Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen, who was suspended years ago when he was accused of embellishing his reporting of the Boston Marathon bombings, is in hot water yet again for committing a “mortal sin” of journalism when he got involved in a story.
The Globe is also facing heat for running the Sunday front-page centerpiece article about the physician-assisted suicide of a terminally ill woman — a death that happened with the help of Cullen.
The columnist signed a legal form that facilitated Connecticut woman Lynda Bluestein’s death in Vermont. The form attested that Bluestein was in a clear state of mind when she made the decision to go through with her physician-assisted suicide.
The woman died earlier this year, months after Cullen signed the form. Cullen’s article about the woman was then published over the weekend, along with a bombshell editor’s note about what Cullen did to help her die.
“This really disturbs me,” John Watson, a professor of journalism ethics at American University, told the Herald on Monday. “Some people in newsroom authority think that transparency is a cure-all for ethical violations, and it’s not … The admission of a sin does not erase it.
“The reporter played an essential role in this story happening,” Watson added. “And the entire thing should have been wiped off the slate. They disqualified themselves from telling the story, and they should have walked away once they realized the reporter committed a mortal sin.”
The fact that the Globe published this article sends a “horrible message” to the rest of the newsroom.
“It tells the other reporters: If the story is good enough, do what you need to do to get it,” Watson said.
The Globe’s executive editor, Nancy Barnes, in the editor’s note, wrote that Cullen violated the Globe’s standards — and that Cullen “regrets” signing the form.
“It is a violation of Globe standards for a reporter to insert themselves into a story they are covering,” Barnes wrote in the note. “That it was intended primarily as a gesture of consideration and courtesy does not alter that it was out of bounds.
“After reviewing these details, we have concluded that this error did not meaningfully impact the outcome of this story — Bluestein died on Jan. 4 and she likely would have found another signatory in the months before then,” the editor added. “For that reason, we chose to publish this powerful story, which includes exceptional photojournalism, while also sharing these details in full transparency.”
It’s vital for a journalist to remain independent when reporting a story, media ethics expert Jane Kirtley told the Herald.
“Every time a journalist gets involved in the outcome of a story, it helps reinforce a narrative — that some people have — that journalists don’t act independently, that they have an agenda and will do anything to carry out that agenda,” added Kirtley, the director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota.
Journalists cannot appear to have a stake in the outcome of the story, said Kirtley, who’s also a Silha professor of Media Ethics and Law at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
“Reporters observe and report back, and provide some analysis, but they cannot help determine what the outcome would be,” she added.
“It did make me cringe when I read a part of the editor’s note,” Kirtley added, noting the part where Barnes wrote that the dying woman would have likely found another signer. “That strikes me as a problematic assertion to make. The journalist needs to remain independent, and they’re not supposed to be a part of the story.”
The Herald reached out to the Globe on Monday, asking whether Cullen would be punished for the ethical violation following his past suspension. Also, the Herald asked why the Globe ran the column after Cullen got involved in the story. The Globe referred to the editor’s note.
“We do not have any further comment,” a Globe spokesperson wrote.
The Herald reached out to Cullen for an interview.
“Sorry, but no comment,” Cullen responded.
The columnist should “absolutely” be canned after this violation, American University’s Watson said.
Watson added, “He should have been fired the first time. Now, he should be fired for this.”