Determination
17
Minnesota
News Council
In the Matter of the Complaint of
Ely Echo against the Ely Miner
Miles Aakhus, editor and publisher of the Ely Echo, complained
that an editorial carried in the Ely Miner in response to an editorial
written by him and charging him with unprofessional journalistic conduct
contained inaccuracies and unfair comments.
Background: The publishers of these two weekly
newspapers in northern Minnesota were involved in an ongoing dispute
regarding the former paper's qualifications to be designated an "official"
newspaper for purposes of carrying so-called "legal advertising."
At the height of the dispute, an editorial in the Echo announced the
newspaper's demise and attributed its problems to the influence of
a political clique that had denied the paper its share of legal advertising
business.
Following publication of the editorial, the Miner
published a counter-editorial accusing Aakhus of "yellow journalism"
and unprofessional behavior. Aakhus complained that the Miner editorial,
written by the Miner's publisher, was unfair and inaccurate. The Miner
editorial charged Aakhus with running an unbusinesslike operation,
making special deals with some advertisers, planning the Echo's demise
as a bid for sympathy, publishing "far-fetched" insinuations about
the rival newspaper's business, and falsely accusing city politicians
of political misbehavior. The question of Aakhus' reliability as a
journalist seemed to be central to the dispute.
Determination of the Council: Some of the
comments in the Miner editorial were supported by adequate documentation;
other charges were misleading or unsupported by facts.
Earlier editorials and general news reports in the
Echo that were brought into the hearing indicated that Aakhus was
less careful than good journalistic practice requires in determining
facts before printing accusations. Although the evidence indicated
a need for greater accuracy in his newspaper, this was partially attributed
to Aakhus' recent entry into the field of journalism after leaving
an engineering career. Aakhus is urged to review the Canons of Journalism
and to recognize that involvement in controversial and heated issues
does not reduce the need for accuracy and plain, hard facts in reporting.
The publisher of the Miner is likewise admonished
to tighten up her own journalistic practices, particularly when criticism
is aimed at her competitor's practices.
The complaint is accepted in part, rejected in part.
October l0, 1975
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