March 29th, 1982
Determination 45: Proctor City Council v. Proctor Journal
The Proctor City Council complained that the weekly paper:
- Unfairly and incorrectly reported the city’s financial status with respect to tax increases, budgets, and other fiscal matters during 1981;
- Stated and implied that city council members were racists and bigots;
- Falsely accused the city council of law violations;
- Quoted councilor Jake Benson as making statements at council meetings that were, in fact, not made (Benson is also editor and publisher of the Proctor Journal);
- Exceeded the bounds of journalistic propriety in its comments about the personal integrity of individual council members.