Charity under fire?

Talking about libel has made me aware of just how delicately the news has to be handled. Any story involving court cases, allegations, or inflammatory comments is treading on libelous ground, and reporters must strike a precipitous balance between exciting news and slanderous material.

As I started reading a story published in the Athens-Banner Herald, I noticed that the article covered two very different cases involving the same people. The founders of a charity organization, Angel Food Ministries, are accused of misappropriating funds and using company money to build their own home. The corruption purportedly runs throughout the Wingo family, who founded the organization; board members of Angel Food Ministries also fired one of the Wingo sons for allegedly taking under-the-table payments from grocery companies.

The story gets especially interesting when reports are included about a sexual harassment lawsuit against Andy Wingo (the same son mentioned above). Another employee, Tioni King, accused Wingo of using his position to leverage sex from her. Because Andy Wingo is a private citizen, I think reporting on the sexual harassment lawsuit brings a new level of risk into the equation. Where the criminal allegations against the family come from multiple sources, the harassment lawsuit has only one source, and could certainly prove harmful to Wingo's reputation.

I wonder if the reporter questioned other sources at the organization to see if they'd had similar experiences, or checked to make sure that King was a reliable source. If the information is sketchy, combining both into one story could complicate the situation for the newspaper if they were to ever be accused of libel. Still, they've set up their defenses well: the online story includes a PDF of the board members' suit against the Wingos and a PDF of the sexual harassment lawsuit. I'm curious to see how the suits play out, and whether one--or both--turn out to be true.