March 29, 2002
Ariz. Republic's ME Is Highest-Ranking
'Out' Editor
A Sign Of Progressive Times For Newspapers?
By Steve Friess
RENO, Nev. -- Randy Lovely will become the
highest-ranking openly gay leader of a major metropolitan newspaper
on April 8 when he takes over as managing editor of The Arizona
Republic in Phoenix, a precedent he views as a sign of progressive
times.
Lovely, previously executive editor of The
Desert Sun in Palm Springs, Calif., will oversee the newsroom
of 400 journalists daily under Tom Callinan, the Republic's
executive editor. Callinan also hired Lovely in 1992, as assistant
managing editor at The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla., the first
in a string of four Gannett Co. Inc. papers for Lovely leading
him to Phoenix.
A Feb. 14 story in the Republic on Lovely's
appointment did not overtly discuss the 38-year-old's sexual
orientation, but did include a matter-of-fact note that he would
be moving to Phoenix with his partner. The paper is providing
that partner, John Sallot, head-hunting help to find a new job,
a perk typically associated with executives who move with married
spouses.
"Gannett has been very gracious," Lovely said.
"The company as a whole and the people at The Arizona Republic
are very understanding."
Robert Dodge, president of the National Lesbian
and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), cheered the appointment.
"You can find plenty of gay people in the upper echelons of
the news business, but it is less common to find those that
are totally out," said Dodge, a national economics correspondent
in the Washington bureau of The Dallas Morning News. "This is
true in both print and broadcast. ... It says good things about
Gannett in advancing the career of a news professional who has
the courage and confidence to be fully out in the newsroom."
As recently as last year, Gannett was on NLGJA's
hit list for failing to offer benefits to the domestic partners
of its employees. Lovely, who has been out of the closet in
his newsrooms since age 26, said he voiced his distaste for
Gannett's benefits policy at many high-ranking meetings over
the years. The company began offering domestic-partner benefits
this year.
Lovely pointed to the fact that he's continued
his fast rise despite being gay, and vocal, as proof that the
industry is changing. He said he'll focus as managing editor
on finding ways to provide relevant community news to Phoenix's
ever-sprawling population. The gay issue won't be a priority,
he insisted.
"All I have to be is true to myself and true
to the responsibilities I've been given," he said. "I'm not
going to deny coverage to the gay and lesbian community to prove
something to the rest of the readership, but I'm also not going
to turn The Arizona Republic into the community's gay-and-lesbian
newspaper. You can't get caught up in that or you start to second-guess
yourself too much."
While Lovely is the highest-ranking out editor
at a large metro daily today, other openly gay editors at smaller
papers have previously held higher titles. Leroy Aarons, founder
of NLGJA, came out publicly in 1990 when he was executive editor
of The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune.
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