Determination
97
Minnesota
News Council
In the Matter of the Complaint of
Dan Reiva vs.
Northwest News
Attending the hearing were Brooklyn Center City Council
candidate Dan Reiva, and the NorthWest News editor, Roxana Benjamin
and publisher Pat Milton.
Reiva complained that the Northwest News, a free paper,
was unfair in publishing a letter on the eve of a primary election
that misled readers to believe he was an atheist, and that the newspaper's
coverage showed a pattern of bias against him. In alleging bias, Reiva
pointed to several examples: an editor's note attached to his campaign
manager's rebuttal letter, which Reiva characterized as "hostile;"
the lack of publication of his and his supporters' rebuttal letters
to a letter attacking him by a former mayor; failure to edit out incorrect
references to him in a letter by Ron Christensen, although it was
brought to the editor's attention that the information was incorrect
and she edited out references to other politicians; and finally, editing
of one of his letters to remove information critical of Dean Nyquist
(who once worked as the paper's legal representative.)
Background: Dan Reiva was a candidate for the
City Council of Brooklyn Center in the 1992 election year. He remained
in the race through the primary, but lost in the general election.
In a letter attacking Reiva, published in the last
issue before the election, the former mayor of Brooklyn Center, Dean
Nyquist, said, in part:
"Back in May of 1989, three people, two of
them being acknowledged atheists, appeared before the city council
to demand that invocation before council meetings be abolished.
One of those three is one of the present candidates for council.
Dan Reiva stated, 'I guarantee this will be an election issue if
you don't stop doing this now.'"
Reiva, a Roman Catholic, acknowledged that he did
indeed oppose the invocations in 1989, but said it was because the
mayor limited it to his own religion. In the years since the mayor
left office, invocations have come from diverse clergy and Reiva has
no objections. Reiva contended that the NorthWest News knew he was
not an atheist and so was unfair in allowing the letter to run and
in not clarifying his true position. He said citizens slammed the
doors in his supporters' faces, saying they'd never vote for an atheist.
He also objected to the publication of the letter because it raised
a new issue at the last minute and he had no opportunity to respond.
Media outlet's response: Editor Roxana Benjamin
acknowledged that the letter was vague and could be misinterpreted,
but pointed out that between the primary and general elections she
had published a letter from Reiva stating that he was a Christian
and expressing his views on the issue. She denied that the Nyquist
letter raised a new issue, saying that the issue dated back to the
1989 dispute over the invocation.
Benjamin told the Council that she does not edit letters
except when she finds false statements. Publisher Milton said that
Nyquist's letter arrived just before press time and in the flurry
of activity, and with only a one-person editorial staff, the letter
did not get the attention it needed.
In response to the complaint of the "hostile"
editor's note, Benjamin said that adding a response is her right.
The letter addressed the newspaper directly and required a response.The
editor said the NorthWest News does not publish all letters received,
and tries not to duplicate letters that are published in another newspaper
circulated in the same area. She contended that the paper did not,
in fact, receive the number of letters in support of Reiva that he
said were sent (12). She acknowledged not publishing some letters
sent by Reiva and his supporters for lack of space and duplication
in a competing paper. The editor said she chose to delete information
critical of Nyquist, and it was her editorial prerogative to do so.
She said the issue had no bearing on this complaint.
Discussion and Determination Complaint 1: On
the complaint of unfair practices by publishing a misleading letter
to the editor on the eve of the election when the candidate had no
time to respond, the Council upholds the grievance. Several News Council
members said that they had worked for small papers and sympathized
with the challenge such outlets face, particularly as an election
nears, but said that Nyquist's letter should have alerted any editor
to danger.
"Calling someone an atheist in a community where
religion is so controversial is a serious matter," said Council
member John Kostouros, a freelance writer. "You're getting some
hard lessons on the big role a small paper can play." He encouraged
Benjamin to announce a policy on letters and not to publish attacks
that candidates have no time to answer in print before an election.
Council member Donald Smith, editor and publisher of the Monticello
Times, said, "A policy that you run unedited letters is dangerous.
But when you do change a letter, the writer has a right to know how
it's going to be published."
Andy Hilger, Council member and radio station owner
in St. Cloud, dissented from the majority opinion, stating, "I'm
uneasy about editors (tampering) with free expressions, as in Nyquist's
letter. The paper made an effort to (provide) balance" (with
Reiva's later letter).
Council member Kate Stanley, editorial writer at the
Star Tribune, said that her paper's policy on letters is this: It
ends critical letters on Friday before an election, reserves Saturday
for responses to attacks, and keeps out such letters through election
Tuesday.
Concurring: Hoben, Kostouros, Larson, Parrish,
Smith, Stanley, LeGrand, Orwoll, Pennock, Pine, Simonett, Swain, Tanick
Dissenting: Hilger, Parker
Complaint 2: On the issue of overall bias in
campaign coverage, the News Council denies the grievance. The Council
felt that the paper had made an effort to balance the controversy.
While there was some uneasiness with coverage before the primary,
particularly with the letter mentioned above, coverage after the primary
was generally fair.
Concurring: Hilger, Hoben, Kostouros, Larson,
Parrish, Smith, Stanley, LeGrand, Orwoll, Parker, Pennock, Pine, Simonett,
Swain, Tanick
February 12, 1993
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Determination 98
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