" Fairness? Balance? Honest Reporting?", California Catholic Daily [Los Angeles], April 17, 2007

" Fairness? Balance? Honest Reporting?"

California Catholic Daily [Los Angeles]
April 17, 2007

http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=f5b19460-06ac-4b42-b06b-4450ffc7ba69

LA Times says Cardinal Mahony losing his political clout – but detractors say the newspaper is punishing the archbishop for his public criticism of its reporting

On April 14, the Los Angeles Times published a front-page story under the headline, "Mahony's influence is dwindling in L.A." The story came just weeks after the cardinal twice took the Times to task for inaccurate and biased reporting. Was the latest Times story payback? Some critics seem to think so.

"Is the Times now retaliating against Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony for calling the paper out on its falsehoods?" asks Dave Pierre in an April 15 post on the web site NewsBusters.org. "Does the article cite any polls or studies to back up its claim of the Cardinal's supposed 'dwindling influence'? No. Rather, it quotes a potpourri of various individuals, largely unknown, including a Cal State professor (big whoop), the leader of a 'mainly Protestant' activist group, and a minister 'who spoke on the condition that his name not be used.' Good grief."

While the Boston Globe hounded Cardinal Bernard Law during the clergy molestation scandal, the Times has been fairly easy on Mahony — until last month's scathing criticism of his handling of the case of abuser priest, Lynn Caffoe — an article that provoked a public archdiocesan reply. The response, also published in the archdiocesan newspaper the Tidings, said the Times had committed serious factual errors in its reporting.

Then, on March 26, the Times published another piece critical of the archdiocese headlined "Catholic doctrine is cited in priest abuse cases." The archdiocese issued another retort, also published in the Tidings, calling the story "insulting to all Catholics."

According to the April 14 Times story, Cardinal Mahony's status as a powerbroker may be coming to an end. While Catholics make up an increasing percentage of the LA population, Mahony has suffered from the clergy sexual molestation scandal and accusations that he harbored guilty priests, the story said.

Also mentioned high in the story was Mahony's dust-up with state assembly speaker Fabian Nuñez, a "Catholic," who publicly defied the cardinal after Mahony publicly chastised him for supporting an assisted suicide bill. And politicians like LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said the Times, no longer need Mahony to connect them to Hispanic voters.

Things have changed. The Nov. 28, 2000 Times named Mahony (along with Lew Wasserman and Rupert Murdoch) one of LA's "shadow leaders." Mahony had "many of the attributes of traditional political influence" and though he "operates within the constraints and customs of his vocation... he uses power when he needs to — to get his cathedral, to fight Proposition 187, to urge support for construction of Staples Center." Only LA Mayor Richard Riordan and LA Police Chief Bernard Parks rivaled Mahony's popularity, said the newspaper.

In 2002, in a leaked e-mail message, Mahony said an interview about the molestation scandal with Times religion writer Larry Stammer "did not turn out as negative as I feared... Larry Stammer said that a lot of good has been done with the press and media by doing the interview, and that he stands ready to help if we have a story we want to get out. Larry is going to do a story on our Seminaries soon — that will be helpful."

Either way – from good media relations to what looks to some as a battle between the cardinal and the newspaper – the Times comes out looking less than impartial.

"Fairness? Balance? Honest reporting? Not at the Times," said Pierre on the NewsBusters web site.