‘Deseret News’ bigotry

by Bob Henline in The Straight Line | 0 comments

In my last column I discussed the Midvale City Council District 3 race between Alan Anderson and Paul Hunt. This race has garnered quite a bit of media attention over the past few weeks, primarily due to the recent exposure of Paul Hunt as a criminal. Hunt pleaded guilty to misappropriating funds from his previous employer, a plea bargain that reduced the felony charge to a misdemeanor and included two years of probation, suspended jail time and more than $30,000 in restitution. In the six months since the sentence, he’s managed to repay about $200, according to Fox 13.

This story has been picked up by The Salt Lake Tribune, Fox 13 News, Deseret News, and our own QSaltLake. KSL has also picked up their sister company’s story on their website. The Deseret News/KSL story is the one that has earned my ire this week. The story turns what, in my opinion, is a legitimate question regarding the trustworthiness of a would-be public official into a question of voter tolerance. “The winner in the upcoming City Council race in Midvale’s District 3 may be based on how tolerant voters are of each candidate’s background.”

The story explains Hunt’s plea and conviction and then inserts this little gem: “For Alan C. Anderson, the other candidate in the race, the potential liability is being gay.”

I understand that the world (and Utah) is full of close-minded bigots and that regardless of how much we try to open their eyes, there will always be people walking around with their heads lodged firmly up their asses. While I should probably not be surprised, the tone of the Deseret News piece left me shocked.

How can a “mainstream” news publication compare a criminal conviction to sexual orientation? Yes, Alan Anderson is gay. Big deal. He’s also a man that has spent the greater part of his life in service to his community and his fellow human beings. Paul Hunt stole money from his former employer. The initial charge was for more than $130,000 but his plea bargain settled it to $31,000. Yet in the eyes of Deseret News these are worthy comparisons to draw. Alan Anderson’s orientation is not a choice; it’s the way he was born. Paul Hunt made the choice to steal – and he got caught. How are these, in any way, related?

It seems to me that our media outlets have a responsibility that Deseret News has chosen to ignore, a responsibility to provide fair and accurate reporting of issues. There is no “issue” with Alan Anderson being a gay man. It has no relevance in the context of this election, and it certainly doesn’t warrant a comparison to deliberate criminal activity. Yet, here they are, attempting to create a story of the gay versus the criminal.

Is this just some weak attempt to sell papers or do the editors and publishers of Deseret News actually believe that being homosexual is on the same level as stealing? Regardless of the motivation, the manner in which this story was presented by Deseret News, and then by KSL, is completely inappropriate. Perhaps it’s time for these media outlets to get out of the news business and pursue their primary focus: LDS Church public relations.

By the time you read this, the election will have been decided by the voters of Midvale. We can hope that the electorate shows more sense than the news media and elects an honest man to represent them on Midvale’s City Council. In the meantime, I’m boycotting KSL and Deseret News. Damn, I’m going to miss those classifieds!