I see that my old paper, The Herald Journal in Logan, Utah, has gotten itself into some hot water by printing a paid same-sex wedding announcement. I served as a copy editor, a reporter and finally city editor at The Herald Journal from 2003 to 2005. You can read about the controversy here. I would say this rivals the backlash we received when we printed a story I wrote about gay Mormons in 2003. The story resulted in dozens of cancelled subscriptions and countless letters to the editor, but I ultimately won a national award for it. You can read that story by going here.
UPDATE: To read what Herald Journal managing editor Charlie McCollum has to say about all this, click on the comments below.
My old paper again stirs the pot in Utah
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John’s story on gay Mormons was one of the most well done and daring pieces of journalism The Herald Journal has published in my 13 years as editor. You would have to be familiar with Utah attitudes toward homosexuals to really appreciate the impact this story had on the local psyche … especially since the individuals profiled by John were products of the dominant Utah Mormon culture from fairly prominent local families.
Interestingly, John lost the entire electronic text of the article on the day before publication and had to rewrite it from scratch. He turned white when it became clear what had happened, but he managed to recollect himself and get the job done.
It should be noted this newspaper is neither pro- nor anti-gay. We are really just interested in getting relevant information out to the public, whether the public finds it all palatable or not.
Sounds like John deserves a raise! Keep stirring that chilli pot man, I’ll bring the sour cream and fritos.
Two pumps for John, and I don’t mean of the penile persuasion.