Are You Inexperienced?   

The Salt Lake Tribune came under fire last month after the newspaper ran a story about a 41-year-old "porn czar," who also happened to be a virgin.

"It's odd out here," says Tribune Editor James E. Shelledy.

And how.

In a Sunday front-page profile of Paula Houston, a Mormon and Utah's first "obscenity and pornography complaints ombudsman"--the first position of its kind in the country--staff writers Kevin Cantera and Michael Vigh focused heavily on Houston's sexual experience, or lack thereof.

"Utah's new porn czar is an acknowledged virgin who rarely watches R-rated movies and has prosecuted a scant five pornography cases in her 15-year legal career," the lead read. "But Paula Houston asserts she knows smut when she sees it."

The February 11 story featured quotes from a number of sources about whether a virgin was really fit to weed out porn.

The story drew plenty of ire. The paper's reader advocate, Shinika Sykes, says she heard from dozens of readers and staffers, concerned that, a., virginity was an issue at all and that, b., it was so heavily emphasized.

Shelledy, who ultimately signed off on the story, says editors debated for two days before deciding to go with the abstinence angle. "The newsroom editors were divided down the middle," he says. "A lot of people put a lot of thought into the debate."

The city's afternoon paper, the Mormon Church-owned Deseret News, criticized the Tribune for invading Houston's privacy. "To argue about the 'porn czar's' own lack of sexual experience is as relevant as arguing about the color of her shoes," Editorial Page Editor Jay Evensen wrote in the February 25 issue.

The News also published its own profile of Houston, which ignored the virginity angle entirely. "It's a nonissue, in my mind," says Managing Editor Rick Hall.

But Shelledy points out that people on the liquor board are asked about their drinking habits, and that some prominent names in the porn industry, including Hustler Publisher Larry Flynt, said Houston's virginity could indeed affect her ability to do her job. Shelledy says he personally believes a virgin porn czar is as good as any, but he thinks it's valid to raise the question.

One other thing, though. The reporters never explicitly asked Houston if she was, in fact, a virgin. But Shelledy says they broached the issue with Houston three times.

First, Shelledy says they alluded to the former missionary's religious tenet of abstinence until marriage, a sort of "if A and B, then C" line of questioning. Later in the interview Shelledy says the reporters began a question with " 'Well, because you're a virgin...' " to which Shelledy says Houston responded, " 'The fact that I'm a virgin' " is irrelevant.

The reporters concluded their interview by thanking Houston for answering tough questions, " 'including whether or not you are a virgin.' " The editor says Houston simply laughed and said, " 'No problem.' "

She acknowledged the point," Shelledy continues. "If she had told the two reporters, 'My personal life is none of your business,' that would have been the end of it."