From a September 6 column by Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander:
I agree that the story fell short, but not because Hesse was naïve or lacked journalistic diligence. In retracing her reporting, it's clear the research was extensive. And some details about her personal life seem to belie claims she has a conservative agenda (more on that later).
Rather, this is a case where three things -- a storytelling concept, a writing technique and a bad headline -- combined to ignite reader reaction as vitriolic as any I've experienced in my seven months as ombudsman.
[...]
Hesse said she decided to let Brown tell his story, as opposed to extensively quoting what others say about him. Her editors didn't object to the concept. Having Brown's story told in his “voice,” Hesse reasoned, would allow readers to best assess his arguments.
Fine in theory. But it deprived readers of hearing from others who have battled Brown and find him uncivil and bigoted. To them, he represents injustice. They should have been heard, at length.
“In a profile piece, for a controversial figure like that . . . there should certainly be the other side of it,” said Fred Karger, head of a group called Californians Against Hate.
In retrospect, Style editor Lynn Medford agrees. “The lesson is to always, in some way, represent the other side,” she said.
Karger, who has fought with Brown over same-sex marriage in California, said, “He is just as shrill, just as anti-gay as any of the leading gay-bashers” have been over the years.
Compounding the story's problems were passages like: “He takes nothing personally. He means nothing personal. He is never accusatory or belittling.”
These types of unattributed characterizations are not uncommon in feature writing. But many readers thought Hesse was offering her opinion of who Brown is, as opposed to portraying how he comes across.
Finally, the headline: “Opposing Gay Unions With Sanity & a Smile.” To many readers, The Post was saying Brown's views are sane. The headline, written by editors, not Hesse, should have been neutral.
Hesse is a gifted writer, as can be seen in a piece about her marriage in today's Post Magazine. At 28, she's one of Style's rising stars. But she was rocked by the angry reaction to the Brown story and spent most of last week responding to unhappy readers. Especially sensitive to accusations of a “homophobic agenda,” her e-mails offered a glimpse into her personal life.
“My current partner is a man,” she wrote them. “Before him, my partner of two years was a woman, with whom I discussed health insurance, kids, houses and marriage. You can bet that I found the fact that our marriage wouldn't have been legal to be wrong as hell.
”That doesn't mean that what NOM is trying to do and how they are trying to do it are not important to hear about," she wrote.
Previously:
Even more the Washington Post left out of its NOM profile
What the WaPo's National Organization for Marriage profile left out