Feb 25, 2005  |  By: LOU CHIBBARO JR.  | COMMENTS     

Conservative commentators sought to turn the tables on their liberal counterparts this week as debate over former White House reporter James D. Guckert moved from speculation that he was a White House plant to media reports that he is gay and placed nude photos of himself on Web sites.

Guckert, who used the name Jeff Gannon in his reporting, resigned from his job as White House correspondent for Talon News, an ultra conservative Web site owned by a Republican operative, following reports by liberal Internet bloggers that he used a false name and appeared to be promoting President Bush’s agenda rather than honestly reporting the news.

Democrats in Congress called for an investigation into what they viewed as White House complicity in Guckert’s fake role as a reporter. Had the Guckert story remained focused on whether he had been operating as a conservative shill to promote the president’s agenda, it most likely would have died a quiet death, most media commentators have said.

But things got dicey a few days later when gay Internet blogger John Aravosis was provided and chose to publish evidence that Guckert worked in the past as a gay escort and posted nude photos of himself on sexually oriented Web sites catering to gay men. Among them, Arovosis reported, were the sites hotmilitarystud.com and MeetLocalMen.com.

Guckert did not dispute these revelations. Instead, he accused “leftist” bloggers like Aravosis and mainstream newspapers and broadcast news organizations that picked up on Aravosis’ reports of engaging in a smear campaign to discredit him for his conservative views.

In an interview last week with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Guckert noted that the revelations about his personal life surfaced after he angered Democrats and liberals at a White House press conference, when he denounced Senate Democrats.

“[W]e seem to have established a new standard for journalists in this country,” he told Cooper. “If someone disagrees with you, then your personal life, your private life, and anything you have ever done in the past is going to be brought up for public inspection.”

Guckert’s concerns appear to have struck a chord with news media observers and critics, who expressed opposing views on whether it was appropriate for the media to disclose details of Guckert’s private life, including his sexual orientation.

The Washington Blade was among the news organizations that came under scrutiny in these discussions. In its edition last week, the Blade reported that two sources had confirmed that Guckert attended a December 1998 Christmas party in Leesburg, Va., that “always turns into an orgy toward the end.”

The Blade published a photo provided by the sources of Guckert at the party in question. It also reported it had possession of a second photo, which it did not publish, of Guckert embracing another man at the party while exposing his penis.

Kelly McBride, a faculty member at the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based school for career journalists, criticized news organizations for disclosing Guckert’s sexual orientation and alleged involvement in sexually oriented Web sites without providing a sufficient reason for doing so.

She said she was not persuaded by claims from bloggers like Aravosis that outing Guckert was justified because he was a hypocrite for working for a conservative news organization that was hostile to gay civil rights causes. McBride asked if Guckert could have been a conservative gay Republican who opposes gay marriage but supports gay rights in general?

“The transgression here is painting with a broad brush something that should be painted with a very detailed brush,” she said. “The underlying message people might read into this is there is something wrong with being gay or that a gay reporter can’t be trusted,” she said.

Lying opens door to private life?
Terry Michael, executive director of the Washington Center for Politics and Journalism, called the Guckert flap a “minor development” that did not deserve anywhere near the coverage it has received in the media. But Michael, who is gay, disputes McBride’s assessment that the media should have used more restraint in disclosing Guckert’s private life.

Because Guckert concealed his real name and acted as a Republican operative rather than a true reporter, Michaels said, “everything about his background becomes fair game.”

“Was it appropriate for the press to delve into his sex life?” asked Michaels. “Yes. When you engage in a deception to gain access to the White House press room, you invite scrutiny.”

Not so, replied David Boez, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think tank. Boez, who is gay and who has helped form a gay Libertarian group, said Guckert has become ...