Posted on 03/15/2010 10:13:47 AM PDT by Colofornian
The Deseret News has a fascinating story about how in 2002 it received word and verified that former Utah House Majority Leader Kevin Garn’s once hot-tubbed in the nude with a 15-year-old girl, Cheryl Maher, when the politician was about twice her age. Yet, even though Garn was a candidate for U.S. Congress at the time, the Des News decided it wasn’t a story worth reporting. Read
Let’s see, Garn was a candidate for high federal office, thousands of voters were about to make up their minds on whether he should represent them in Congress. The candidate had deliberately thrust himself into the public eye by his political ambition. It’s the responsibility and trust of the press to inform the public. The candidate admits to taking a minor to a public place and hot-tubbing in the nude with her. Of course it’s news. The Deseret News editors reject that bit of information, yet probably published thousands of words that Garn’s campaign team had fed the press for months, as more than one critic has mentioned.
I agree with Allison Barlow Hess, president of Utah SPJ (I am a board member) that the Des News, although making a bad call, at least followed the right process: Reporter wrote story, it went through the chain of command, and editors killed it. Good reporters argue with editors, but they follow their judgment. I am amazed though, that the two top editors at the Des News don’t even recall the story being discussed. That makes me wonder how seriously it was debated.
And some of the excuses in the story by the editors are baffling. 1) It would unduly influence the election? Yeah, I agree, but why should a newspaper care if the story is solid? 2) That “the woman was kind of a flake.” Which is a bigger issue? That’s she’s a so-called flake or telling the truth?
This was a not a hard call in 2002. The Des News — and any other newspaper which had the accusation of the hot-tubbing incident and Garn’s admission that it was true and spiked the news — let down their readers.
From the column: And some of the excuses in the story by the editors are baffling. 1) It would unduly influence the election? Yeah, I agree, but why should a newspaper care if the story is solid? 2) That “the woman was kind of a flake.” Which is a bigger issue? That’s she’s a so-called flake or telling the truth?
Reason #2 makes no sense at all at the time. Why? Because Garn wasn't disputing the story. Oh, sure, if there's a "flaky" story, much more investigation would need to be invested. But the Deseret News newspaper itself was saying Garn was "confessing" and "crying" when he came into their offices:
In the link imbedded in the story above (to the March 12 Deseret News article), reporter Jerry Spangler (no longer with the News) "and [political editor Bob] Bernick said Garn came into the Deseret News offices and met with them and several editors. "I remember him crying," and confessing what happened, Spangler said.
The managing editor, Rick Hall, still with Deseret News said: "It was last-minute — was it coming from the other camp? There wasn't time to verify it," he said.
Wow! Spangler and Hall can't even get their "cover" straight between them.
Hall now says "There wasn't time to verify it." Spangler says Garn came in "confessing" and was therefore verifying it!
Hall now says "was it coming from the other camp?" and Spangler says Garn was "crying" --not necessarily contending that the other side was engaging in low politicking.
The Deseret News managing editor needs to resign immediately! His excuses:
(1) that he doesn't remember it ("While he can't remember it..." says the Deseret News)
(2) that he does remember it -- at least enough to know it was last minute and therefore unverifiable -- all as Garn was sitting in their offices verifying it...
(3) and that despite Garn's confession, he still didn't know the source of the story...
...leaves a sad but despicable tracing of a newspaper cover-up that doesn't even make sense after giving them a hearing to explain themselves!
Right. We wouldn’t want to publish the story and thereby influence the outcome of the election. We’ll just wait until he gets to Congress and continues with his bad behavior, getting him an investigation by the Ethics Committee, resulting in him resigning his position and requiring another election to replace him. Now that really makes sense! [/sarc]
Someone said on an earlier thread that Garn was her mentor at a much earlier age. If so, then this story is even worse than what’s being reported. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But if she was “flaky,” then possibly Garn was partly responsible.
GOOOOOORRRRRNNN. Oh look, there’s an elk in the garden.
I believe it was reported he was her Sunday school teacher back to the 4th grade.
Speshall group ???
Gets a pass ???
(1) He was her Lds 4th grade Sunday School teacher [perceived moral authority]
(2) He hired her for a job 4 or 5 years later, when she turned 14 (or 13)...and she was still employed at the time of the hot tubbing [real authority that had she been 18, may have qualified as sexual harassment...as it was, it went much further than that -- with her being just-turned 15]
Pot meet kettle.
Hey, this all 25 years after the scandal took place and 8 years after it could have gone public with Garn running from office. To do a comparable contrast, you'd need to ask this same question in at least the year 2016 -- if, that is, much more hasn't come out about Obama in that time frame.
The reality is that the MSM has covered up Obama's history; and the local Utah media covered up Garn's history. (They all smell -- just likely different motivations involved)
So, Garn was presumably abusing his authority as an LDS elder or bishop, or whatever his position in the church, to seduce her.
He certainly built up trust as her Sunday School teacher. And he certainly abused authority as her boss.
Maher says Garn sought "repentance" in the church by 1993 -- 8 years after; yet Maher says the Lds church didn't approach her with offers of solace, help or counseling.
and by 17 years after, newspapers knew, including the Deseret News -- owned by the same church that "calls" the same bishops giving Garn "spiritual counsel." And then spiked the story.
The media covered up the reports of John Edwards’ affair to keep him viable in the 2008 campaign.
They ran the rumors of John McCain having an affair with a lobbyist.
Mark Halperin defended this. Then again he also wrote an internal memo that Bush and Kerry were both lying in 2004 but that there was too much at stake and they didn’t need to take both candidates to task over it.
I want to know if the story would have been spiked if Garn was...say...Methodist instead of LDS.
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