Determination 152

Minnesota News Council

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Hearing #152: Joe Richter v. Woodbury Bulletin
January 17 , 2008
Hamline United Methodist Church
St. Paul, MN

NEWS COUNCIL UPHOLDS ONE COMPLAINT, DENIES A SECOND AGAINST THE WOODBURY BULLETIN 

Minneapolis (Jan. 17, 2008) – The Minnesota News Council voted 15-0 to uphold a complaint that a Woodbury Bulletin editorial was factually inaccurate in its portrayal of an Afton City Councilman’s conduct at a city council meeting.  The News Council denied a second complaint, that the paper had a responsibility to check the accuracy of a similar letter to the editor.  The vote was 9-4, with two abstentions. 

After a Sept. 18, 2007 meeting, the Woodbury Bulletin published an editorial, “Councilman’s Antics Were Unnecessary,” and a similar letter to the editor that were critical of Afton City Councilman Joe Richter.  The pieces allege that Richter treated another city councilmember disrespectfully during a dispute that occurred at the meeting. 

“The Woodbury Bulletin portrayed me in a false light,” said Richter.  “They took some facts and exaggerated them in duration and intensity in an effort to develop a false representation of me and what transpired.”  The Woodbury Bulletin did not attend the hearing, but Editor Bob Eighmy told the Council that the paper stands behind its Sept. 26 editorial.

The Bulletin wrote that Richter “went into something of a tirade” and “took 20 minutes to argue his point,” after another councilmember made a request to have resident comments from a supplemental information packet read aloud.  The editorial also stated that Richter was “waving his nameplate” in front of councilmember Nick Mucciacciaro’s face.

News Council members viewed video footage from the Sept. 18 Afton City Council meeting, and unanimously agreed that the editorial did not accurately portray Richter’s conduct.  They expected to see theatrics, but only identified a few moments of lively give and take between Richter and Councilman Mucciacciaro.      

In its deliberation of the second complaint, the News Council members discussed the standards of accuracy and fairness used in newspaper opinion pages.  Public member Colin Sokolowski asked if editorials should be held to a higher standard of accuracy than letters to the editor.  “There is a higher burden on editorials to ‘get it right,’” said media member Steve Schild, a journalism professor at St. Mary’s University. 

“What I felt when I read the Woodbury Bulletin editorial was that I wanted everyone to know, ‘That is not me; that is not what happened!’” said Richter.  “The News Council provided me with a forum where my real voice could be heard.”

About the Minnesota News Council  

The Minnesota News Council was created in 1970 to promote fair, vigorous and trusted journalism.  It presents complaints about accuracy and fairness to news organizations, holds public hearings to consider unresolved complaints and conducts public forums aimed at fostering trust in journalism.  The News Council has 24 voting members, half of them journalists, half laypersons.  The hearing process is voluntary; the Council’s determinations are advisory and carry no sanctions.

 

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