Determination 152: Joe Richter v. Woodbury Bulletin
The Minnesota News Council voted 15-0 to uphold a complaint that a Woodbury Bulletin editorial was factually inaccurate in its portrayal of an Afton City Councilman’s conduct at a city council meeting. The News Council denied a second complaint, that the paper had a responsibility to check the accuracy of a similar letter to the editor. The vote was 9-4, with two abstentions.
Determination 134: Judy Peterzen v. Brooklyn Center/Brooklyn Park Sun-Post
The Brooklyn Center/Brooklyn Park Sun-Post ran an article on July 24 about the Osseo school board’s evaluation of its superintendent of schools. Judy Peterzen is the chair of the school board. She complained that the article was unfair to her, that it failed to explain a neighboring school board’s policy and that it failed to summarize the board’s evaluation in detail. She also complained that her follow-up letter-to-the-editor was unfairly edited.
Determination 122: Nancy Barsness v. Morris Sun/Tribune
Participants included the complainant, Nancy Barsness and editor/general manager of the Morris Sun/Tribune, Jim Morrison.
Determination 117: Rachael Martin v. Duluth News-Tribune
Attending the hearing was the complainant, Rachael Martin, director of the Fairlawn Mansion and Museum in Superior, Wisconsin. Representing the Duluth News-Tribunewere Craig Gemoules, managing editor; Steve Aggergaard, city editor; Chuck Frederick, reporter; and Jim Heffernan, editorial page editor.
Determination 104: County Commissioner Paul Thiede v. Brainerd Daily Dispatch
Crow Wing County Commissioner Paul Thiede, a former newspaper editor himself, complains that the editor of the Brainerd Daily Dispatch acted unethically when he sent a private letter on newspaper stationery to a select group of people (50 members of a Blandin Foundation leadership program) to solicit letters to the editor that were favorable to the editor’s position in the midst of a bitter debate over the county board’s decision to abolish the county welfare board.
Determination 100: Worthington Residents v. Worthington Daily Globe
This grievance concerned two issues. First, that the Globe’s story violated reasonable journalistic standards by portraying anonymous comments from fewer than 250 persons as a statistically valid survey (the paper’s circulation is 14,000). Second, that the Globe unfairly denied letter writers an opportunity to criticize the newspaper.
Determination 99: St. Paul Port Authority v. City Pages
Attending the hearing were Mike Strand, vice president of communications and marketing for the St. Paul Port Authority and Robyn Hansen, attorney with Leonard, Street & Deinard, the Port Authority’s bond counsel, and from City Pages, Steve Perry, editor, and Monika Bauerlein, managing editor.
Determination 97: Candidate Dan Reiva v. NorthWest News
Reiva complained that the Northwest News, a free paper, was unfair in publishing a letter on the eve of a primary election that misled readers to believe he was an atheist, and that the newspaper’s coverage showed a pattern of bias against him. In alleging bias, Reiva pointed to several examples: an editor’s note attached to his campaign manager’s rebuttal letter, which Reiva characterized as “hostile;” the lack of publication of his and his supporters’ rebuttal letters to a letter attacking him by a former mayor; failure to edit out incorrect references to him in a letter by Ron Christensen, although it was brought to the editor’s attention that the information was incorrect and she edited out references to other politicians; and finally, editing of one of his letters to remove information critical of Dean Nyquist (who once worked as the paper’s legal representative.)
Determination 95: Candidate Sally Evert v. Stillwater Gazette
Former Washington County commissioner Sally Evert complained that the Gazette was unfair to her re-election campaign by running a front-page article under a four-column headline promoting her opponent’s candidacy, with a byline of a writer who was a campaign worker for him, but who was not so identified. It also ran her opponent’s thank-you to his supporters as a guest column, with his picture, but ran her thank-you as a letter to the editor with no picture. FInally, it ran a critical letter to the editor without saying that the writer was her opponent’s campaign manager.
Determination 84: Charles Jones v. Tri-County Record
Charles H. Jones, the grievant, was present, as was Myron J. Schober, editor of the Tri-County Record. Jones’ complaint raises issues about the newspaper’s handling of letters to the editor and the newspaper’s policy with respect to religious columns.