Only Part of the News Fit to Print

In early February, the Dallas Morning News performed an unsolicited and uncalled for bow to supermarket advertisers by killing a Thursday food section story that might have informed readers where they could buy food cheaper – Mexican bakeries, Farmers Market, etc.- than they could in the chain groceries.

The story, written by food editor Leigh Fenley, was on page one of the food section, which tends to be simply a vehicle for supermarket advertising. The presses began rolling on a Tuesday night, and mid-way into the run the next morning, the story was spotted and brought to the attention of the Advertising Manager, John Rector.

Rector showed the story to Managing Editor Tom Simmons, who immediately killed it and substituted an innocuous piece on “sauerkraut and pizza.” Copies of the front page were destroyed, but several were smuggled out of the News and found their way to reporter Steve Singer at KERA’s “Newsroom.” That night, Singer racked up side-by-side copies of the before and after front pages on “Newsroom” and told the whole story.

Reporters and editors in the cityroom fired off a letter to Simmons asking for a clarification of policy as to who would be making future decisions on editorial content: the news staff or the advertisers. Assistant Managing Editor R. E. Haas submitted his resignation over the matter. “It was on the table,” a News staffer said. Simmons was angered by the letter, which he considered a challenge to his authority, and reportedly chewed out several editors who had signed.

The entire affair was shuffled up to Publisher Joe Dealey. A meeting was arranged between the reporters and Dealey and Simmons.

In the meantime, WFAA-TV, across the alley from the News, developed a story about Southwestern Bell executives admitting they had funneled about $3,000 into the city political arena through industrialist John Stemmons. Reporter Bob Sirkin said $2,000 had gone to Citizens’ Charter Association candidates in 1973, and another $1,000 into the fight against the Dallas Police Association’s attempts to establish themselves as a collective bargaining agent.

The News sent a reporter over to copy Sirkin’s facts, and carved out a hole for the story on page one. Then, at the final moment, Assistant Managing Editor Frank Reece backed off the story, ostensibly because the piece was “not in shape to run,” Simmons said. The next day every news agency in town had the story- except the News. It finally ran, two days after WFAA used it, in keeping with the long-time News philosophy that “it ain’t news til you read it in the News.”

Fifty reporters met with Simmons and Dealey, who began the meeting with a speech about everything being a “team” effort. Dealey, according to the reporters, even told them, “we love you all.” Then, looking for an ashtray to put his cigarette in, Dealey walked to the back of the room and never came back, leaving Simmons to face the reporters.

The reporters opened up, ticking off a list of complaints about no leadership in the news department and a plethora of other problems. Simmons was asked about the food page story, and while he had originally said he hadn’t read it before killing it, he now said he had read it and it needed editing. “I felt it was not presented in the proper proportion. It had not been edited,” Simmons later said.

The meeting, reporters said, was a waste of time. “Simmons was evasive, non-committal and seemed to lack understanding of the situation,” a reporter said. Many felt Simmons was taking the whole thing personally, and not considering the professional implications.

The story finally ran on March 6. Haas has withdrawnhis resignation. And the news staff has reportedly sunkback into the depression that led to an abortive NewspaperGuild movement last year.