Appearing at the hearing for grievant Medtronic, lnc., were B. Kristine Johnson, vice president of corporate affairs, and Raymond J. Dittrich, vice president and general counsel. Other Medtronic representatives present were William E. Drake, vice president, deputy general counsel and secretary; Celia K. Barnes, director of public relations; and James G. Foster, vice president, Medtronic Blood Systems. Appearing for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune were Tim J. McGuire, managing editor, Robert J. White, editorial editor, and Lou Gelfand, readers’ representative.

John Polis claimed that his letter to the editor had been improperly edited by the newspaper.

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The grievance arises out of the news coverage afforded by the three newspapers of the 1984 election campaign for state representative of District 35B, between K. J. McDonald (I-R), the incumbent, and Jim Hoese (DFL), the challenger. McDonald won the strenuous campaign. The Hoese DFL House Campaign Committee raises the following issues …

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Representative Don Frerichs (District 32A) suggested that the News Council consider the handling of letters to the editor during election campaigns. Although Frerichs’ suggestion was not in the form of a grievance, the Council agreed that the subject deserved discussion. Present at the Council hearing were Representative Frerichs, Representative Jerry Schoenfield (District 30B), and Randy Carlsen, editor of the Dodge County Independent.

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Scott Shely of Stillwater, a member of Concerned Citizens for a Nuclear Free World, a local group formed to promote a mutual Soviet-U.S. nuclear weapons freeze, complained about unfair and inadequate coverage of the group and of the nuclear freeze movement.

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Jim Bartlett, a deputy sheriff of Mower County, ran for the office of county sheriff against the incumbent, and following a heated election campaign, his campaign committee filed a multiple complaint against the paper, implying that it had contributed to Bartlett’s defeat in the general election. The committee complained that the paper:

1. Failed to adequately cover several incidents concerning incumbent Sheriff Wayne Goodnature’s record in office which reflected negatively on the incumbent’s competence;
2. Unfairly demanded changes in several of the committee’s political advertisements and refused to publish one ad;
3. Unfairly denied Bartlett supporters access to the newspaper’s letters-to-the-editor column; and
4. Failed to give proper coverage to the election results.

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Minnesotans Against the Downtown Dome (MADD), a coalition including neighborhood activists and sports fans opposed to construction of a sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, complained that the Star’s and Tribune’s treatment of the long-standing stadium issue revealed a broad pattern of biased and inadequate coverage.

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Patricia Reilly complained that the newspaper denied her fair access to its letters-to-the-editor column, “Voice of the People of God.”

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Jon Belisle of St. Paul complained that the newspaper had denied him fair access to its letters-to-the-editor column.

Drs. Robert Uppgaard and Jack Echternacht, both dentists, complained that the paper failed to meet desired journalistic standards in its overall coverage of the city’s prolonged controversy over fluoridation of its water supply. They further complained that the paper imposed unfair and inconsistent policies on letters to the editor in regard to the controversy.

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