Deseret News Mayoral Questionnaire makes industry news (Deseret News gets pushy in mayoral race)
Editor & Publisher pg 10 30Oct99 D3
By Joe Strupp

The Deseret News came under fire last month both from Salt Lake's mayoral candidates and form cross-town rival the Salt Lake Tribune after it sent an invasive 31-item questionnaire to both candidates for mayor. Now, newspaper industry publication Editor &Publisher has reported on the incident and newspaper journalists, editors and publishers are learning from its mistake.

The questionnaire was sent to mayoral candidates Rocky Anderson and Stuart Reid, asking them questions that both the candidates and the Tribune considered 'invasive.' The items included questions like: Have you ever had a lifethreatening illness? Have you ever defaulted on a loan? and , Did you ever drop out of high school or junior high?

The candidates reacted somewhat differently, but both criticized the newspaper for the coverage. Anderson limited some of his answers to the questionnaire and Reid simply refused to answer any of the questions. The questionnaire was also criticized because it failed to ask about any of the governmental and legislative issues in the campaign, such as crime, taxes, housing or education.

The Deseret News defended the questionnaire, saying that it planned to use it only as a research tool for candidate profiles. Editor John Hughes said the questionnaire was necessary, after scandals involving outgoing mayor Dee Dee Corradini.

The article did not explore reactions from journalists, editors and publishers, however.