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Outing case: Cries of 'hypocrite' for pastor, magazine
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A Minneapolis gay magazine story allegedly "outing" a minister based on comments he made during a therapy session is generating a flood of controversy, both about the minister and the magazine's reporting techniques.
Lavender Magazine published an article Friday saying that the Rev. Tom Brock, senior pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in north Minneapolis and an outspoken critic of gays, has attended a support group for men struggling with same-sex attractions. The magazine said its reporter, John Townsend, joined the group undercover after getting a tip that Brock was a member.
Brock, who has been on a leave of absence since the magazine was published, was not available for comment. Repeated calls to the church were not returned.
When the magazine hit the newsstands, the story went viral on gay and lesbian Internet sites, with people expressing everything from glee to outrage that a man who has railed against homosexuality in his sermons and weekly radio and cable TV shows had been caught practicing what he preaches against.
But by midweek, the mood had started to shift. For starters, critics pointed out that the magazine did not have a direct quote from Brock saying that he had engaged in homosexual acts. The article implied that was the case by quoting him as saying that while on a preaching mission to Slovakia he "fell into temptation," but did not explain what that meant.
In addition, people started raising questions about whether the ends justified the means. Confidentiality is the bedrock of therapy, and even some gay and lesbian activists expressed concerns that the magazine's breach of privacy might keep people from getting therapy for fear of having their personal issues made public.
RE-ACT, the official blog of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, was crackling with controversy Wednesday afternoon. "Personally, I find the ethics of the reporting suspect," wrote Michael R. Triplett, the person who oversees the blog.
The vast majority of people responding to his comments agreed. One wrote that whatever hypocrisy there was in Brock attending the support group "is outweighed by the hypocrisy of a reporter anonymously attending a self-help group with the intention of disclosing in detail what goes on at the meeting."
Over the line
Jane Kirtley, the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota, said the magazine crossed the line.
"I'm a believer that the use of undercover reporting should be reserved only for the most important stories that you can't get any other way," she said.
One of the dangers of undercover reporting is the loss of credibility, she said. "Whenever you go undercover, you raise the question with the public: If you were prepared to misrepresent yourself to get the story, how can we be sure that the story is accurate?"
The founder, president and CEO of the magazine, Stephen Rocheford, defended its actions and said that people need not fear the magazine.
"We have a policy here that we don't 'out' people, with one exception: public figures who make [anti-gay] pronouncements and then turn out to be homosexuals," he said.
He also said that the magazine deemed that the comments Brock made to the self-help group were not protected by privacy because the group, part of a program called Courage that operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, "is not a real therapy session."
"It's a Catholic perversion of an honest 12-step program," he said.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the Rev. Tom Parrish, executive pastor of Hope Lutheran Church, indicated that Brock probably would not lose his job over the incident.
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