Determination
46
Minnesota
News Council
In the Matter of the Complaint of
Larry Josephs against the West St. Paul Voice
West St. Paul Alderman Larry Josephs complained that
an editorial was one-sided, incomplete, misleading and biased against
him.
Background: The editorial at issue was entitled
"From pros to bozos" and commented on the ongoing differences
between Josephs and West St. Paul Mayor Ken Kube. It ran May 21, 1982,
on the editorial page of the Voice, a nonprofit, community-run, biweekly
tabloid newspaper distributed free of charge to residents of the West
St. Paul area. Two related letters appeared on the same page. One
was signed by four aldermen and called for the resignations of both
Kube and Josephs if they could not "dispense with their personal
vendetta." The other letter, written by Josephs in response to
the first, said he was trying to expose misconduct by Kube and noted
that the mayor was under investigation by the Dakota County Attorney's
Office. (Both letters had been made public at a May 10, 1982, meeting
of the West St. Paul City Council.)
Josephs had triggered the investigation when he filed
a bribery and conflict-of-interest complaint against Kube in April
1982. The complaint accused the mayor, who also sold insurance, of
using his official position to influence people to buy insurance from
him. Following an investigation, the Dakota County Attorney's Office
concluded there was insufficient evidence upon which to bring criminal
charges against the mayor.
Josephs had also accused Kube of unfair campaign practices
following the November 1981 elections, in which Josephs was first
elected alderman and Kube was elected to a second term as mayor. An
investigation into that complaint also concluded there was insufficient
evidence to support the charge.
The editorial writer, who had covered the city council
during most of the previous year, said she interviewed Kube and Josephs
and "concluded that the 'feud' was basically a personality conflict
between the two men, who had also had some unsatisfactory business
dealings." She wrote that their "eighth-grade behavior"
was "nauseating." She urged readers to attend city council
meetings to judge for themselves. "If you are not pleased,"
she advised, "demand their resignations." The writer also
referred to the letter from the four aldermen and referred to the
complaint by noting that "Josephs says that (the) mayor is peddling
influence."
On the day of publication, Josephs complained to the
writer that the editorial was incomplete because it failed to fully
explain the criminal complaint pending against the mayor. Josephs
also complained that the paper failed to run a news story on the filing
of the complaint. In its next issue, the paper published a letter
from Josephs saying the editorial committed an error of omission because
it did not include background on his complaint. In the same issue,
the paper reported in a news story that the Dakota County Attorney's
Office had dismissed Josephs' complaint.
Determination of the Council: The News Council
has said on several occasions that it will not pass judgment on editorial
opinions unless facts are in dispute. It is the right of a newspaper
to express opinion, and, so long as the opinion is free of error,
it is up to the public, not the Council, to judge whether it is reasonable
opinion. In this case, it was clear that the editor was expressing
her honest opinion. The fact that she chose not to fully describe
Josephs' criminal complaint against Kube or make it the focus of her
editorial does not, in the Council's opinion, constitute an error
of omission.
Given the biweekly publication schedule of the newspaper
and its limited newsgathering resources, it is also understandable
why the newspaper could not immediately publish a news story on the
filing of Josephs' complaint. Moreover, the paper provided the alderman
with ample opportunity to publicize his complaint and respond to the
editorial in its letter column.
Both Josephs and the editor agreed that West St. Paul
residents were generally aware of the existence and nature of the
complaint against Kube, so the Council can find no evidence that the
editorial writer was trying to cover up the complaint.
Finally, public officials should expect to have their
actions questioned and criticized by the news media. They also should
not expect every charge they make to be trumpeted by the media. Editorials
are not news stories. They are, by their very nature, one-sided, for
they are written to persuade. The Council feels that the paper was
doing what a good newspaper should do: express strong editorial opinion
on a matter of interest to the community, and allow those involved
to respond to its views in print on its editorial page.
The complaint against the newspaper is not upheld.
Concurring: Allen, Brommer, Carlson, Egert,
Gerald, Graven, Hedberg, McCollough, Miles, Ryan, Selby, Simonett,
Staples, Ziegenhagen
Note: J. Edward Gerald, former Council member
and professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Minnesota
School of Journalism and Mass Communication, participated in the hearing
and voted on the determination at the invitation of the Council.
June 1, 1982
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Determination 47
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