| The
Minnesota News Council’s mission is to promote fairness in
the news media by helping the public to hold news outlets accountable
for the stories they produce. The tenets of fairness, balance and
accuracy are considered essential to good journalism. But these
standards are not always defined in the same way by journalists
and by the public. The News Council exists to open a productive
dialogue between the public and the media on the standards the media
upholds. One way we do this is by holding public hearings on individual
complaints about news coverage.
The
News Council developed the mock hearing project to introduce journalism
students to the news council concept and to start them thinking
about the real-life ethical dilemmas faced by working journalists.
This
site contains three cases
actually adjudicated by the Minnesota News Council. They have
been adapted to a classroom situation. Each case presents unique
issues and challenges. Students play the roles of all participants
in a News Council hearing: the complainant, the respondent and
the voting council members.
The
hearing process will proceed much like it does in an actual hearing.
The students will prepare for the hearing by reading the complaint’s
background, the articles in question, the complaint, the news
outlet’s response, and the questions upon which council members
will vote. The student handbook also includes notes on potential
issues to consider at the hearing.
The
hearing opens with the complainant and the respondent news organization
representative (played by students according to a script) presenting
their arguments. The student news council members will then question
the two parties to clarify the issues. Next, the complainant and
respondent remain silent while the council members deliberate
and debate the issues. Finally, the council members will vote
to uphold or deny the elements of the complaint laid out in the
voting questions.
The
class can compare its determination to the determination made
by the Minnesota News Council. There is no right or wrong determination.
Instead, the purpose of this process in the classroom and at the
Minnesota News Council is to generate a public discussion about
the fairness of news stories. We encourage people to ask news
outlets what their standards are and begin holding news people
to those standards, perhaps even insisting that they raise them.
The hearing process is one way in which the public can do so.
For
more information on other News Council activities and programs,
or for media ethics resource material, please visit the Minnesota
News Council Web site at
www.news-council.org or contact the News Council at info@news-council.org
or at
(612) 341-9357.
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