Temptation Rocks Salt Lake Newsroom

8/10/2019 Temptation Rocks Salt Lake Newsroom

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Temptation rocks Salt Lake newsroomOne newsroom paid the price for reporters' bad decisions.Quill MagazineSociety of Professional Journalistshttps://www.spj.org/quill_issue.asp?REF=513

By Joel CampbellWhen the story of 14-year- old Elizabeth Smarts abduction became national news in June2002, Connie Coyne knew the dangers. Coyne, the reader advocate for The Salt LakeTribune, once worked in Florida, the home base for the National Enquirer. Soon after theSmart kidnapping, she said she warned the reporters covering the story Kevin Canteraand Michael Vigh about the tabloids penchant for coming to town with checkbook inhand to tempt reporters.

Her warnings were prescient. Ten months later, in April 2003, it became national newswhen The Tribune revealed that Cantera and Vigh had given information to the Enquirerfor a payment of $20,000.

Within days, their reporting careers ended. Tribune Editor James E. Jay Shelledyresigned while the newsroom reeled from the revelation. The Tribune and the Enquirer

printed rare retractions, and eventually Vigh and Cantera unmasked their confidentialsources to an investigating attorney.

Overshadowed by Jayson Blairs ethical breaches at The Ne w York Times, the storyquickly faded. And now, months later, the hand wringing about the Enquirer fiasco hasturned to introspection.

THE TEMPTATION Vigh and Cantera were rising stars at The Tribune. As the Elizabeth Smart story broke,they had come from a whirlwind of covering Olympic security issues. They hadcultivated sources who were willing to talk about the ongoing Smart investigation.

Colleagues at The Tribune suggested they were ahead of every other news source andshould consider book deals. She lledy took a personal interest in Vigh and Canteras workand pushed them. Shelledy said he told the pair to stay ahead of the pack and keep

digging

They were aggressive, good, solid, accurate, had good positive attitudes and self -starting. They had done great work since the first when Elizabeth Smart was taken fromher home, Shelledy said. At the time, there wasnt a single correction about anythingthey wrote about this story. You had no early warnings that anything was going to goamiss.
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National media pressured Vigh and Cantera to act as sources. Cantera and Vigh madefrequent appearances on CNN and other news shows.

Vigh and Cantera made very good TV showings, said Shelledy. They had goodcamera presence. They were good, and I think it went to their heads. ... They were

supplying information as a lot of papers allow.

Cantera said he and Vigh felt they were pulling more than their fair share of front-pageheadlines and breaking-news stories for The Tribune during this period. He admits therewas plenty of chest-thumping as they compared their work to others in the newsroom. Atone point, NBC offered Cantera a $500-a-day deal to be an on-air analyst. Shelledy shotdown the deal. Soon afterward, National Enquirer reporter Alan Butterfield invited thetwo reporters to dinner.

(The NBC deal) was on my mind when I sat down with Butterfield, Cantera said. I feltI was under-rewarded and under- appreciated.

CHECKBOOK JOURNALISM Butterfield initially offered the reporters $100,000 to be sources for his story. Afterseveral rounds of beers and a four-hour dinner at a restaurant, the price was set at$20,000. Cantera considered the money akin to a consulting fee. They later told editorsthey only provided a road map for the story.

Cantera said Butter field told them that if their information wasnt corroborated it wouldnever appear in print and there would be no payment. Based on that comment, Cantera

believes he and Vigh were not the sole sources for the Enquirer story.

Butterfield followed the first meeting with at least one phone call. Cantera later learnedthat he had secretly recorded their conversations.

The Enquirer story appeared July 2, 2002, under the headline: Utah Cops: Secret DiaryExposes Family Sex Ring. It said that the tabloid had uncovered a shocking gay sexscandal involving her father, Edward, and two uncles.

Although difficult to prove, many linked the story to a decline in public participation inthe search to find Elizabeth Smart. The Utah media passed on printing and airing much ofthe information. Vighs and Canteras deal with the Enquirer remained secret for nearlyeight months.

When Elizabeth was found in a Salt Lake suburb in March 2003, the Smart family hiredUtah media lawyer Randy Dryer. They wanted to stop information leaks as the trial of the

pair accused of kidnapping Elizabeth grew closer.

Dryer, who frequently defends Utah reporters against legal action, learned about the dealVigh and Cantera made with the Enquirer and asked them to divulge their sources. Hewas looking for law enforcement leaks. He said if the reporters didnt turn over their


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police sources, he was going to tell their editor that they took money from the Enquirer.Cantera and Vigh decided to resign and take their secret with them.

THE PERFECT STORM It was April 18 the Thursday before Easter. Shelledy had just driven 800 miles to a

mountain cabin in northern Idaho when he got the phone call that would stir a smallwhirlwind into what Shelledy now calls the perfect storm.

On the other end of line, Tribune Managing Editor Tim Fitzpatrick said that reportersVigh and Cantera, who were in his office, had just asked to resign but would not say why.Shelledy told Fitzpatrick to put the pair on the phone.

I said yes you are (going to tell). I reached out over the phone and grabbed them.Youre going to tell, and youre going to tell in the seal of confession, Shelledy told agroup of editors in June at the American Press Institute in Reston, Va.

The two eventually acquiesced and told Shelled y that an attorney for Elizabeth Smartsfamily had contacted them.

Shelledy was incredulous when he heard the story.

I was really hell bent. I cant believe you did this, I (Shelledy) said.

The reporters said all they did was confirm or deny information and provide eight or ninenames of people in the Police Department. Their primary confidential sources were notamong the names given to the Enquirer, Shelledy said he was told. He believed them.

When they first offered to resign, Shelledy said he kep t their resignations on the tableto help protect the papers sources. Tribune editors told them the paper had an interest inkeeping their sources and notes confidential. Shelledy also believed the reporters wereworth rehabilitation.

A COMPETITIVE MISCALCULATION Shelledy was soon back on the road to Salt Lake City from his mountain retreat. ByMonday, April 21, he was in his office talking to Vigh, Cantera and Tribune attorneyMichael OBrien. Shelledy resisted prompting from top editors to print a stor y about thereporters disclosure. He said he needed more information. He also didnt want theDeseret Morning News to get the story first.

I was adamant that we would break our own story, he said. The problem with doing astory at that time was that the Smart Family was tied to the Deseret News, which was ourchief rival.

One of Elizabeth Smarts uncles, Tom Smart, also was chief photographer at the News.Shelledy worried that the coziness between the News, which had recently changed to a


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morning publication competing head-to-head with The Tribune, and the Smart familyconnection would mean the News would have a more complete story.

His animosity toward the Deseret Morning News had also been stoked by journalisticclashes between The Tribune and its owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints. The sentiment had been punctuated during a protracted battle with the News toallow the afternoon News to switch to morning publication.

Both papers are partners in a decades-old joint operating agreement, but former Tribuneowners had never agreed to allow the News to exercise a clause to publish in themorning. As part of that battle, Shelledy believed that the News helped orchestrate TheTribunes sale from AT&T to MediaNews Group. Since taking owner ship, MediaNewsGroup CEO Dean Singleton allowed the Deseret News to publish in the morning.Meanwhile, the former owners of the Tribune, the McCarthy family, have beenattempting to buy back the newspaper since its sale to MediaNews.

Everybody would have said in my mind the only reason you are doing this is because the Deseret News was going to out you, Shelledy said. He later admitted it wasunwise to let his concerns about the competition drive his decision.

In the meantime, Dryer also was attempting to settle with the Enquirer. He had discusseda retraction with them, but they were waiting to finalize the agreement until The Tribunesorted out its position with its reporters.

THE FIRESTORM Worried about his rival, Shelledy decided on an alternative to a reported news story. He

penned a Sunday column that he knew wouldnt have to pass the papers attorney review

and didnt require an interview with the Smarts. He did, however, give a copy to Vighand Cantera. The two reporters signed it to certify its accuracy.

The column appeared in The Sunday Tribune on April 27 10 days after Shelledy hadfirst learned of the Enquirer deal. It set off a firestorm among Tribune staffers. In thecolumn, Shelledy was short on details about the pairs discipline and didnt disclose howmuch money theyd taken. He did say the reporters would be punished with a years

probation and prohibited from working as consultants on any Smart kidnapping book,movie or television project.

Some Tribune staffers had heard rumors about the Sunday column and got up early toread the paper. Phone calls between upset reporters filled Sunday morning. By thatafternoon, The Associated Press and Reuters wires services released national stories.

The column also angered the Smart family and Dryer, who felt they had been negotiatingsome resolution short of public disclosure with The Tribunes attorney.

In the Page A2 piece, Shelledy laid out his reasons for keeping the pair.


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Strictly speaking , talking to the National Enquirer or others of like ilk, in and of itself, isneither illegal nor unethical. Rather, it is akin to drinking water out of a toilet bowl dumb, distasteful and, when observed, embarrassing, Shelledy wrote.

THE FALLOUT

By Monday morning, it was evident Shelledy had poorly gauged the velocity of thegathering storm. Staff meetings and informal gatherings filled the morning. At a mid-morning staff meeting, Shelledy announced an independent investigation, and staffers

began circulating the idea of a signed statement addressed to readers. It eventually ranlater that week.

The column, in turn, resulted in a retraction demand from the Enquirer. The irony wasntlost on Salt Lake radio talk show hosts, who said it is really a bad day when The NationalEnquirer asks The Salt Lake Tribune for a retraction.

On Tuesday, April 29, only five minutes before Singleton was to deliver a speech to the

Newspaper Association of Americas Seattle convention, he received two unsettling phone calls.

First, Shelledy called to say that Vigh and Cantera couldnt stand by their earlierstatements. He said he had fired them on the spot. He didnt go into details.

The second call came from a reporter with the Deseret Morning News who told Singletonthe Enquirer had tape recordings that proved The Tribune reporters were the primarysources for the salacious tabloid story. The News reporter had heard only snippets of thetape.

Singleton said he felt ill and faint; he wanted to throw up. He called and gave a shortorder to his corporate editor in New Jersey to get on a plane for Salt Lake City. He thendelivered his speech to the nations top newspaper executives without hinting at theturmoil inside. He said he doesnt remember delivering the speech.

(The Tr ibune- Enquirer affair) was the worst breach of trust of my career, Singletonsaid later.

Shelledy never listened to the tapes. The Enquirer wanted the retraction in return forreleasing the tape to The Tribune, but Shelledy wouldnt deal. Based on reports about thetape which appeared in the News on Tuesday morning, Shelledy had called the pair into

his office and, based on their response, fired them.A NEWSROOM IN TURMOIL Shelledy said he knew pretty early in the process how things might turn out.

I had told my wife, I dont think we are going to survive this one, he said.


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By Wednesday, April 30, Shelledy had sequestered himself in his office. Staffers weretelling Singleton on the phone that he didnt want to deal with the crisis that surroundedthe Enquirer fiasco. Other thoughts crossed Shelledys mind.

The final part of the perfect storm was that I was getting very tired, he said. Being an

editor of an independent paper in (Utahs) quasi -theocracy is interesting from bothangles. Both sides think you are playing one to the other. And also it was time, frankly,to, it was just time. This thing had spun out of control. It was there by all sides comingtogether.

Singleton flew in to Salt Lake City on Wednesday afternoon. He met with reporters andeditors, and he said staffers told him they were looking for leadership and Shelledywasnt willing to address the problems.

Shelledy said that 75 percent of the newsroom supported him, but more than half ofeditors didnt. Singleton called it a crisis of confidence.

Throughout the day I was hearing this same drumbeat: We need to have new leadershipto have a fresh start, Singleton said. Some editors told Singleton they would leave the

paper if there wasnt a change at the top.

To Shelledys credit, Si ngleton said, he wrote his last column as an act of resignation.

The Tribune hit an iceberg, and I was at the helm, Shelledys column read. While theTribune is better constructed than the Titanic, we have taken on a considerable amount ofwater, and it will be a while before the credibility pumps right us.

DYSFUNCTIONAL NEWSROOM The Enquirer saga revealed something deeper about communication and management

problems at The Tribune.

One reporter described The Tribune staff as a dysfunctional family directed by benevolent daddy (Shelledy) who picked his favorites and made head -strong decisionsabout coverage. Many said that the newsroom culture may have helped push the youngreporters to the point where they would sell information and violate Tribune policy.

Shelledys mishandling of the scandal opened a door for those who didnt like hismanagement style. Shelledy said he had an increasing amount of baggage in the

newsroom. He had violated one of his own maxims that college presidents and editorsshould stay only 10 years; his term lasted 12 and, as his final column noted, a total of4,444 days.

While acknowledging some of his management faults, Shelledy remains unapologeticabout playing favorites.


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If you dont want your paper to be lethargic, you are going to end up playing favoritesfor aggressiveness, solid reporting, storytelling passion, diversity and good attitudes, hetold editors in June. That sort of favoritism can segue into perceptions of discrimination

pretty fast. You have got to be care ful.

He also warned to watch for newsroom factions who are waiting for editors to make a bigmistake.

He is also unapologetic about his initial desire to rehabilitate Vigh and Cantera, who hedescribed as swashbuckling. He felt they were redeemable, des pite the fact that theyviolated Tribune policy until information on the secret tapes appeared.

The management team reluctantly went along with Shelledys initial instinct to trust thereporters, his efforts to protect the reporters sources from being named, and his initialefforts to control the publication of the information to keep a tight circle of those whoknew about their actions.

He was sandbagged by his heart, said Ted Pease, professor and head of the Departmentof Communication at Utah State University.

While many staffers credit Shelledy with raising journalistic standards at the newspaper,not many appreciated his brash management style. Many saw that style as a characterflaw that influenced his last major decisions at The Tribune. Many were particularlyangered that he turned away suggestions from top editors to write a balanced news storyabout Vigh and Cantera, rather than publishing a column about the affair.

POLICY OUT OF STEP?

Some have used the ethical lapse to question other Tribune policies. For example, some pointed at possible violations of the newspapers rule on the use of confidential sourcesthat reads, Anonymous sources may not make direct or serious allegations ofwrongdoing in stories without the editors specific approval.

Restrained by legal agreement, Cantera was unwilling to discuss his sources. Editorsdirectly involved in the supervision of these stories were satisfied that the unnamedsources used by Vigh and Cantera were legitimate, in a position to know what they werespeaking about and acting independently of one another.

Media attorney Dryer finds it odd that editors arent required to know who sources are,

calling the policy out of step with those at many news organizations.ETHICAL BREACH OR BAD JUDGMENT? The same day Shelledy resigned, SPJ Ethics Chair Gary Hill e- mailed the Societys ethicslistserv questioning how Vigh and Cantera could have chosen to become sources in themiddle of an unfolding story. It turned out to be SPJs national Ethics Week .


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The question to me is not did they violate the (SPJ) Code of Ethics, but in how manydifferent ways, he wrote. They did not meet appropriate standards for sources, they didnot attempt to minimize harm, they did not respect this private familys right to privacy,(arguable given the public furor over the disappearance) and they did not actindependently, especially remain free of associations and activities that may compromise

integrity or damage credibility.

Shelledy thought enough of Canteras work that he got him on an ethics panel at SPJsregional conference in Cedar City, Utah this past April. The topic: coverage of theElizabeth Smart case. For those who see irony in that, Cantera balked against allegationsthat he breached ethics and dislikes comparisons to Jayson Blair. He admitted hismistake, but only attributes it to a lapse in judgment. He said his news reporting stands upto scrutiny.

(Journalism is a) field without a real set of rules. A lot is open to interpretation, he said.From the start, we werent told we had done anything unethical. I dont understand how

that could change. Suddenly, because of public relations, we are guilty of an ethical breach.

AFTERMATH In the aftermath of The Tribune imbroglio, Singleton personally apologized to the Smartfamily and community leaders. He asked longtime MediaNews editor Nancy Conway tolead The Tribune. When she began in June, Conway became the first female editor in TheSalt Lake Tribunes 132 -year history. Conway was executive editor of the MediaNewsGroup chains ANG Newspapers in northern California.

In addition, a team from the Poynter Institute spent time discussing ethical issues with

Tribune staff members. The paper, with the assistance of Poynter, created a media ethics policy for the newsroom. Singleton said The Tribunes previous policy had no teeth because of Shelledys arbitrary application.

Cantera, whos had a hard time finding any work since the fiasco, says hes been jaded bysome of the journalistic hypocrisy he sees. Having lived by the pen, his journalism careermay have ended by it.

I have got a real bad taste in my mouth about what journalism has done to me, Canterasaid. I got to see it from the other side.

The allegation that he and Vigh lied to editors is the most bitter for Cantera to swallow.He said he still stands by the version of events first presented to editors. He said he didntmislead them. Nonetheless, he says the allegations of lies have kept him from findinganother job except some work as a private investigator.

Cantera regrets releasing the names of sources. Within hours of their termination at TheTribune, they were talking to Dryer.


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We were two drowning men. Dryer was throwing us a life preserver. I shouldnt have letDryer intimidate me, Cant era said.

With few prospects for employment and thoughts about returning to graduate school tostudy history, Cantera said the $10,000 from the Enquirer was hardly worth the price hes

paid.

The Enquirer retracted parts of its story after Dryer forced its hand. Dryer also releasedtranscripts of information and sources from Vigh and Cantera to local prosecutorsrevealing police sources. Prosecutors never filed charges against any law enforcementofficer as a result of the information.

Inside the newsroom, veteran Tribune political reporter Dan Harrie sees a staff that hasendured much. A change in a centurylong ownership, reorganization of the newsroom,the Enquirer scandal, and the change in top editors has taken its toll.

They (staffers) have been remarkably resilient, Harrie said.

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Temptation Rocks Salt Lake Newsroom