Foundation apology was faux pas

The headline pointed out the problem: "Journalism dean apologizes for practicing journalism."

Journalism Dean Jerry Brown did indeed apologize, under orders from University of Montana President George Dennison, for disclosing a fund-raising rejection letter from the Cox Foundation, an arm of the Atlanta-based Cox media empire.

The rejection letter from Cox Foundation Vice President James C. Kennedy said the foundation would not give any donations to Montana causes until the state's nonresident landowners are "more appreciated" and issues over access to Montana streams and rivers are resolved. Kennedy, it so happens, owns land on Montana's Ruby River.

There's something stinky about a public university's journalism dean being forced to apologize because he didn't keep secret a letter from a media-related foundation.

As Gov. Brian Schweitzer put it, the letter should have been released purely in the spirit of open government.

Dennison should be ashamed for coercing Brown to apologize, especially if he did it in response to a demand from the Cox organization. Brown owed no apology. He did nothing but disclose a letter that is arguably a public document, because it was sent to a public institution, and which was entirely newsworthy, because it cast a new light on an issue that has been brewing in Montana for years.

If out-of-state philanthropists are playing hardball because they don't like Montana attitudes toward absentee landowners or the state's stream-access laws, then this is a new area to be explored on Montana's socio-economic landscape. It was entirely logical of Brown to infer that Kennedy wanted the letter released in any case - otherwise it would have no influence on the public debate and would have been meaningless.

As far as Kennedy's interest in "resolving" stream-access issues, we think he should know the matter has already been resolved - to the satisfaction of Montana voters at least. Montana's access law has been challenged several times, and it has withstood those challenges each time with broad support from the Montana citizenry.

The Cox Foundation made it clear that it would not be providing any funds for a new journalism building. Fine. Enough said. Perhaps some other foundation will provide money based on the quality of the journalism program rather than because of extraneous political considerations.

In any case, there was no need for Dennison to kowtow to Kennedy with unnecessary apologies.