A Baptist state newspaper editor in Illinois has resigned in what his supervisor describes as a mutual agreement that it’s time for him to “move on in his ministry and career.”
However, recognition comes amid controversy that surfaced earlier this year after running a front-page story about a former Illinois pastor being charged with criminal sex assault for allegedly molesting two teenage girls.
Reaction to the story prompted formation of a five-member ad hoc committee of the state association’s board of directors to study the role of the Baptist newspaper. The committee, which is still active, has drafted a working mission statement for the Illinois Baptist and considered drawing up guidelines for the editor. The committee has also suggested the establishment of an advisory board to give the editor feedback about the paper’s content but not to have veto power over articles prior to publication. The committee’s chairman, however, has been quoted as saying a goal of the process is to ensure that reporting like the sex-abuse story “does not happen again.”
Editor Michael Leathers wrote a story in the Jan. 9 issue reporting the arrest of Leslie M. Mason, 34, former pastor of Olney Southern Baptist Church in southern Illinois. Court documents charged Mason with having sexual intercourse with two minor girls, both at least 13 years old at the time the acts occurred, at the church parsonage on a series of occasions between 1994 and 1999. Mason has pleaded not guilty to the charges and at last word was awaiting trial.
Editorial judgment
The story, which had been previously reported in secular news media, prompted a barrage of letters to the editor both critical and supportive of Leathers’ editorial judgment. Critics said the story had no place in a religious newspaper. Some compared the Illinois Baptist to the National Enquirer and said that Leathers should resign. Other letters, however, defended Leathers, saying that a Baptist newspaper has a responsibility to report the bad news as well as the good.
Glenn Akins, interim executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, said he believes Leathers will be happier in a position “reflective of Leathers’ professional journalism style of being hard hitting and direct, and one that does not require the same high degree of spiritual sensitivity.” A St. Louis-area journalist has been named as interim editor. (ABP, BP)
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