Michelle Bearden, religion writer for the Tampa Tribune, did the reporting that prompted St. Petersburg Bishop Robert Lynch to call a news conference March 21 to deny charges of sexual harassment. An e-mail exchange between Bearden and Poynter’s Bill Mitchell follows:
Poynter.org: How much can you tell us about how you uncovered this story in the first place?
Michelle Bearden : I was minding my own business, working on a few features and news stories regarding Easter and Passover. Nothing heavy. I was looking forward to an upcoming vacation. Then a source starting calling me about this story a week before…I kept insisting there was no story without documents. When I got those documents, I realized we may have something here.
Poynter.org: Initial reaction from the Diocese?
Michelle Bearden: I didn’t go to the diocese. I had the bishop’s unlisted number (he had left work early on Wednesday because he was coming off the flu) and decided this was important enough to call him at home. He answered the phone and I told him I needed to see him right away, within the next day or so. His secretary had informed me earlier in the day that he was “completed booked” and wouldn’t be able to get with me until after Easter. I knew this couldn’t wait, so I told him it was urgent. I would not tell him what it was about on the phone. So he asked me if it concerned a priest…and I said “Sort of.” He said, “Does it concern the bishop?” And I said, “Yes.” He said we could meet that night at his house, if I was comfortable with that. As I already had an interview in St. Petersburg on an unrelated story that could not be canceled, I told him it would be later. He said that was okay.
Poynter.org: How soon after you put your first questions to the diocese did Bishop Lynch call the news conference?
Michelle Bearden: I showed him the documents that evening and asked him if they were real. And I asked him to go on the record with me about that. That night, he said he couldn’t go on the record (although he eventually gave me a few things on the record) because it was a personnel matter and he needed to clear it through the diocesan attorney, Joe DiVito. At the time, I felt it was an important story and we should have everyone on the record. So he told me I could talk to the attorney about it tomorrow. He also said he needed Bill Urbanski’s permission to discuss what is normally a confidential personnel issue. He also said he doubted that Urbanski would talk to me about this (he did, on the record, the next day).We had a good faith agreement that I would do some more investigation the next day, get my ducks in order, then come back to the bishop for an on-the-record interview, possibly as early as Friday. He assured me he would not speak to any other members of the press, because I was the only one who had the information.
I spoke with Urbanski’s attorney and Bill on Thursday. And I was asking a lot of questions to various people on the bishop’s staff, trying to confirm allegations made by Bill in the documents and in our interview. Those people went to the bishop and he decided it was best to call the press conference Friday to head off our story. For him, that was the best thing to do.
We didn’t get to break the story — although we did on TBO.com on Friday around 12:30 p.m. And the bishop credited a “news outlet” for having the documents and preparing the story, which is why the press conference was taking place.
And to his credit, he gave me a private interview at 1:30 p.m. to address some of the allegations, which is where I got the information for your next question.
Poynter.org: One element of your story that I’ve not seen elsewhere is Mr. Urbanski’s claim that Bishop Lynch acknowledged struggling with his sexuality, discussed his “confusion” at a staff meeting and received some kind of evaluation during a two-week stay at an undisclosed location. You quote the bishop as denying the quote about struggling with his sexuality. As a journalist, how do you decide how far to probe in areas like this? What are the key considerations that might transform a part of someone’s personal life that would ordinarily be intensely private into something considered appropriate for public inquiry?
Michelle Bearden: What made this public, simply, is that the bishop is a spiritual leader of nearly 372,000 Catholics, and he has a moral standard that might be held higher than the average Joe. It is difficult to answer questions about one’s private life, particularly when it involves sexuality. But bear in mind that this was a story about sexual harassment, and if the bishop conceded that he struggled with his sexuality, then it could confirm what the accuser was saying. He didn’t outright say he struggled with his sexuality, only that he had “struggles and turmoils,” but he never broke his vow of celibacy. People will have to draw their own conclusions on that.
Poynter.org: This story is obviously quite different from many stories around the country involving the abuse of children by clergy. More and more newsrooms are finding themselves faced with a range of potential stories involving the sexual behavior of clergy. What would you advise journalists new to this kind of coverage? Lessons from your early work on this story?
Michelle Bearden: Take every tip from every potential accuser. And be ready to throw most of them out. I’m not saying that all accusers are making up stuff, but they need to provide documentation or some kind of proof. And that’s hard in this case. The problem is, we can’t print every story because these allegations can ruin a person’s whole life and ministry. So you have to proceed with caution. You have to explore areas that may be uncomfortable.
Poynter.org: What have been some of the most challenging aspects of the coverage? Journalistically? Ethically? Personally?
Michelle Bearden: Trying to determine who is telling the truth. Realizing that each party puts his or her own spin on the story. Dealing with people who are hurt and damaged and have low self-esteem. Being as fair and balanced as humanly possible. Personally, it’s been emotionally exhausting. Phone calls keep coming in. I’ve been working way too many hours and my personal life is on hold. I would like a break, but I’m worried about missing a beat on the story that we essentially broke here at The Tampa Tribune. Now one of our editors has added more people to my little team of one, and they’re doing a fabulous job.
Poynter.org: What’s it been like covering this story in the converged environment of WFLA and tbo.com? Did you routinely produce separate versions for TV and online on the stories you’ve written about this for the Trib?
Michelle Bearden: On the day it broke, we put all three heads together — newspaper, TBO and television — and I gave everyone what I had at that point. I worked with our deputy managing editor, Larry Fletcher, on writing the TBO version before I left for the press conference, then after the press conference, I went to Bill Urbanski’s house (the accuser) for the print/tv interview. I got back to the News Center at 4:50 p.m….enough time to give the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. producers different soundbites for their shows. Then I concentrated on my print story for the next two or three hours When I finshed that, I rushed down to the station to produce a 2 1/2-minute segment on the Urbanski interview for the 11 p.m. news. We ran that as a counter piece with the bishop press conference. As you can see, Friday was rather insane. Since then, I’ve been giving various information to the the station, and I’ve written another TBO story on the reaction the bishop got at the Chrism Mass a few days later. But I haven’t produced any other packages at this point. This is not a real visual story for television.
Poynter.org: How do you find the time to produce for multiple platforms on a breaking story like this? Does it require you to cut your reporting short? Any ways in which reporting on multiple platforms improves your reporting or story-telling? Benefits for readers and viewers?
Michelle Bearden: First off, you need to be a Type A personality to pull this off. And very organized (which I am, but you can’t tell by looking at my desk). Sometimes, reporting is cut short, so that’s a negative. That day I interviewed Urbanski, I could have used more time, but realized I needed to get back to the station to give them soundbites. As for improving storytelling, I think this was an emotional story, and television really captured that. This story overall, however, was much better suited for newspapers — way too many details. The benefit to the viewers is that we can send them to the newspaper to read more details.
Poynter.org: Advice for journalists who will be approaching/interviewing victims?
Michelle Bearden: Listen, listen, listen. You may be hearing some graphic stuff. And much of it is hard to prove. This is a very difficult story to cover, because in many cases, the perpetrator is either old or dead.
Poynter.org: Advice for journalists who will be approaching/interviewing accused perpetrators?
Michelle Bearden: Come prepared, such as with documents, and be ready to hear denials (which may be true denials). Again, listen. I’ve heard stories where the guilt-ridden immediately break down and confess. They tell all, because it’s been pent up for so long. That would be the easy way to get the story. It’s never happened to me.
Poynter.org: Advice for journalists (who might not have much or any experience as religion writers) who will be approaching/interviewing church officials?
Michelle Bearden: Learn the church lingo first. Talk to a religion reporter and have some sort of understanding of the church structure and language. Do research on the diocesan guidelines for sexual abuse or harassment. Like any subject, you need to be prepared. I have an edge, since I’ve covered religion for so long, and I was raised Catholic.
Poynter.org: What’s your experience been with church officials on this story?
Michelle Bearden: Generally, pretty fair. They’ve responded to all my calls promptly, except for the day after I showed the documents to the bishop. I believe they were making plans that day to head me off at the pass. Then again, in this climate, the bishop made the choice best for him, and as he told me, best for his clergy. If the story had broken over the weekend, as we were considering, then it would have had to hold a press conference during Holy Week. Horrible timing. Also, he would have been responding and reacting, rather than pre-empting the strike with his own spin. So he did what was best.
Truly, I think the important thing is that the story got out. The public needed to know this kind of settlement was paid. Maybe we didn’t break it exclusively (except on TBO), but we were responsible to driving the engine. My editors may not agree, since we’re in such a competitive market, but I wanted to be accurate and fair, and I couldn’t rush this one out.
Poynter.org: What kinds of response have you gotten to the story?
Michelle Bearden: Probably about 2/3rds support for the bishop, and 1/3 for Urbanski. Lots of emails/calls resulting in new tips for the story.
Poynter.org: What’s surprised you so far about this story and your coverage?
Michelle Bearden: A few years ago, we would have gotten a ton of angry calls from people calling me a “Catholic basher.” Any story that put the church in a negative light was looked upon by the faithful as a snow job. Now Catholics are willing to see their church in a more truthful light. They still love it, warts and all, but they are far more tolerant of stories that examine church policy and behavior by its clergy. In fact, they almost seem to be calling for it
By the way, the Baptists have been praying for the Catholics. I’ve gotten a lot of calls from Baptists who are pleased the limelight is not on them this time around!
Poynter.org: Any other lessons learned?
Michelle Bearden: When a source comes to me with documents, just assume there will be little sleep, no exercise at the Y, no quality time with my pets or my significant other, other stories ignored, for a period of time. You have to stay with the story. Don’t try to do it all alone. Solicit your editors for some help. Keep editors on top of every step along the way. My immediate editor was out of the office at the most crucial time, dealing with a death in the family, and then she had to go out of town. I needed her! But it couldn’t be helped. I realized the importance of an immediate editor – one who works with me daily and whom I respect — when she wasn’t there.
I will have to think long and hard about my decision to accept the bishop’s reluctance — actually, refusal — to go on record that night. I could have run the story Friday, just saying the bishop would not dicuss a personnel issue. Then it wouldn’t have been balanced — but it would have been his choice. Still, in my heart, I believe I did the right thing. I’d rather err on the side of caution and be right, than rush into this and be wrong. Too much is at stake.
Poynter.org: What role, if any, did the paper’s links to Urbanski (via his dad, James Urbanski, former president of the Tampa Tribune) and the bishop’s lawyer, Joseph DiVito, (via his brother, Tampa Tribune photo director Allyn DiVito) play in all this?
Michelle Bearden: It played no role whatsoever, other than we felt it necessary to disclose the information. I still had to hunt down Joe DiVito (without asking for help from his brother) and Bill felt we owed him no special favor just because his dad worked here 10 years ago. We just felt it was important to let the readers know there was a connection, even if we didn’t capitalize on it.
Poynter.org: Other questions I should have asked and didn’t?
Michelle Bearden: I think we pretty much covered it all. Now I have to get to the 36 voice mails waiting for me. There could be a worthwhile tip in there!!
