Several journalists resigned this week from three newspapers in Alaska after the publications’ corporate owner made significant edits to an article about Charlie Kirk’s death, appearing to yield to pressure from a Republican state lawmaker who had criticized the coverage.
The four journalists, who worked for The Homer News, The Peninsula Clarion and The Juneau Empire, wrote in a joint resignation letter on Monday that they were never consulted about the edits, made by the Alabama-based Carpenter Media Group.
“We believe this destroys the credibility the public has placed in us as reporters and editors,” the journalists wrote. “The willingness to acquiesce to a public official’s editorial demands and have conversations with her about the direction of our coverage is a betrayal not just of the journalists who work for Carpenter Media, but of the company’s integrity as a purveyor of news.”
The letter was signed by Chloe Pleznac, the Homer News reporter who wrote the article; Erin Thompson, the regional editor of the three newspapers and the one who approved the story; Jeff Helminiak, a sports and features editor for The Peninsula Clarion; and Jake Dye, a reporter for the same publication.
The resignations, which they said would take effect on Oct. 13, were accepted immediately and left two of the newspapers with one reporter each, and a third without any journalists on staff, they said.
The article at the center of the revolt chronicled a Sept. 17 vigil in Homer, Alaska, for Mr. Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder and a right-wing ally of President Trump’s who was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. The story ran online on Sept. 23 and in print on Sept. 25 in The Homer News, according to Ms. Pleznac.
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The post Journalists at 3 Newspapers Quit Over Edits to a Charlie Kirk Story appeared first on New York Times.
