Letter backing Globe union spurs ethics questions
The union that represents reporters, photographers, and editors of The Boston Globe took an ethically questionable step by seeking the support of political leaders in the union's contract dispute with the newspaper, according to several media specialists.
The Boston Newspaper Guild Thursday released a letter to The New York Times Co., the Globe's parent, signed by 20 Massachusetts politicians, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Boston Herald reported. The letter called on Times Co. to end cost-cutting at the Globe, including job reductions.
The letter came a day after union members rejected a four-year contract offer that tied raises to revenue increases at the Globe. The guild opposed the exclusion of revenue from the paper's on line affiliate, Boston.com, to which guild members contribute.
The question of whether a newsroom union can seek the help of politicians without compromising members' independence was raised on a popular media web site by Mitchell Zuckoff, a Boston University journalism professor and former Globe reporter. In a posting on Romenesko , a blog hosted by the Poynter Institute, a non profit journalism education organization, Zuckoff wrote that unions soliciting help from politicians "was a textbook case of seeking favors from sources and subjects."
In an interview, Zuckoff said that the letter flies in the face of a "long standing journalistic principle" of avoiding conflicts of interest that compromise credibility. He added that he shared the concerns about the impact of cost-cutting on news gathering. But, he said, "I don't want to see the current crisis used to justify lowering the standards of journalists."
Dan Totten, the union's president, called Zuckoff's concerns "an extreme stretch." He said the political leaders neither asked nor expected anything in return from union members, nor would the members provide it.
Linda Foley , international president of the Newspaper Guild-CWA, parent of the union at the Globe, said guild locals often seek letters from political leaders to show community support.
The Globe, like much of the newspaper industry, is struggling with declining circulation and advertising. Earlier this week, Times Co. reported its third-quarter profit fell 39 percent from a year earlier, and revenue of the New England Media Group, which includes the Globe, fell 9 percent.
Totten said the letter was approved by the executive board shortly after the contract failed. "The only unethical action here is The New York Times Co. removing Boston.com revenues," he said.
Stephen Burgard, director of the Northeastern University School of Journalism, said that while labor unions often enlist the help of politicians, newsroom unions shouldn't.
"It's not a good precedent to be seeking the intervention of political leaders because reporters are eventually going to have to report on them," Burgard said.
Lou Ureneck, chairman of the Boston University journalism department agreed. "It's not exactly fixing a parking ticket, but it's asking for help, and might even be construed as asking a favor."
Robert Gavin can be reached at rgavin@globe.com. 
