After much hand-wringing and approval from liberal journalism guru Tom Rosenstiel, San Francisco Chronicle editors decided that Rachel Gordon and Liz Mangelsdorf shouldn’t continue to cover the same-sex marriage story after recently getting married.
“The issue here is most definitely not the integrity of the journalists themselves,” wrote editor Phil Bronstein. “Nor is it about gay and lesbian rights, even as the story itself is. (Rachel and Liz disagree on this point in particular, and with the decision in general). Nor is it about the paper determining whether anyone should get married or not. We can’t, shouldn’t and won’t determine that. …But the issue is the integrity and credibility of the paper, as well as conflict and the perception of conflict.”