages, pulled from both the SLO and Paso Robles Gazettes.
"I was hoping to keep writing whatever it was I want to write," Mariani said.
For now, that hope runs counter to official policy at the Gazettes. Æ
Steven T. Jones is a New Times staff writer.