In a time of scarce resources, how should it be funded?
And how much editorial freedom should the Presbyterian News Service have?
The General Assembly Council is being asked to consider those questions – which could include even a more basic one: should the denomination’s award-winning news service continue to exist?
The council’s executive committee voted Sept. 28 to ask the council to create a new five-member task force, which would consider these questions and report back in March 2009. The full council will decide during its meeting this week – which runs Sept. 30-Oct. 3 – whether to approve that recommendation. .
This is not the first time the council has discussed what it wants the News Service to do and be. But this proposal comes at a time when the issue of communication is front-and-center for the denomination’s management team – when it’s considered imperative for the PC(USA) to communicate clearly, quickly and consistently.
Karen Schmidt, the council’s deputy executive director for communication and funds development, is conducting an overall review of the denomination’s communications strategy. Communications representatives are being assigned to each of the main program areas. There is clearly a desire that the message coming from the PC(USA) be coordinated – and it’s unclear how the Presbyterian News Service, which operates with a sense of journalistic independence, fits into that vision.
What’s being asked, in part, is what is the value, and perhaps the cost, of having a denominational news service with a level of journalistic independence? And how does that fit into the larger public relations vision for the PC(USA)?
In 2002, when the council last considered this question, the council voted 22 to 21 not to revise the role of the News Service.
A report was presented at that time attempting to clarify the role of the News Service – with the idea of making sure that the denomination’s “institutional voice” was reflected in News Service stories, particularly on controversial issues. But some in that debate cautioned against giving denominational leaders more room to “spin” the coverage the News Service provides.
The News Service currently is governed by editorial guidelines which say it shall operate “with freedom and integrity,” shall “report the facts accurately, clearly, fairly, impartially and promptly,” and shall adhere to the ethical standards of the Associated Church Press.
The close vote in 2002 indicates that Presbyterians do have differing views on what they want from the News Service. And Schmidt, in presenting the proposal to the Executive Committee, said that “it is fundamentally time to take a review of the Presbyterian News Service,” including where in the denominational structure it should report, how it should be funded, and what its role and purpose should be.
The Executive Committee voted, with no discussion, to recommend that the council create the task force, which Carol Adcock of Texas, chair of the General Assembly Council, would appoint. The issue is slated to be voted on as part of the council’s consent agenda – which means the full council might not discuss it publicly, but would vote on it as part of a package of business.
The News Service currently has a budget of $305,000, with one coordinator and one reporter. Another reporter, Toya Richards Hill, resigned last spring, and her position has not been filled. Formerly, the News Service was funded through the per capita budget. Its funding was shifted to the mission budget for the current budget cycle.
