Determination 150
Minnesota News Council
Hearing #150: Tax Cut Rally Attendees v. WCCO-TV
June 21, 2007
University of Minnesota School of Journalism
Minneapolis, MN
Background
In April 2007, twelve participants in a tax-cut rally held at the State Capitol in St. Paul filed complaints against WCCO-TV. Footage of their rally had been edited into a feature on WCCO’s Web site entitled “Raw Video: Global Warming Protest on Capitol Hill.” Though the caption that accompanied the video read, “Hundreds of activists gathered on Capitol Hill Saturday to urge Congress to enact an 80 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050,” about half of the footage was of the much larger local tax-cut rally.
Participants in the tax-cut rally complained that the feature was inaccurate, misleading, and biased. Of the twelve rally attendees who originally submitted complaints, seven people opted to submit waivers in order to move forward as private complainants. All private complainants must sign waivers of their right to sue the media outlet for libel; in exchange, they become eligible for a public hearing, should their complaint remain unresolved.
It was the Minnesota News Council’s first opportunity to examine a complaint regarding news that appeared only online.
Media Response
Due to the policies of CBS, their national affiliate, WCCO-TV did not participate in the complaint process. News Director Jeff Kiernan, however, responded directly to the participants via e-mail, conceding that “a mistake was made in the production of this national story and the wrong video was attached.” He apologized for the error and arranged to have the story that accompanied the incorrect footage taken off the Web site.
The complainants remained dissatisfied because the contested footage continued to remain accessible through the site’s video library. WCCO-TV declined to respond and did not attend the hearing.
THE HEARING
Council members considered the following questions:
- Did raw video posted by WCCO-TV in its online video library misrepresent Minnesota Tax Cut Rally attendees when it featured video footage of the complainants with a caption that described a global warming protest, while not noting that the beginning and the end of the video footage featured pictures of their much larger tax rally?
- Did WCCO-TV act unfairly when it failed to cease using mislabeled video of both the tax cut and global warming rallies at its Web site after the complainants notified WCCO-TV about their concerns over a previous story at its Web site, a story about the global warming protest that misrepresented the size of that rally by using the video of the larger tax rally?
Q & A with the Complainants
As the hearing began, complainant Sue Derhaag shared that WCCO-TV News Director Jeff Kiernan had contacted her just moments earlier. He told her in a phone conversation that the video in question was the work of a shared news gathering service, not WCCO-TV. Kiernan went on to say that he was “unaware the video was still active,” and said its caption would be changed.
As Derhaag finished, MNC Interim Director Sarah Bauer clicked “refresh” on the Web site displaying the video. As the Council watched, the site reloaded to reveal that the original caption, “Global Warming Protest on Capitol Hill,” had been replaced with “Rally Protests Cross Paths Near Minn. Capitol.”
Given this development, the Council discussed whether or not to continue, but decided to proceed with the hearing.
The complainants began by clarifying that it would have been difficult to confuse the tax-cut rally and the global warming protest. They were held at the same site on the same day, but Derhaag said, “There were police, a street, and 600-800 yards separating the two rallies.” The scale of the rallies was also dramatically different; the tax-cut rally attracted several thousand participants while the global warming protest had a few hundred.
The complainants said the online footage featured 15 seconds of the tax-cut rally, 22 seconds of the global warming protest, and finally, 4 seconds of the tax-cut rally. The caption, “Global Warming Protest on Capitol Hill,” they said, made it appear as though they had attended the global warming protest.
Carolyn Wetterlin said, “I wasn’t personally damaged, but it’s like misquoting me. I was used for a cause that I don’t believe in. Whether it was inadvertent or not, it was still a misrepresentation. My effort was stolen.”
Derhaag said that she would have been better served by an immediate posting of the correct caption rather than a late apology.
The Council’s Deliberation
“They changed the coverage today,” began Al Zdon of the Minnesota American Legion, “so why couldn’t they have done it earlier?”
Jim Pumarlo, a newspaper consultant, agreed. “If that text was changed two months ago, this complaint would hold no water. But they waited until they were under the gun to change it. If they could change it today, why not two months ago? In one sense, it’s a testament to the power of the News Council.”
Thom Fladung, editor of the Pioneer Press, said, “It’s possible for stuff to linger forever on the Internet. Even when you correct something, I guarantee a version of that story lives on somewhere.” He also speculated that WCCO-TV might not have the ability to easily take down a national story.
Luz Maria Frias, St. Paul Director of External Affairs, asked, “We can’t mandate coverage, but what about a retraction?”
“I don’t think this would rise to the level of needing a retraction,” responded Steve Schild, a journalism professor at St. Mary’s University. “And we must establish if we’re taking WCCO to task for a national story that they may have had no control over.”
Retired Pioneer Press journalist Dave Beal commented, “I think WCCO is responsible for anything they may use locally or nationally.” Beal thought that the new caption posted moments before the hearing should have included some acknowledgement of the original error.
John Simonett, a former Minnesota Supreme Court justice, concluded, “Was it a mistake? Yes, everyone admits that. Was it intentional? We can’t know. So the question is, was the response timely and adequate?”
Vote
Both complaints were upheld.
- Did raw video posted by WCCO-TV in its online video library misrepresent Minnesota Tax Cut Rally attendees when it featured video footage of the complainants with a caption that described a global warming protest, while not noting that the beginning and the end of the video footage featured pictures of their much larger tax rally?
The Council ruled “YES” by a vote of 14 – 0.
Concurring: Beal, Berg, Berg, Fladung, Frias, Graham, Hussein, Johnson, Pumarlo, Runyon, Schild, Simonett, Wyatt, Zdon
- Did WCCO-TV act unfairly when it failed to cease using mislabeled video of both the tax cut and global warming rallies at its Web site after the complainants notified WCCO-TV about their concerns over a previous story at its Web site, a story about the global warming protest that misrepresented the size of that rally by using the video of the larger tax rally?
The Council ruled “YES” by a vote of 10 – 3 with one abstention.
Concurring: Beal, J. Berg, Graham, Johnson, Pumarlo, Runyon, Schild, Simonett, Wyatt, Zdon
Dissenting: P. Berg, Fladung, Frias,
Abstention: Hussein
Attendance
Council Chair
