Kersten calls attention to anti-Kersten petition; Pulitzer winner among the signers

Conservative Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten this morning called out an online petition that demands her firing. The petition (which has 191 signatories at present — hardly the “droves” Kersten writes of, although since she drew attention to it, the numbers are steadily climbing) accuses Kersten of “journalistic malpractice” for her columns on the majority-Muslim charter school Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, which reportedly resulted in threats and additional security at the Inver Grove Heights elementary school.

One signatory of the petition might lend more credence to that criticism than most: the Pioneer Press’ David Hanners, who won a Pulitzer Prize for the Dallas Morning News in 1989, was the eighth to sign. (Note: the Anne O’Connor named in the petition is not the former Strib reporter, who now lives in Wisconsin.)

Reached by email, Hanners expanded on his comments:

“Granted, asking another newspaper to re-consider a columnist’s writing is a grave step and one I don’t take lightly. As someone who takes his professional ethics very seriously, I’ve always refrained from signing petitions involving anything, even for those earnest folks who come to the front door and ask me to support ‘clean water.’ I’ve never done anything like this, and I’ve read some pretty disagreeable columnists over the past 30 years. But on a professional level, when Kersten does stuff like this, it reflects upon all of us who have to go out there day after day and try to get people to talk to us for stories. Oftentimes, the reading public doesn’t differentiate between columnist and reporter; even ‘sophisticated’ readers like the guys at Power Line refer to her as a ‘reporter’ in their defense of her. Folks tend to lump us all into the same pile, and our jobs are very different. While columnists should be granted wide latitude in expressing opinion, they — like reporters — have to maintain fidelity to facts. They can’t make them up and they can’t burn them beyond recognition to fit some pre-determined view.”

Hanners acknowledges personal interest in the story, based on his faith, but says it’s a  belief in journalistic principles that drove his thinking. “Being Muslim (and I have no connection to TIZA) may make me more sensitive to the issue in this case, but religion really has little to do with it,” he wrote. “As a profession, we have certain standards we must maintain. Given the questions raised in this instance, as well as other concerns that have been raised involving her columns, I don’t believe it is extraordinary that Kersten’s employer check to see if those standards are being upheld.”

In her post, Kersten mentions Scott Johnson’s “valiant stand” in defending her at the blog Power Line (while Johnson regularly mentions his friendship with Kersten, she doesn’t disclose that relationship here) and reprints Johnson’s entire post. She also complains that state Rep. Mindy Greiling, in her audio interview with Minnesota Monitor, called her a “thug.” (Greiling visited TIZA and found the school exemplary in fulfilling its mandate to accommodate religion, calling it an “impressive” school.) But on this point, Kersten misleads: She leaves out key context, that Greiling was responding to Power Line’s claim that the Star Tribune and Greiling were committing an “act of thuggery” for running a letter to the editor.

Kersten also points out that Coleen Rowley, FBI whistleblower and onetime Congressional candidate, signed the petition. Rowley confirms that she did sign, but says she never received a call from Kersten verifying the fact.

Related: Kersten’s St. Thomas column nothing ‘to be particularly concerned about,’ says her editor