Titles Matter at the Editor & Publisher
A recent article in the Editor & Publisher appears to have made a glaring misrepresentation about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the error was subsequently remedied. The Editor & Publisher is a monthly journal covering the newspaper business. It featured an article dated May 25 that carried the title “Deseret Reporter Subpoenaed in Mormon Church Rape Case.” However, the reporter in question is being subpoenaed to testify in the Warren Jeffs rape case. Mr. Jeffs is being tried as an accomplice in two rape cases resulting from his polygamist teachings and alleged arranging of marriages between adult men and minor girls.As LDS News Watch has previously indicated, Warren Jeffs is a leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), which has no connection to the Mormon Church. Neither Mr. Jeffs nor anyone else involved in the case are members of the Mormon Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not practice polygamy, and condemns child abuse. Thus, to call the Warren Jeffs case the “Mormon Church Rape Case” is patently false.
News aggregator services still carry this title for the article, but the Editor & Publisher appears to have recognized its mistake. The current title on the Editor & Publisher’s website reads: “Deseret Reporter Subpoenaed in Rape Case.” There is now no mention of the the Church of Jesus Christ or Mormons in the article on the Editor & Publisher page. As of this posting, the article’s author has not yet responded to inquiries as to the change in title.
The editors of the publication should be commended for recognizing the mistake and making the necessary changes. Unfortunately, the article has been picked up by many other news services, not all of whom have recognized the corrected language. As always, LDS News Watch urges members of the media to be precise when referring to the Mormon Church and to do their research in all their articles.