The problem? She doesn't exist.

The newspaper's publisher and editor, Gladys Gonzalez, acknowledges the byline is a pseudonym and says other Mundo Hispano writers use fake names, too. Gonzalez and Mundo Hispano Managing Editor Patricia Quijano said the lead story - about the recent resignation of Utah Community and Cultural Affairs Director Yvette Diaz - was written by a freelance reporter who always uses a pseudonym.

The story in the March 10 issue of Mundo Hispano was written by "Valerie," Gonzalez said. She declined to give the writer's last name.

Valerie often writes for Mundo Hispano without compensation when the newspaper needs help, and she never uses her real name on the story, Gonzalez said. Quijano said the reporter is "Gonzalez's friend," who is not a "professional journalist" and always uses the pen name of "Margarita Hortua" on her stories.

Other Mundo Hispano writers also use fictitious bylines, Gonzalez said.

"It's not a common practice, but sometimes they do," she said in a phone interview.

Gonzalez said she doesn't see anything wrong with reporters using fake names because it is a common journalism practice in her native Colombia.

Quijano, who has worked as a journalist for 18 years, agreed. She said journalists use fake names in Argentina and England, where she worked before coming to Utah.

Mundo Hispano's 17-member staff includes seven reporters, two general managers and a managing editor, according to the paper's Web site. The free weekly newspaper was started in 1993 and has a circulation of about 10,000.

Claudia Elena Redd, whom Gonzalez identified as the paper's only full-time reporter, said she and Quijano had discussed using "Elena Montalbo" on some of her past stories but never did so. Redd said "Elena" is her middle name and "Montalbo" is her mother's last name.

Quijano said putting "Elena Montalbo" on the story was a mistake, but made no apology for using other pseudonyms.

"I'm the editor of the paper. I made a mistake. It was my responsibility," Quijano said. "Everyone makes mistakes - that was mine." Several attempts by The Salt Lake Tribune to call Diaz, the subject of the story, were unsuccessful. Linda Petersen, president of Utah Headliners - the state's chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists - called the use of reporter/writer pseudonyms "unethical."

In a democratic society, with guaranteed freedom of the press, journalists need to work under an ethics code that includes accountability, openness and responsibility. By putting a byline on a story, journalists are saying they stand behind their story, she said.

"If you're not willing to put your name on the story, you're not behind it," Petersen said. "You're then deceiving your readers and sources."

In Colombia, journalists sometimes use fake names because they and their families could face death if they are trying to shed light on an issue such as government corruption. Last May, the Committee to Protect Journalists identified Colombia as one the world's five most murderous countries for journalists. Twenty-eight journalists in Colombia have been killed for their work over the past decade, according to the nonprofit organization.

Petersen doubts such justification exists for Mundo Hispano.

"Their [the newspaper management's] motivation has to be questioned," said Petersen, editor of a handful of Utah monthly newspapers. "Their lives aren't being threatened. So what is their motivation?"

The story written by the mysterious "Elena Montalbo" was a glowing one about Diaz. It described her as "a young and prestigious attorney" who was leaving state government to return to her career in law. The article made no mention of controversy surrounding the much-trumpeted naming of the state's first Latina Cabinet member - including the abrupt resignation of the first appointee, Sylvia Haro, who left the job within days. There also was controversy, unmentioned in the Mundo Hispano article, over allegations that Diaz knowingly hired an undocumented nanny. An investigation by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s office cleared Diaz of any wrongdoing.

In an interview with Mundo Hispano, Diaz talked about how in just eight months she had accomplished what she wanted to do as department head, including making sure the state's Office of Ethnic Affairs is better represented in the Huntsman administration. Last year, Diaz appointed Gonzalez's son, Leo Gonzalez, as director of the state's Hispanic Affairs Office, which is under the Office of Ethnic Affairs.

jsanchez@sltrib.com