Cipriano Affair
Along with promotions, Tierney would advocate for his clients when targeted by news reporters. Tierney would contact news editors to complain about coverage of his clients, accusing news reporters of being biased, incompetent and unprofessional. The most notable of Tierney's complaints to reporters was directed at The Philadelphia Inquirer and Inquirer reporter Ralph Cipriano.
Ralph Cipriano was The Philadelphia Inquirer's religion reporter for about a year in 1993. During that time he was called several times by Tierney on behalf of Tierney's client, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. After leaving the religion reporter position, Cipriano wrote articles for the Sunday paper, where in 1997 he wrote a profile on Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. The profile turned into an investigative piece as Cipriano obtained documents detailing US$5 million in questionable spending and how the church was spending millions in the suburbs while cutting inner-city services.
While Cipriano worked on the piece, he and his editors, Jonathan Neumann and Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Rosenthal, were contacted by Tierney. Tierney accused Ralph Cipriano of using inaccurate facts, trespassing and creating a protest at the Archdiocese's vacation home in Ventnor City, New Jersey, all of which Cipriano denies. Cipriano says that Tierney indicated to him that it was the Archdiocese that had gotten him removed from the religion reporter position, a position Cipriano says he thought he left on his own. Also according to Cipriano, Tierney indicated that if Cipriano was involved in any story about the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Tierney would start a public relations campaign to ruin Cipriano and The Philadelphia Inquirer, a charge that Tierney denies.
The story Cipriano originally wanted in The Inquirer was never published. Cipriano accused The Inquirer of censoring his report and giving into demands from the Archdiocese. Cipriano eventually was published in the National Catholic Reporter and editor Robert Rosenthal accused Cipriano of bias and not being able to prove his stories. Rosenthal said Cipriano "has a very strong personal point of view and an agenda...There were things we didn't publish that Ralph wrote that we didn't think were truthful. He could never prove them." Cipriano sued Rosenthal and The Inquirer for libel and the case was later settled out of court. In an 2001 interview with the Editor & Publisher, Cardinal Bevilacqua credited Tierney with stopping the story and noted that The Philadelphia Inquirer's stories about the Archdiocese have been more positive. In 1998 Tierney was named a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II.
Read more about this topic: Brian Tierney, Public Relations
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