The Minnesota News Council’s mission is to promote fairness in the news media by helping the public to hold news outlets accountable for the stories they produce. The tenets of fairness, balance and accuracy are considered essential to good journalism. But these standards are not always defined in the same way by journalists and by the public. The News Council exists to open a productive dialogue between the public and the media on the standards the media upholds. One way we do this is by holding public hearings on individual complaints about news coverage.

The News Council developed the mock hearing project to introduce journalism students to the news council concept and to start them thinking about the real-life ethical dilemmas faced by working journalists.

This site contains three cases actually adjudicated by the Minnesota News Council. They have been adapted to a classroom situation. Each case presents unique issues and challenges. Students play the roles of all participants in a News Council hearing: the complainant, the respondent and the voting council members.

The hearing process will proceed much like it does in an actual hearing. The students will prepare for the hearing by reading the complaint’s background, the articles in question, the complaint, the news outlet’s response, and the questions upon which council members will vote. The student handbook also includes notes on potential issues to consider at the hearing.

The hearing opens with the complainant and the respondent news organization representative (played by students according to a script) presenting their arguments. The student news council members will then question the two parties to clarify the issues. Next, the complainant and respondent remain silent while the council members deliberate and debate the issues. Finally, the council members will vote to uphold or deny the elements of the complaint laid out in the voting questions.

The class can compare its determination to the determination made by the Minnesota News Council. There is no right or wrong determination. Instead, the purpose of this process in the classroom and at the Minnesota News Council is to generate a public discussion about the fairness of news stories. We encourage people to ask news outlets what their standards are and begin holding news people to those standards, perhaps even insisting that they raise them. The hearing process is one way in which the public can do so.

The Minnesota News Council thanks Target for the generous contribution that allowed these teaching materials to be developed.

The student handbook for each case includes:

Case background
Newspaper article
Complaint and newspaper’s response
Questions to be considered by the council members
Issues to consider
Excerpts from the Society of Professional Journalists “Doing Ethics in Journalism” handbook

The teacher’s handbook for each case includes:

Pre-hearing preparation and discussion notes
Student actor preparation
Student actor’s scripts and background materials
Minnesota News Council’s determination
Post-hearing worksheet
Feedback form

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MOCK HEARING CASE 1: University of Minnesota Women’s Studies Department v. Star Tribune

The Women’s Studies Department at the University of Minnesota complained that a Star Tribune series was biased, and used inadequate sourcing and unethical newsgathering practices in preparing a story that alleged coursework in the Department lacked academic rigor.

Ethical Issues: Deception, invasion of privacy, misrepresentation, undercover reporting, bias

Student Handbook (PDF)

Teacher’s Handbook (PDF)

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MOCK HEARING CASE 2: Incest Survivor v. Small Town Newspaper

A 17-year-old incest victim and her mother complained to the News Council that her small-town newspaper invaded her privacy when it published a front-page story about her father’s trial and sentencing for sexual assault. Although she was not named, she believed she was clearly identifiable.

Ethical Issues: Invasion of privacy, sensationalism

Student Handbook (PDF)

Teacher’s Handbook (PDF)

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MOCK HEARING CASE 3: Rachel Martin v. Duluth News Tribune

At a 1996 Fairlawn Mansion and Museum Murder Mystery Dinner, guests were asked to dress and act as if it were a 1918 Mother Goose costume party. One guest attended in black face and recited a racist nursery rhyme. The Duluth News Tribune contacted the museum’s director, Rachael Martin, who answered questions but then declined to be interviewed again. The News Tribune ran a story, to which Martin responded with a letter to the editor. In a follow-up story, comments from Martin’s as of yet unpublished letter were used to convey Martin’s side of the story. The paper also ran an editorial denouncing the event. Stories about the controversy were published around the country. Martin complained that the stories contained inaccuracies and were sensational, and that the editorial decisions were unfair.

Ethical Issues: Accuracy, sensationalism, framing a story, separation of editorial and news

Student Handbook (PDF)

Teacher’s Handbook (PDF)