Determination
57
Minnesota
News Council
Cases 55 through 59 all concern media handling of
political campaigns and elections and were held on April 12, 1985.
Appearing at this multi-case hearing were candidates, political party
officials, campaign committee officers, and media representatives.
The presentations were thoughtful and informative, and the Council
expresses its appreciation to all who participated.
In the Matter of the Complaint of
Volunteers for Ina Rubenstein against the The North Suburban Press
Background: In the November, 1984 general election,
Ina Rubenstein was a candidate for District 53A representative. The
North Suburban Press is a weekly distributed on Tuesdays. On Tuesday,
November 6, the day of the election, the newspaper contained an editorial
endorsing various candidates, including Rubenstein's opponent. The opponent,
who was the incumbent, was re-elected. Grievant is the Rubenstein Volunteer
Committee. The committee does not dispute the right of the editor to
endorse, or the content of the editorial, nor does grievant claim that
the editorial made a difference in the outcome of the election. Grievant
believes it is questionable journalistic practice to issue an endorsement
on election day.
Response of the News Organization: Tom Couillard,
editor, appeared on behalf of The North Suburban Press. He explained
the editorial was a rewrite of one that appeared the previous Thursday
in another of the publisher's four newspapers, and that the newspaper
had been put together on Friday and returned from the printer on Monday.
He said that in the hectic pace of meeting deadlines for four publications
during the busy last week of the election, it had simply been overlooked
that the editorial would be coming out on election day. Couillard
stated that while the newspaper believed it had the right to publish
endorsements on election day, in the best interests of all concerned,
it did not intend to do so in the future.
Decision: What effect a last-minute editorial
endorsement has on an election is problematical. The issue for the
News Council is fairness. Grievant cites Minnesota Statute 210A.11,
which prohibits broadcasting, circulating and distributing of campaign
material and literature on election day. It is not claimed that an
editorial endorsement comes within this statutory prohibition, but
grievant suggests that the same principle of fairness which motivated
the statute should be honored in the timing of editorial endorsements.
Editors must be free to express their opinions and comments when and
as they deem appropriate. At the same time, in the interests of fairness
and prudence, in the absence of special circumstances, a better practice
would be for editorial endorsement of political candidates to be made
prior to election day and not on election day itself. The grievance
is sustained.
Concurring: Ashmore, Bednar, Brooks, Casey,
Chucker, Earley, Falkman, Forsythe, Graven, King, Myers, Peek, Persons,
Ryan, Simonett, Sundin and Warder
April 12, 1985
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