Photo by Cindy Gomez

Ethics, Politics, And The Media

Conflict of interest is based on perspective

By John Strand
Co-Owner of the HPR

The Forum carried a front page story Tuesday with a significant reference to HPR. We’d like to take this moment to address some of the messaging and issues raised in that news report. One part of the story looked at the issue of a conflict of interest declared by this writer, an elected official sitting on the Fargo Board of Education. The story also touched on HPR’s approach to news coverage when the issue at hand involved our editor, Cindy Gomez, and her daughter, as they are entangled with a school, student, parent situation that has become very visible to the community via numerous news and media outlets. Yes, HPR’s co-owner, yours truly, is on the school board. After significant assessment of the situation and securing legal counsel, I have recused myself from participating in board-level engagement. That is the proper thing to do.

Here at HPR, since the imbroglio regarding “The Laramie Project” and the prospects of Westboro Baptist Church protesting in Fargo surfaced, we have been extremely careful not to cross the line and inappropriately use HPR’s news pages and ink as this explosive issue unfolded in our community. Truth is, HPR knew before anybody that Westboro was in fact invited to Fargo by a couple members of Fargo South’s theatre cast performing “The Laramie Project.” The story, however, did not break in HPR, but instead broke in the mainstream media. It could be said we were so overly cautious, that we in fact “missed” a news scoop, but because it was so close to home and presented multiple concerns relative to conflicts of interest on both sides, we simply ran a preview of the play although we knew of the controversy unfolding behind the scenes.

Since The Forum has decided to put this on their front page and raise questions about conflicts of interest, the situation begs our response.

Initially, perhaps one of the greatest potential conflicts of interest to be addressed here is in fact The Forum’s real world competitive relationship with this newspaper, the HPR, and the fact its co-owner and former editor has been elected to public office. We recall back in June 2008 when The Forum published an election day editorial, contrary to state law prohibiting electioneering on election day, admonishing readers to NOT vote for John Strand for school board. Their claim: it is a conflict of interest for a member of the media to run for elected office.

Yes, The Forum has a policy that its employees cannot engage in public events or organizations or boards if on staff there. That is not HPR’s policy, mind you. In fact, there are more than enough examples of newspaper people running for and getting elected to office in North Dakota, past and present.

We do, however, go out of our way so as to not overstep proper bounds when there is an intersection of HPR coverage of anything school board related. The only time you as readers see it, generally, on this editorial page is when The Forum itself reported the news or expressed opinions begging for clarification from our perspective.

While not declaring it, The Forum is also potentially in conflict of interest when it ties school issues to the HPR. Simply because our editor and her daughter are at odds with the district, does not make it an HPR issue; however, that reality compels us to be very cautious in any coverage in our own news pages.

HPR and The Forum are the only newspapers in Fargo, one a daily that is the hub of a regional media conglomerate with immense resources and influence. The HPR is the only other newspaper in Fargo to survive long-term in literally decades.

Both newspapers are obligated to exercise extreme caution. We, in the meantime, admonish The Forum for attempting to color our journalistic integrity, while not at the same time declaring their own potential conflicts of interest.

And speaking of potential conflicts, consider this: the school board’s legal council just happens to be the Serkland Law firm, which just happens to be owned by Jack Marcil, who just happens to be brother to media mogul Bill Marcil Sr., who of course is also the uncle to Bill Marcil Jr., current publisher/owner of the Forum Communications, Forum Newspaper, and 20 other or so media entities owned by said corporation. The Forum garners advertising and printing revenues from the school district. And, until the creation of the People’s Press Project, a non-profit arm of HPR, The Forum was the only media covering school board and county commission meetings routinely; now there are two.

Much like many other businesses, HPR is to a large degree a family business. HPR’s co-owner and publisher’s sister is our editor. And we like that. Across the way, The Forum takes pride also in the Marcil family ownership and management tradition, having recently passed the helm from father to son, Bill Marcil Sr. to Bill Marcil Jr. Numerous other media in our region and state have family members involved in the family businesses.

Fargo is not the biggest city in the world. Rather, it’s a big small city, or a small big city. We cannot avoid the possibility of conflicts of interest when people know each other, work with each other, do business and socialize with each other, or are even at times related to each other. It’s simply real world.

Elected officials need to declare conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when a potential conflict of interest surfaces. Newspapers and media also need to be cautious, and to not overstep bounds when they in fact are reporting on a competitor, but disguising it as straight news, when it’s colored or slanted due to that inherent conflict.

HPR readers know more than anyone that since our co-owner entered into the public arena as an elected official in the school district, there has been a trade-off. Where we used to write very commonly about Fargo Schools issues and in fact expressed very strong opinions over the years, we hardly ever do any more, unless provoked by the local, competitive daily newspaper.

We are doing our best to stay on the high road regarding this circumstance involving our co-owner as a sitting member of the school board and our editor’s family who is involved with this particular situation emanating out of their personal family’s connection to “The Laramie Project.”

We call on The Forum to embrace that same ethic.

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