10 October 2002

An open letter to the Managing Editor and Staff of the Daily Texan:

With this letter I resign as a Senior Reporter at The Daily Texan.

For the last few months I have enjoyed working at the Texan. Of late, I have not been content. My distrust of decisions made at the paper has been growing recently and I cannot continue working for a newspaper that continually seems to place aesthetics over a story’s importance. That stories should provide engaging bus reading material, as I was once told in the newsroom, does not inspire confidence. Recently I have seen growing evidence to make me think that we do not encourage ethical journalism, that which either has a sense of its own responsibilities or recognizes the consequences of its actions.

To take the most recent example: How on earth did the Texan’s Pride Coverage become reduced to a web story last Friday and a report on the Pride Rally appear on page 14 of Tuesday's paper? Why is the web better than print? Was it space considerations? Did we create page 14 to put gay people on it? Is the Texan’s news about the gay community equivalent to Entertainment or Sports? (I have nothing against either of these excellent sections, I am just struck by Pride's next to last place in the paper.) These opinions – shared by many in the campus gay community – are consequences of the Texan’s editorial decisions.

I know that the placing of the Pride stories have disappointed many in UT’s gay community and beyond. These are students – like us at the Texan – who have devoted a great deal of time and effort to a cause or organization. This is their week. There are twelve different events this week to help gay young people as they negotiate this rather unfriendly campus. The first thing the organizers of Pride needed – and those who are in the difficult process of coming out – was support from the Texan, a student newspaper. Instead we decided to marginalize the University's gay community by placing its central event on page 14.

The Texan creates a historical record of the campus. It will be obvious to future historians the values the Texan espoused in 2002 by placing Pride on page 14. We cannot take back Pride's next to last place. We cannot now rectify our construction of the historical record.

At a more disturbing level, insult was added to injury in the newsroom late Tuesday afternoon. When attempting to discuss a story idea about gay youth coming out in area high schools, I was asked "Is this going to be a gay politics story? because there is a moratorium on gay politics stories." What signal was such a comment meant to send? If moratoria may be so easily declared, perhaps I could beg media blackouts on UTIMCO (we’re now just providing variations on a theme), the Central Texas Turnpike Commission (we’ ve run similar road graphics on these stories at least 3 times since I joined the paper in May), the Student Regent campaign, coverage of Iraq and the Texas-OU football game.

For the record, most stories about gay issues are likely to have some political element. Particularly so when the 2002 campaign season is leading into the 2003 legislature, a legislature most people accept will be divisive. Legislation which prohibits discrimination in high schools on the basis of sexual orientation is likely to be an important subject of debate in the coming session. That's a gay politics story and I assume the Texan won’t be devoting more coverage to it. It's also a human story. Gay youth suffer elevated high school dropout and suicide rates to name but two nationwide problems. Domestic partner benefits are of increasing concern to the gay community on UT’s campus and are relevant in the state elections. Gay families are discriminated against by the University and in Texas because of a failure to provide partner benefits. This is unlike the majority of public universities and most private colleges in the United States. In the last two legislative sessions, legislators have begun campaigns to strip gay people of the right to adopt in Texas. The Sodomy Statute is also directly responsible for the criminalization of homosexuality and also contributes to high sexual disease infections in state prisons: wardens won’t pass out condoms or dental dams. More than 140,000 Texas inmates are currently at risk from ignorance and the effects of this law. What will the Texan do about this "gay political issue"/public health crisis? Ignore it? The Sodomy Statute will also be an issue in the coming legislative session. And there is a case in front of the Supreme Court about Texas's sodomy statute. Even the nation's eyes are on Texas over the way we deal with "gay political issues".

As a gay person directly affected everyday by "gay political issues" -on and off campus-, I cannot condone working at a newspaper that manifests subtle disregard for marginalized communities. It runs contrary to the principles of dignity, freedom and justice to which all people aspire. Comments about forbidden gay subjects along with our placing of Pride coverage in this week’s paper and online lead me only to an obvious conclusion. The Texan is not a friendly environment for somebody like me, an outspoken queer journalist, to work in. This situation demands my immediate resignation.

Yours,

Patrick Timmons

To whom it may concern, in response to Patrick Timmons' resignation:

Patrick, thank you for speaking about your concerns. The issues of which you speak are ones that I treat very seriously. Truly, they are issues that The Daily Texan struggles with everyday.

Frankly, it was a mistake to put the Pride Rally story on Page 14. There really is no excuse for it, and I take full responsibility for that decision. Please know, however, that it was a decision made without malice. Many factors went into that decision, and in no way was the decision made simply because the story was about the Pride Rally.

The Daily Texan exists to highlight the problems and concerns of all members of our audience, no matter to what group or class they belong. The Texan stands by the belief that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the Texan is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.

Related to that, I assure you that there is no moratorium on "gay politics stories" in The Daily Texan. We are committed to reporting on issues affecting all communities, particularly those with a history of discrimination.

Also, the Texan is committed to providing a comfortable working environment for all our staffers. Newsroom diversity is a goal for which the Texan has always strived.

Although I do not agree with the manner in which Patrick chose to discuss his concerns, I assure you they do not fall on deaf ears. His courage to confront these issues is admirable.

I encourage each of you to offer suggestions on how the Texan can be a better newspaper. My contact information appears below. I request that if you do have a concern or suggestion for the Texan, please discuss it with me privately.

Thank you for your attention,
Ryan D. Pittman

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Ryan D. Pittman
Managing Editor
The Daily Texan
512.232.2217 office
www.dailytexanonline.com