Chicago Sun-Times Springfield Reporter Dave McKinney Quits - and the Media Reacts
Earlier today, Dave McKinney, the well-respected journalist who has been covering state politics for the Chicago Sun-Times for the past 19 years, announced that he was quitting the newspaper.
As you may remember from the previous post, in the beginning of October, McKinney co-wrote an article about an old lawsuit involving Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for Governor and former stakeholder in Wrapports, Sun-Times' current parent company. The Rauner campaign tried to quash it - as campaigns tend to do when something unflattering appears in the newspaper. But this time, it actually seemed to work. While the story run, McKinney was suspended for a week. And, last weekend, Sun-Times endorsed Rauner.
While Sun-Times publisher/EIC strongly denied that the company was punishing McKinney, the Springfield reporter hired an attorney to figure out what's going on. And, earlier today, we found out that he was pretty sure.
According to the letter to the Sun-Times upper management, which he posted online, the whole thing was actually worse than Crain's Chicago Business report suggested (emphasis mine).
Faced with the Rauner campaign’s ugly attack, Sun-Times Publisher and Editor Jim Kirk immediately told the Rauner campaign that this “assault” on my integrity “border[ed] on defamation” and represented “a low point in the campaign.” In other statements, Kirk called the campaign’s tactic “spurious” and “sexist.”
Yet despite such strong rebukes, two days later, I was yanked from my beat as I reported on a legislative hearing focusing on Gov. Pat Quinn’s botched Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. My reporting for that day was then removed inexplicably from the Sun-Times website.
I was told to go on leave, a kind of house arrest that lasted almost a week. It was pure hell. Kirk told me that his bosses were considering taking me away permanently from the political and Springfield beats. He offered up other potential jobs at the paper, all of which I considered demotions. Because of my unexplained absence from my beat, colleagues started calling, asking if I had been suspended. Or fired.
Through all this, I simply wanted to get back to my beat, but the paper wouldn’t let me. And, Carol and I were instructed not to contact you or Tim Knight about the Rauner campaign’s defamatory allegations.
For guidance, I called Patrick Collins, a former federal prosecutor whose name is synonymous with ethics in Illinois. His involvement brought about an abrupt shift in the company’s tone from penalizing me to reinstating me. Ultimately, the company pledged I could return to the job with “no restrictions.”
Yet, on the first day back, I was advised I shouldn’t have a byline on a LeapSource-related story “right out of the gate” even though it was a legitimate follow-up to our initial story. While later relenting and offering me a contributing byline after I protested, the newspaper had failed an important test: It was not permitting me to do my job the way I had been doing it for almost two decades.
In his letter, McKinney actually was pretty nice to Kirk, describing him as a man of integrity who was willing to defend his reporters. But, at this point, he didn't feel like Kirk could protect him from interference from the executives at Wrapports. That, in effect, Sun-Times wouldn't even try to protect its own reporters if they pissed off a wrong politician.
As McKinney saw it, he had no choice but to quit.
The reaction to his resignation across Twitter was immediate and unequivocal.
Sun-Times reporters and editors:
@davemckinney123 Godspeed, Dave. It's been an honor being able to work with you
- Brandon Wall (@Walldo) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 ah, *&#(#&*%*(%&
- Lauren FitzPatrick (@bylaurenfitz) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 speechless.
- Becky Schlikerman (@schlikerman) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 A Horrific day for journalism.
- natasha korecki (@natashakorecki) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 Proud to have worked with you, Dave.
- Tim Novak (@tnovaksuntimes) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 All best, Dave. I've always admired your reporting (and relied heavily on it while covering education for @couriernews).
- Emily Miller (@emmillerwrites) October 22, 2014
A shadow falls on the Sun-Times. http://t.co/pg9XNANEGW
- Dustin Park (@dustbag44) October 22, 2014
Chicago Tribune:
What happens when hotdogs buy newspapers. Awful news. MT @davemckinney123: After 19 years, today marked my final day.
http://t.co/rF5ouSR6r0
- Kristen McQueary (@StatehouseChick) October 22, 2014
'
Reporters from Chicago Reader, the Sun-Times' sister publication:
@davemckinney123 Outrageous. Thanks for writing this, and keep kicking ass.
- Mick Dumke (@mickeyd1971) October 22, 2014
Michael Ferro has explaining to do, and it's not @davemckinney123 who should be leaving the Sun-Times: http://t.co/NEDMkDDYRY …
- Steve Bogira (@SteveBogira) October 22, 2014
Carol Marin, the NBC5 reporter who co-authored the article that started the whole mess:
Dave McKinney. Honorable, ethical, eloquent.
http://t.co/pXiQxgPBdB
- Carol Marin (@CarolMarin) October 22, 2014
Reporters from other outlets:
@davemckinney123 Very sorry to hear this Dave. You are the epitome of what all political/statehouse reporters should be. Good luck.
- Edward Marshall (@edmarshallcbs2) October 22, 2014
Campaigns are supposed to be tough. But a highly respected, veteran, expert reporter isn't supposed to be collateral damage. Just awful.
- Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 Sad, outrageous and deplorable! You did the right thing, but this is just terrible! My deepest solidarity!
- Gerardo Cardenas (@ElGerryChicago) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 a sad day for the industry to see you go. Your ethics and integrity are inspiring.
- Kate Schott (@Kate_Schott78) October 22, 2014
And an elected official:
@davemckinney123 Sorry to see you leave. All the best in your next adventure, Dave.
- Ron Sandack (@RonSandack) October 22, 2014
Later today, Crain's Chicago Business reported on the resignation, getting the following statement from Kirk (emphasis mine)
"It is with reluctance that I accept Dave McKinney's resignation. As recently as this Monday on our Op/Ed page, I stated that Dave is among the best in our profession. I meant it then and I mean it now. The pause we took last week was to ensure there were no conflicts of interest and was taken simply to protect Dave McKinney, the Sun-Times and its readers as we were under attack in a heated political campaign. We came to the right result, found the political attacks against us to be false and we stand by our reporting, our journalists and this great newspaper.
"I disagree with Dave's questioning the integrity of this newspaper and my role as editor and publisher. I call the shots. While I've been here, our ownership and management have never quashed a story and they have always respected the journalistic integrity of this paper."
No quotes from Wrapports execs so far.
The big question is - what is McKinney going to do next. I would like to think that a reporter of his caliber wouldn't stay unemployed for long. Chicago Tribune has its own statehouse reporters, but maybe they could use one more. Daily Herald, the big Chicagoland suburban daily, is another possibility, though I'm not sure how likely. Crain's has been beefing up its political coverage. Then there's State Journal-Register, Springfield's daily newspaper - but like all Gatehouse newspapers, they've been in the cutting mode over the past few years. There's Illinois Times, Springfield's alternative newspaper, but I don't think they are looking for full-time staffers - and I'm not sure how much they pay contributors.
Whatever happens, I hope McKinney finds work somewhere. With newspaper industry being the shape its in, standing by one's principles has never been harder - or carried more financial risks. It would be a shame if he wouldn't land on his feet.
As you may remember from the previous post, in the beginning of October, McKinney co-wrote an article about an old lawsuit involving Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for Governor and former stakeholder in Wrapports, Sun-Times' current parent company. The Rauner campaign tried to quash it - as campaigns tend to do when something unflattering appears in the newspaper. But this time, it actually seemed to work. While the story run, McKinney was suspended for a week. And, last weekend, Sun-Times endorsed Rauner.
While Sun-Times publisher/EIC strongly denied that the company was punishing McKinney, the Springfield reporter hired an attorney to figure out what's going on. And, earlier today, we found out that he was pretty sure.
According to the letter to the Sun-Times upper management, which he posted online, the whole thing was actually worse than Crain's Chicago Business report suggested (emphasis mine).
Faced with the Rauner campaign’s ugly attack, Sun-Times Publisher and Editor Jim Kirk immediately told the Rauner campaign that this “assault” on my integrity “border[ed] on defamation” and represented “a low point in the campaign.” In other statements, Kirk called the campaign’s tactic “spurious” and “sexist.”
Yet despite such strong rebukes, two days later, I was yanked from my beat as I reported on a legislative hearing focusing on Gov. Pat Quinn’s botched Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. My reporting for that day was then removed inexplicably from the Sun-Times website.
I was told to go on leave, a kind of house arrest that lasted almost a week. It was pure hell. Kirk told me that his bosses were considering taking me away permanently from the political and Springfield beats. He offered up other potential jobs at the paper, all of which I considered demotions. Because of my unexplained absence from my beat, colleagues started calling, asking if I had been suspended. Or fired.
Through all this, I simply wanted to get back to my beat, but the paper wouldn’t let me. And, Carol and I were instructed not to contact you or Tim Knight about the Rauner campaign’s defamatory allegations.
For guidance, I called Patrick Collins, a former federal prosecutor whose name is synonymous with ethics in Illinois. His involvement brought about an abrupt shift in the company’s tone from penalizing me to reinstating me. Ultimately, the company pledged I could return to the job with “no restrictions.”
Yet, on the first day back, I was advised I shouldn’t have a byline on a LeapSource-related story “right out of the gate” even though it was a legitimate follow-up to our initial story. While later relenting and offering me a contributing byline after I protested, the newspaper had failed an important test: It was not permitting me to do my job the way I had been doing it for almost two decades.
In his letter, McKinney actually was pretty nice to Kirk, describing him as a man of integrity who was willing to defend his reporters. But, at this point, he didn't feel like Kirk could protect him from interference from the executives at Wrapports. That, in effect, Sun-Times wouldn't even try to protect its own reporters if they pissed off a wrong politician.
As McKinney saw it, he had no choice but to quit.
The reaction to his resignation across Twitter was immediate and unequivocal.
Sun-Times reporters and editors:
@davemckinney123 Godspeed, Dave. It's been an honor being able to work with you
- Brandon Wall (@Walldo) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 ah, *&#(#&*%*(%&
- Lauren FitzPatrick (@bylaurenfitz) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 speechless.
- Becky Schlikerman (@schlikerman) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 A Horrific day for journalism.
- natasha korecki (@natashakorecki) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 Proud to have worked with you, Dave.
- Tim Novak (@tnovaksuntimes) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 All best, Dave. I've always admired your reporting (and relied heavily on it while covering education for @couriernews).
- Emily Miller (@emmillerwrites) October 22, 2014
A shadow falls on the Sun-Times. http://t.co/pg9XNANEGW
- Dustin Park (@dustbag44) October 22, 2014
Chicago Tribune:
What happens when hotdogs buy newspapers. Awful news. MT @davemckinney123: After 19 years, today marked my final day.
http://t.co/rF5ouSR6r0
- Kristen McQueary (@StatehouseChick) October 22, 2014
'
Reporters from Chicago Reader, the Sun-Times' sister publication:
@davemckinney123 Outrageous. Thanks for writing this, and keep kicking ass.
- Mick Dumke (@mickeyd1971) October 22, 2014
Michael Ferro has explaining to do, and it's not @davemckinney123 who should be leaving the Sun-Times: http://t.co/NEDMkDDYRY …
- Steve Bogira (@SteveBogira) October 22, 2014
Carol Marin, the NBC5 reporter who co-authored the article that started the whole mess:
Dave McKinney. Honorable, ethical, eloquent.
http://t.co/pXiQxgPBdB
- Carol Marin (@CarolMarin) October 22, 2014
Reporters from other outlets:
@davemckinney123 Very sorry to hear this Dave. You are the epitome of what all political/statehouse reporters should be. Good luck.
- Edward Marshall (@edmarshallcbs2) October 22, 2014
Campaigns are supposed to be tough. But a highly respected, veteran, expert reporter isn't supposed to be collateral damage. Just awful.
- Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 Sad, outrageous and deplorable! You did the right thing, but this is just terrible! My deepest solidarity!
- Gerardo Cardenas (@ElGerryChicago) October 22, 2014
@davemckinney123 a sad day for the industry to see you go. Your ethics and integrity are inspiring.
- Kate Schott (@Kate_Schott78) October 22, 2014
And an elected official:
@davemckinney123 Sorry to see you leave. All the best in your next adventure, Dave.
- Ron Sandack (@RonSandack) October 22, 2014
Later today, Crain's Chicago Business reported on the resignation, getting the following statement from Kirk (emphasis mine)
"It is with reluctance that I accept Dave McKinney's resignation. As recently as this Monday on our Op/Ed page, I stated that Dave is among the best in our profession. I meant it then and I mean it now. The pause we took last week was to ensure there were no conflicts of interest and was taken simply to protect Dave McKinney, the Sun-Times and its readers as we were under attack in a heated political campaign. We came to the right result, found the political attacks against us to be false and we stand by our reporting, our journalists and this great newspaper.
"I disagree with Dave's questioning the integrity of this newspaper and my role as editor and publisher. I call the shots. While I've been here, our ownership and management have never quashed a story and they have always respected the journalistic integrity of this paper."
No quotes from Wrapports execs so far.
The big question is - what is McKinney going to do next. I would like to think that a reporter of his caliber wouldn't stay unemployed for long. Chicago Tribune has its own statehouse reporters, but maybe they could use one more. Daily Herald, the big Chicagoland suburban daily, is another possibility, though I'm not sure how likely. Crain's has been beefing up its political coverage. Then there's State Journal-Register, Springfield's daily newspaper - but like all Gatehouse newspapers, they've been in the cutting mode over the past few years. There's Illinois Times, Springfield's alternative newspaper, but I don't think they are looking for full-time staffers - and I'm not sure how much they pay contributors.
Whatever happens, I hope McKinney finds work somewhere. With newspaper industry being the shape its in, standing by one's principles has never been harder - or carried more financial risks. It would be a shame if he wouldn't land on his feet.