How public are public employees' wages?: Publishing salaries at taxpayer-funded institutions stirs debate on journalism
PrintNov. 16--In the digital era, newspapers increasingly are challenged with new ethical questions.
How and when should risque online reader comments be censored? Should graphic photos, often omitted from print, be made available to those who seek them on the Web?
Should public employee salaries -- pay to top managers down to janitors -- be made available for online readers to browse at leisure?
The Victoria Advocate posed this last question to the public in a column and blog published Wednesday. The public's reaction was as split as the opinions offered inside the newspaper.
Some argued against the online publishing of public salary databases, a growing trend among U.S. newspapers. They say salaries and job titles should be published, but names should not. Others say publish the whole lot of it: employee's name, salary, job title and tenure, age, gender and race.
The Advocate requested and received this data from local governments and public-funded institutions. All of this information is public by law.
Publish without names
This newspaper's ethics board, a 14-member panel of employees from most corners of the building, debated Tuesday how and whether to publish this public information online.
Some board members argued the salary database should be published online but without employee names. Others argued to publish the salaries of only upper-level management.
"The most compelling argument for me was seeing all of the non-journalists' view of this," Advocate Editor Chris Cobler said. "They saw posting the janitor's name and salary as an unnecessary intrusion. The public accuses journalists of being arrogant, and we need to be mindful of that while still reporting the unvarnished news."
Cobler said he thought publishing public salary databases without names would be a reasonable approach. His wife works for the University of Houston-Victoria, a tax-funded institution, but the editor said he wouldn't object to posting her name and salary online.
Others sided with him.
"From a journalistic perspective, I just don't see the value in including the names beyond satisfying the voyeuristic appetite of some readers," said Dan Easton, an Advocate vice president. "I think we and our audience can fulfill the majority of our watchdog role without including the names in the database."
Many Advocate readers agreed with Cobler and Easton. The readers included those who hold public jobs or who have family in those jobs.
"If there is a desire on your part to implicate or expose those who are fattening themselves at the taxpayers' expense, conduct this exposure on a basis that will not expose the individual to crime," said Terence Smith, who is retired and whose wife works at The Victoria College. "Armed with a phone book, and salary level, property criminals -- i.e., burglars -- can and will use your database to shop for victims."
Opponents say they fear publication will place public employees in danger of identity theft, robbery and burglary.
Publish it all
Those who support publishing salaries with names say a newspaper's job is to serve as a public watchdog. Taxpayers deserve to know where, and to whom, their tax dollars go.
Furthermore, the public has a right to look at salaries and how they are divided among key factors such as race, age and gender. The information already is available to anyone who requests it.
By publishing these databases, public employees and others in the know also could spot disturbing patterns some outsiders might not, said Thomas Martinez, the Advocate's managing editor.
"It's our job to make sure the government is spending wisely. If we're not doing this, we're not doing our job," Martinez said. "We're a newsgathering organization. Readers look to us to gather this information."
Stephen McHaney, an Advocate vice president, said tax-funded institutions should be scrutinized.
"It is one of the fundamental roles of newspapers to do this very thing," McHaney said. " However, while we have this right, it is also our responsibility to use it responsibly."
Andy Schotz is chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Committee. He said newspapers were obligated to publish public salaries online and fears of identity theft and burglary were unfounded.
"Is it really putting someone at risk? Is it unfair? Malicious?" Schotz said. "Public information would have to meet a pretty high standard to meet an exception like this."
Dozens of newspapers -- the Sacramento Bee, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and Houston Chronicle, just for starters -- offer this information to readers.
In most cases, reader reaction to initial publishing was immediate and harsh. But the general response softened within weeks, newspaper leaders say, and criticisms -- shared most often by public employees or relatives -- turned to praise by others.
"A lot of times public entities see it as invasive," Schotz said. "When they became a public employee, they made that choice. You're going to be examined more closely. Public information is there for anybody who wants it."
Jeremy Milarsky, database library director for Investigative Reporters and Editors, agreed. He suggests newspapers should accompany trend stories -- a look at whether female government employees are paid fairly, for example -- with the online databases. The Advocate plans to publish a series of stories after analyzing the data of the largest tax-supported institutions in the Crossroads region.
"Instead of simply listing data, offer readers important searchable questions: How much does the average professor make? How much does the average ethnic group make?" Milarsky said. "Newspapers that do both seem to soften the fallout."
Many Advocate readers, including a handful of public employees, agreed with Milarsky.
Tina Williams, who now works in the Advocate's business office, once worked for Harris County -- and the Chronicle published her salary, gender, age and job title.
"The truth is, when I was on the list I did not like it," Williams said. "Now, not being on the list, I enjoy seeing the information and feel entitled to it as a taxpayer."
What's this story about?
The Advocate wanted to learn how public money is being spent. It requested and received salary databases, as well as data such as age, race, gender, job title and tenure.
During the next several months, the newspaper plans to analyze and report on the largest Crossroads institutions bound by law to make public such information. Starting with the University of Houston-Victoria -- chosen because its president is the highest-paid public employee in the county -- the Advocate will dissect this information and make the most relevant data available online.
For decades, newspapers have received and analyzed public databases. What's new in the past few years is the ability to publish this information in an online searchable database.
The first story and related Web presentation are planned within the next two weeks. The Advocate is soliciting reader opinions regarding the online presentation.
To see more of Victoria Advocate, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Victoria Advocate, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
