Helen Radkey and Salt Lake Tribune strike again

It happened again this week. Call it the Helen Radkey Game. Radkey, a vocal critic of the LDS Church's proxy baptism, finds the infamous or famous in the vast genealogical database of the church.

She finds a news peg associated with a current event or famous person and then calls a Tribune reporter who lets Radkey rattle on. The reporter gets a quote from the LDS Church (which the reporter must have memorized by now) and then the Trib releases a weak, speculative story. Even the headline in the most recent story had a question mark. Then it makes news around the world and no one really questions the holes in the reporting; it's just those crazy Mormons again.

The Tribune's coverage is out of proportion and incomplete. Instead of good explanatory journalism, for some Mormons (including me) it feels like another Tribune-led attack on their faith, especially when it keeps coming from one critic. The Tribune gives Radkey an unchecked megaphone politicians only dream of. Does this kind of reporting lead to any greater dialogue or understanding for readers? No. It's simply "gotcha" journalism.

How does the reporting of Helen Radkey square with any basic college journalism textbook? First, journalism courses teach reporters they ought to have more than one source. Except to get a boilerplate response from the LDS Church, the Tribune has granted a lot of clout to Radkey as a single source on stories related to her research. In addition, the ethics codes of national journalism groups say reporters ought to question sources' motives.

To be sure, Radkey has an agenda that goes unquestioned. If she had her way, Radkey would have The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints end its practice of proxy baptism for deceased individuals. So how can Radkey be a reliable source when she is far from an objective researcher, but spins out the facts with vindictive bias? Just read some of Radkey's quotes:

• "It's blatantly wrong to seal a person who took a vow of celibacy as a Catholic priest and is so revered in his Catholic religion," said Radkey, a former Catholic. "It's insulting to perform such an action posthumously. It's very disrespectful."

• "Baptizing Obama's African relatives, or putting their names in the LDS temple system for them to be posthumously baptized, is offensive because it sends a wrongful message that Obama's ancestors were of inferior religious stock," Radkey said.
  

Radkey tends to heap blame on the institutional church, when most of the blame rests with misguided and overzealous members. The Tribune quoted church spokesman Scott Trotter: "It is counter to church policy to submit anyone's name for temple ordinances if you aren't related to that person. The church reiterates this policy regularly and we follow it to the best of our ability."

Radkey may be good for a quote, but her bias colors her research. Tribune reporters need to find other sources and views to make it good journalism. How about speaking to an LDS scholar? Most of us Mormons who follow the rules don't like the fact that zealots or misguided members are doing these things. Why do we only get Radkey's shrill repetition instead of diverse points of view on this issue?

I am truly disappointed if LDS Church members who are not relatives to Father Damien did this. If relatives did this, then they followed the rules. Latter-day Saints have a connection to Father Damien. Because of the LDS membership in Hawaii, Latter-day Saints benefited from Father Damien's service. In fact, an 84-year-old leprosy survivor who is Mormon attended the canonization service. Mormons should revere Father Damien, but not this way if there was no familial connection.

When newspapers run stories critical of someone or something they usually rely on more than one source.

Yet in Radkey's case, it's open-mic night at the Trib.

Another issue that ought to worry readers is just how Utah's Independent Voice is independent from Radkey's manipulation. Who knows if Radkey has hoarded a long list of perceived LDS offenses and is simply waiting to dribble them out each slowly to the Tribune for maximum self-serving effect.

Furthermore, in the most recent article about Father Damien, several key questions appeared unasked. Is it possible that Father Damien did have relatives that did submit his name for temple work? The Tribune never explains what a task it might be to police the LDS Church's honor system. How often does the system fail? How many names are submitted a year? How many names are there in the system? Have violators been disciplined? What has the church done to improve the system? The church may not answer many of these questions, but there should be some evidence that the Tribune asked them. Let's hope the award-winning religion reporters at the Tribune do a better job next time.

A draft of this column was provided to the Salt Lake Tribune for comment. The following a response from Terry Orme, Tribune managing editor for news and business:

"Our decisions on whether or not to report on LDS Church proxy baptisms are handled the same way we handle all news decisions. We ask: Is this news? And: Is this something our readers should know?

"You answer the first question when you say the story makes its way around the world. And as a prominent source of LDS Church news, it is safe to say a proxy baptism and sealing of a Catholic saint to a wife is a story Salt Lake Tribune readers would want to read. If we were to choose to not report it, I would have to ask: Are we fulfilling our commitment to readers?

"We always verify Helen Radkey's information and of course the LDS Church was contacted for the story. We have run numerous questions past the church on this subject, but they rarely go beyond a statement. Any context they provide would be most valuable and welcome."

About using Radkey as a source for stories: "We clearly identified her as a critic of the LDS Church, and pointed out that she hits on this issue a lot. Sen. Orrin Hatch is a critic of the Obama administration. Should we stop quoting him?"

About the story needing more context and voices: "We attempted to contact Roman Catholic leaders, but were unsuccessful. I, too, feel the need for more context on many stories. That is a reality of daily journalism. But in this case it wasn't for lack of trying.

"The bottom line is that many people of many faiths take offense at the practice of proxy baptisms. And what made this even more troubling to many of them is the sealing of a canonized Catholic priest to a wife.

"You say The Salt Lake Tribune has been recognized nationally for our religion coverage. What you don't say is that The Tribune's coverage of the LDS Church is singled out when our coverage is called the best in the nation."