The CBSNews.com column this week promoting rumors that potential Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was gay have sparked a major uproar -- ranging from gay rights activists to veteran Supreme Court reporters who say the post crosses numerous ethical lines.
First, the issue of reporting on a public figure's sexuality, true or not, upsets some, while the mere idea of reporting a rumor on a reputable news outlet's blog is seen as a clear “no-no.”
A White House official has said the rumor is false and has harshly criticized CBS.
While a CBS News spokesperson contacted by Media Matters declined to comment on the issue or what future action it may prompt against Ben Domenech, others were not shy about voicing their views.
Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at The Poynter Institute, said someone's sexual orientation cannot be reported unless the person reveals it themselves.
“As journalists, we report things we know to be true,” she said. “This reporter made an assumption, it is an assumption that is impossible to verify if the person is not willing to discuss it.”
Others agreed.
Jeffrey Toobin, a CNN commentator and contributor to The New Yorker who has covered the Supreme Court extensively, said the blog post by Ben Domenech raises two issues: Is someone's sexual orientation an issue? And if it is, how do you prove it?
“Is a public figure's sexuality relevant and if it is, how do you report on it?” he said. “It has to be relevant to the position and I don't know that whether someone is gay is relevant to this position.”
In this instance, reporting a rumor, whether it is about sexuality or anything else, is not adhering to the journalistic standards, he added: “I guess I am old-fashioned in the sense that unless you have some journalistically responsible source about a subject, you shouldn't report it, period.”
On the CBSNews.com blog item, Toobin stated: “Even if it is relevant, this is not an acceptable way to report it.”
Tony Mauro of the National Law Journal who has covered the Supreme Court for 30 years, agreed. “It is the unappealing side of the blogosphere,” he noted. “I am all for a wide-open Internet. But there is an unfortunate rush to get something up on a blog without checking and I am not happy with that.”
“I don't think private sexual orientation is fair game,” he says about the Supreme Court nominating process. “I don't see getting into it unless it becomes a major issue.”
Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Pew Research Center Project for Excellence in Journalism, said there is no reason to raise the sexuality issue. “I don't know of any news outlet that approves of outing,” he told me. “It is also not acceptable to publish rumors.”
Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, adds: “CBS News should know better than to be trading in gossip and speculation about a person's sexual orientation. This is the kind of thing we'd expect to see in the tabloids, not in a credible news outlet. We've reached out to CBS to express our concerns about the fact that they would allow their brand and one of their platforms to be used in this way.”