Mediag at 18:28, 19 September 2006

2006-09-19T18:28:43Z

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ORIGINAL URL:
http://www.startribune.com/562/story/539580.html

ORIGINAL HEADLINE:
Gary Gilson: Here's news that's good for journalism

<h3>SUBHEAD:
Two news councils are joining the three in existence. That's good for the public -- and the media.</h3>

<b>By Gary Gilson<br>
Director, Minnesota News Council</b><br>

Whenever I have spoken at journalism conventions about public accountability for news outlets and about how news councils can help them build public trust, some journalist has asked me why there aren't more than three news councils in the country, those in Minnesota, Washington state and Honolulu.
Well, today there are five, the two newest being the Southern California News Council and the New England News Council, winners of a national competition for $75,000 start-up grants from the James L. and John S. Knight Foundation in Miami.

The Minnesota and Washington news councils conducted the competition, chose the winners and will provide mentorship to the infant councils for the next year.

Why aren't there more?

Because publishers and editors around the country who have not seen a news council in action generally reject the idea out of hand, saying they fear a news council would be populated with people who represent "special interests" and would undermine the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press.

I have been watching the work of the Minnesota News Council since 1982, as a member and for 13 years as executive director. Not once have we received a complaint that contended a news outlet had no right to do a particular story. People complain about inaccuracy, bias, sensationalism and invasion of privacy.

And the Minnesota News Council's hearing panel and board of directors include no one who represents a special interest. All members have a general interest, however: the health of a free press and responsible use of that freedom, so that the public will trust the news it gets. When individuals apply for membership -- anyone is invited to do so -- they are never asked about their political preferences; they are asked only about their dedication to press freedom and responsibility. They are told that they may not use their service on the hearing panel to advance any cause other than the council's mission: to promote fair, vigorous and trusted journalism.

The time we are living in is the best time in my memory for the work of a news council and the commitment of news outlets to openness and public accountability. That's a result of infamous ethical lapses in the news business in recent times: Jayson Blair's fabrications at the New York Times, Jack Kelley's at USA Today, CBS News managers' in the story on President Bush's military record. To their credit, many news outlets have responded to these lapses in a new spirit of openness. The Times, for example, created the position of public editor, an ombudsman, a move the newspaper had always resisted.

People who have seen news councils in action are urging their creation all across the country, as an added tool for news outlets to use in making themselves as accountable as they insist the institutions they cover to be.

Skeptics or opponents of news councils talk about their fear of outsiders interfering with the work of a newsroom. Anyone who wants to dictate newsroom policy has to have authority. The Minnesota News Council has no authority and wants none to tell any news organization what to do or not do.

We do want to continue to facilitate public conversations between the press and the public about standards of fairness, in public hearings on unresolved complaints and in public forums. We recently conducted a public forum, in partnership with Minnesota Public Radio, on news coverage of Latino immigration. Twenty-two print and broadcast journalists -- more than at any forum we have held -- participated, representing every major news outlet in the Twin Cities. All of them said they had learned something valuable by listening to the members of the public present, who reflected a broad range of political views.

News outlets that invite criticism and complaint are doing themselves and the public a favor. It is only through mistakes -- and, may I add, accountability -- that we can grow.

So here's to the infant news councils in California and Massachusetts. Long may they serve -- the public and the press.

Gary Gilson has been executive director of the 36-year-old Minnesota News Council since 1992.

©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
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Gilson-good-thing - Revision history

Mediag at 18:28, 19 September 2006