WASHINGTON – The deputy director of the Senate Press Gallery, who's up for a $111,000 promotion to director, now says he never actually worked for the Tucson Citizen but was employed by a separate company set up to run its circulation operations.
Stephen J. "Joe" Keenan, who has worked in the Senate Press Gallery since 1978, has told Senate officials his professional media experience involved a stint at the Tucson
Citizen, a 40,000-circulation newspaper published Monday through Saturday.
Last week, in fact, he told WorldNetDaily he was the Citizen's "chief spotter." When asked to elaborate, Keenan said, "I'd rather not talk about this," and abruptly hung up the phone.
The open position running the gallery requires a minimum of six years of "news media experience," according to the official Senate job listing.
Among other duties, the director helps the Standing Committee of Correspondents vet applicants for press credentials, evaluating whether they are "bona fide" journalists.
In an Aug. 21 story, WND reported that the Tucson Citizen had no byline stories on file for Keenan, or record of his employment.
Keenan the next day confided to a WND reader by e-mail that he in fact worked for Tucson Newspapers Inc. during college.
TNI is an agent of the joint-operating agreement between the Tucson Citizen and Arizona DailyStar. It was set up chiefly to deliver newspapers, and has no editorial function.
The position of "chief spotter" Keenan claims to have held has been phased out. The job involved supervising delivery crews.
Yet Ruby Hand, who handles personnel matters for both the Tucson Citizen and TNI, told WND last week that she could find no employment records for Keenan at either company. On Tuesday, she still could not verify his employment at TNI.
And Randy Cross, TNI's vice president of circulation, last week told WND that none of his veteran employees could recall working with Keenan in the 1970s.
It's not immediately clear what Keenan listed on his application and resume when he was hired by the Senate in 1978. Gallery aide Wendy Oscarson says there is no resume or even biography of Keenan on file. An aide to the Senate sergeant at arms says employee applications are "confidential."
Keenan has been investigating WND during its 19-month battle to obtain congressional press credentials. The Standing Committee in January denied the popular newssite credentials, and the case is now on appeal.
WND founder and Editor Joseph Farah noted the irony of Keenan, who apparently has no real-world journalism experience, vetting experienced professional journalists for press credentials.
"His only apparent job in the news business is as a delivery person," he said. "Yet he's making decisions about the quality and credentials of men and women who have run daily newspapers, who have spent decades gathering and editing the news."
More key, Keenan appears unqualified to run the gallery as director, based on the posted job requirements, yet gallery insiders say he is a virtual shoo-in for the tax-funded federal position, which also picks which news media can cover the national party conventions, presidential inaugurations and state-of-the-union addresses.
The Senate sergeant at arms and the Standing Committee jointly are recruiting and hiring for the position.
According to the classified ad they posted on Monster.com, the position of Senate Press Gallery director "requires a bachelor's degree in journalism, public relations or
communications, and six years of news media experience."
Keenan insists he is qualified for the job.
"The requirement is for news media experience working with legislative bodies," he wrote in his Aug. 22 e-mail. "I have 24 years experience working with the media covering congress [sic]."
Keenan added: "The requirement is not that you worked at a newspaper, which would also count."
But an official in the human-resources office of the Senate sergeant at arms says the position places a premium on journalism experience.
"If a candidate has a degree in journalism, but doesn't have any journalism experience to back it up, he obviously wouldn't be the best candidate," she told
WND.
Standing Committee Chairman William L. Roberts III and Sergeant at Arms Alfonso Lenhardt – who was appointed last year by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. – will select the new director.
The deadline for applications is Sept. 10.
Tucson Citizen reporter Paul Allen called WND late last week to say that questions about Keenan had "piqued the interest" of the paper's editor, who has assigned a profile story on Keenan.
Read list of daily Senate Press Gallery members (requires Adobe Acrobat to download).
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Sen. Cantwell misled by press police
WND files appeal with Sen. Dodd, Speaker Hastert
Senate press police withhold public info
Press gallery backpedals from earlier WND stand
E-mails contradict press gallery claims
Senate press boss Torry 'lies' to WND readers
Senate press cop breaks her silence
In secret meeting, press police yank WND day pass
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