READERS' REPRESENTATIVE

Some readers think writing about Gloria Squitiro’s diaries was an invasion of privacy

Throughout Mayor Mark Funkhouser’s administration, I’ve heard a slow but steady drumbeat of criticism from readers who think The Kansas City Star has treated the mayor unfairly from his first day in office.

“I remember (The Star’s editorial board) endorsed Funkhouser in 2007, but why have you been on his back the entire time since he got elected?” asked a reader last Thursday. “I really don’t understand why you’re making such a huge deal out of his wife’s diaries. Get off it!”

She was referring to ongoing coverage of a diary written by Funkhouser’s wife Gloria Squitiro. The document was produced July 13 during the discovery process in the discrimination lawsuit brought by former mayoral aide Ruth Bates. The Star and KSHB-TV both reported on the diary and posted it. The Star received it from a source who requested anonymity.

The newspaper redacted some profanity and passages involving people who aren’t connected to city government in its version, which is still available at KansasCity.com.

One reader who contacted me called publishing the journal “a grotesque violation of privacy, as far as I see it. I don’t know if you’ve ever kept a diary yourself, but how would you feel if someone found it and put it out there for everyone to read?”

Another echoed similar sentiments: “I feel (Squitiro’s) humiliation. She never intended any of this to go out in the public, but you can’t take it back once it’s out there. (The Star) made a serious mistake.”

Several I spoke to asked if the diary is a public document. Probably not at this point.

As a story July 16 says, Funkhouser sent a defense to the Bottom Line Communications Web site, explaining Squitiro wrote the journal on her personal computer. Funkhouser said a portion of the diary ended up on his own computer, leading to its disclosure during discovery.

It’s therefore defensible that the diary would not be subject to Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Until the court rules it’s admissible as evidence, it is not an exhibit in the trial. If it is eventually entered into evidence, though, it would automatically become public.

There’s no question that The Star has scrutinized the Funkhouser administration closely, and I can see why some readers might think its reporting has been too hard on him. There have been numerous opinion pieces in the Local and Opinion sections critical of the mayor, though columnist Mike Hendricks actually stuck up for Squitiro’s authenticity in his July 15 column.

At the same time, the strife between the mayor and the City Council isn’t an invention of The Star or any other media source, and the paper would be remiss in playing it down. Here’s where subjectivity comes into play, and some readers think the paper has gone overboard — while others want it to jump in deeper.

To reach Derek Donovan, send e-mail to readerrep@kcstar.com or call 816-234-4487 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and noon. Visit Ad Astrum, the readers’ representative blog, at adastrum.kansascity.com

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