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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 2004)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ «aptombf 17.2004 » | U » t O U t |13 i^iu ¡ i l l i v i d ì m e w s U nder editor G ail Kimberling’s leadership, Lincoln City’s weekly paper, The News Guard, was appreciated for its even-handed coverage, which included queer issues. She realized that good journalism often requires discussing topics that make some people uncomfortable. Kimherling led The News Guard to honor gay men Rick Brissette and Dan Beck as 2002 s Cou ple of the Year, an honor the paper had bestowed for a quarter-century. “That was a first for Lincoln City for sure, and the couple got a standing ova tion at the event where it was announced.” Kimberling’s family moved to Lincoln City from California when she was in her freshman year of high schcxT She earned a degree in psychology from Oregon State University, married her high school sweetheart and returned with him to the coast to raise four children. She had always been involved in creative writing and journalism. She witnessed some homophobia at the small high school she attended, hut in her class the gay kids seemed to blend in with everyone else. And despite a strict Catholic upbringing, sensitivity to queer equality came surprisingly easily to her. “ I guess I have just gotten to know gay peo ple in this area, and they are just people— they are great people,” she says. “When it came to covering their issues, it wasn’t because 1 had an agenda or a sole purpose in mind. It was just because it was the right thing to do.” After Kimherlings third year at The News Guard, history was made in San Francisco and Multnomah County when same-sex couples got married. “When we learned that quite a few couples from our little comer of the state had traveled to Multnomah County and to San Francisco, ‘I t W as the R ight T hing to Do’ as managing editor at The Newport NewS'Times, where she had previously put in nine years as a reporter. It is a bigger paper than The News Guard, covering all of Newport County, and she is enjoy Heterosexual newspaper editor loses job after expressing ing her new job. “I landed support for marriage equality by M ichael Burdick in a better place and a bet ter work environment.” Kimherling still sub I thought, my gosh, this is a story! And about that The agreement was to have all scribes to The News Guard time there was a reception held for all of these cou of her work subject to the approval of the head editor. “ 1 refused to sign ples. So 1 brought my feature writer with me, and because it’s important to the agreement, so I was terminated her to stay current with we attended their reception.... We tcxik a photo on the spot.” and put it on the front page the following week. local news. Publisher Kathleen Newton When pressed on how it “I wrote an accompanying editorial with it could have been so easy for insists that Kimherling was not saying, gosh, you know, this is amazing, this is just her to accept marriage for fired because of her support for history before our eyes. 1 didn’t hear anything gays despite growing up except for positive letters, which just poured in.” marriage equality. with and continuing to “We really are not able to discuss Her bosses apparently weren’t as pleased with practice Catholicism, Kim- private personnel issues,” she told Just the articles. The head editor, Joe Happ, published berling acknowledges the an opinion piece criticizing Kimherling by name Out. “I can’t comment on why she’s church’s teachings against for biased and inappropriate coverage and express no longer with the newspaper. I can homosexuality. But her tell you there is a lot of mis ing “how disappointed he was in me and how bad explanation is simple. information out there. But none of and how poorly edited it was.” Among other “You see straight couples our relationships or decision-mak things he argued that she should have ftxused all the time with marriages ing— hers or anybody else’s— they’re Gail Kimherling received the more on the fact that Lincoln County was not going haywire and the kids issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. not related to a single incident.” Human Rights Campaign’s who suffer and the couples Kimherling was shtx:kcd by Happ’s response With Kimherlings husband work- EqualityAward in 2002 for who suffer. When I see that and surmises that he bowed to pressure from a ing and youngest child having left for her fair treatment of queers commitment between the basic training in the Air Force only a small group of religious leaders. “It was hard, hut gay couples— you knew they’ve been through 1 figured I’d been here a long time. I felt what I week earlier, suddenly not having a job was tough. hurdles to get there and then to make that further “I went through the.. .grieving, being mad, kind of, did was appropriate, and it was right.” commitment takes another huge leap. This is for the loss. I’m not bitter. The last thing I told them Soon, Kimherling saw the writing on the real; we can take a lesson from it. ” j n is that I’m still proud of what I did; I can hold my wall. “Shortly after his piece appeared, I learned head up in town. And I would do it all again.” that he was advertising for my job without M ichael B urdick is a recent graduate of Reed Luckily, after only two weeks of unemploy telling me, and then I was pretty much given an College. 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