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	Controversial Coverage Administrators Question Reporting By Emily Holt & Jessica Van GilderIssue The Spectator March 3, 2009 http://media.www.su-spectator.com/media/storage/paper948/news/2009/03/04/News/Controversial.Coverage-3659244.shtml Although the Society of Jesus has been placed under a critical lens due to the recent lawsuit involving alleged victims of sexual abuse, the media's involvement with the case hasn't escaped criticism either. Administrators and members of the community who have been here since 2005 have criticized the coverage for re-hashing an old issue. "I think the media is looking for a story and trying to bring it to their constituents and the public," says Rob Kelly, vice president of Student Development. This is not the first time the university has been the focus of media coverage for allegations of sexual abuse involving university officials. In 2005, faced with a lawsuit alleging Fr. Gary Poole, S.J. had sexually abused minors, local media placed Seattle U President Stephen Sundborg in the spotlight after he gave a deposition about his work as provincial of the Oregon Province from 1990 to 1996. Articles in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Times made a note of Sundborg's position at the university. The Times wrote, "The controversy, Sundborg said, is 'damaging to my reputation as president of the university'" in its article, "Veil of privilege or cover-up?" Dec. 15, 2005. After printing an article Dec. 14, 2005 titled "Jesuit defends secrecy in priest sex case: In a previous post, SU leader didn't report abuse" the P-I issued an editor's note stating: "A story in Wednesday Seattle Post-Intelligencer about the Rev. Stephen Sundborg contained inaccuracies and an omission … The P-I is aware of no evidence that [Fr. James] Poole told Sundborg he had sexually abused minors…" Sundborg's interaction with the media included a detailed letter sent to the P-I denying the allegations as well as an interview with the Times. After Sundborg was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed Jan. 14 accusing him and other Jesuits of covering up the sexual abuse of Native Alaskan children, the media turned its spotlight on the university president, and the university itself, raising the eyebrows of some. "There is not definitely different information [now] than from [2005]," says Kelly. "There were probably those in the SU community, who, if they weren't around before, might see this [coverage this year] as new." The plaintiff's lawyers garnered media attention in 2005 by holding a press conference at Seattle University, in the same location as the press conference held Jan. 14, 2009. One of the victims, Elsie Boudreau, who spoke at both press conferences, is a consultant for firms pursuing clerical sex-abuse cases-including those where plaintiff's advocates work. While some question whether or not Seattle University is being used as a ploy to gain greater media attention, John Manly, one of the attorney's representing the victims, explains the decision as matter of geographic logic. "Most of the provincials have either been head of the Seattle U community or have come from there. Really, the power base of the Jesuits in the Northwest is at Seattle U," Manly says. "The universities have always forged the anchor of the province. They are the most important Jesuit location in the Northwest." Regarding his choices with the local media, Manly says it was a matter of informing the public and the press effectively. "I can't think of a better way of doing that than going where the headquarters effectively of the province are. The headquarters are technically in Portland, but there isn't a university there," Manly says. "It's analogous to why you are protesting the war outside of the Pentagon." The recent lawsuit has garnered media attention from Seattle's dailies as well as weeklies such as The Stranger and The Spectator. As reporters focused on the lawsuit-its defendants and victims-they also narrowed in on the university. "The link [the lawsuit] has to Fr. Sundborg is not the strongest," says Marie Vermaas, senior history and Spanish major. "I don't like that Seattle U keeps getting singled out." Vermaas says she feels Sundborg's role as president is being used to gain media attention. Sundborg told The Spectator on Jan. 21 he believes his inclusion as a defendant in the lawsuit is nothing more than a ploy by the victims' attorneys to garner more media attention. But, Manly says, complaints about the plaintiff's intentions with the media lack relevance. "I'm sure Fr. Sundborg isn't happy about [the coverage], I'm sure others aren't, but they don't want it," Manly says. "When they [the victims] show up in the backyard, [they say] those pesky natives … and that's just too damn bad." Manly says he had a direct purpose for involving the media. "I don't really care what the reaction of faculty or students are, other than that they know what happens," Manly says. "There are three categories of people we are after: ones who believe it, ones who will never-(and they should examine their beliefs)-and third, people who are open to the truth." Patrick Wall, a plaintiff's consultant, feels the university needed legal and media attention on this issue. According to Wall, documents regarding Seattle U's ownership are on campus. He feels these materials are relevant to the lawsuit and its potential financial repercussions. "We believe the university is actually a defendant in the action," Wall says. "Fr. Steve is the one who has the most personal knowledge in the society about this." Journalism professor Jim Forsher says the university is probably not threatened by the coverage since it is a large enough institution, but he also notices a similar use of the media by lawyers. "It worked then [in the past case], I guess it worked now," Forsher says. "Lawyers, especially if it's a large case, want to do things that bring attention to them." Casey Corr, director of strategic communications at Seattle U, notes the particular role journalists can play in the outcome of a publicized lawsuit. "I would say journalists can be good at covering allegations and responses, the he said-she said," Corr says. "But I've seen many instances where journalists are less capable of scrutinizing their own sources, especially when the journalist is a player in an orchestrated campaign."
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