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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. He can be reached at mikje@nibblicious.com.
ment, Kimherling learned of an open position
ultimatum: ‘Sign this agreement or leave.’ ”
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