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Chair’s Report-2007
During the past year, three Council meetings were held: in Winnipeg, Brandon, and for the second time, in Steinbach. There were three written complaints deliberated upon by the full Council. Two were not upheld and one was upheld. In addition, one written complaint was successfully resolved through the involvement of the news-paper and another was declined for adjudication and an explanation given to the complainant.
We routinely revue and discuss media issues and our complaint procedures, and in this regard, we fine-tuned our approach to the handling of complaints about opinion pieces.
Also through the year we discussed a new bill introduced in parliament that would amend the Canada Evidence Act to include details when the law would allow protection of journalistic sources and search warrants. Bill C-426 received backing from the Quebec Press Council, the Communi-cations Union of Quebec, the Confederation of Journalists of Quebec, and the Bar of Quebec. The Alberta Press Council also issued a press release supporting the private members bill. The Manitoba Press Council believes the bill describes legitimate points that judges should consider regarding journalism in the public interest, however, as case law in Canada and elsewhere in the world seems to have moved in that direction it may not be necessary to add new legislation.
Early in the year, we provided newspaper members with new “filler” ads indicating the Council’s new website, e-mail addresses, and phone number. The new website now features blogs highlighting the importance of freedom of the press and other media issues.
Once again, we organized a forum for communications students at Red River College. The topics we agreed to discuss was the introduction of Bill C-426 that would amend the Canada Evidence Act, the issue of granting privilege to journalists, and the importance of attribution. Prominent Winnipeg lawyer, Mr. Harold Buchwald and I discussed the pros and cons and answered questions from students. There were about 75 students in attendance this past November.
Respectfully submitted,
John Cochrane, Chair
Executive Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
Four written complaints were considered during 2007:
Complaint #07-01 - Winnipeg Free Press - January, 2007: This complaint concerned an opinion column in the Free Press that the complainant felt was advocating cruelty to cats. The Editor sent a letter of response directly to the complainant that same day the complaint was received in our office, to say that the paper would be happy to publish a letter to the editor, but that the columnist was employed to express her opinions and that what she expressed was well within the bounds of her mandate.
The columnist did respond to the complainant after returning from a trip abroad, and the complainant replied to her and copied the Press Council. He continued to take issue with what she had written, but stated that he did not wish to continue the discussion or carry it any further.
The complaint was not upheld on the grounds that the Press Council believes that columnists should be allowed wide latitude in expressing their opinions as an extension of freedom of expression.
Complaint #07-02 - Winnipeg Free Press, April 2007: The complainant was of the opinion that the newspaper should have published a story about a trial between he and the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation. The Editor of the Winnipeg Free Press replied that they are “accountable for what we publish, but not for what we do not publish.” The full response was forwarded to the complainant. The Press Council believes that newspapers must be allowed to choose what to publish or not to publish. The matter was considered closed.
Complaint #07-03 - Brandon Sun, May, 2007: A Brandon specialist complained that a news article in the Brandon Sun did not properly explain his situation when a person involved in an accident was sent to a neighboring province for treatment. The article dealt with the system of treatment by hospital and medical people in the region and the difficult circumstances being faced in recruiting and keeping specialists. The newspaper quoted regional health authorities describing the problems, including their defense of doctors not being able to be available every minute of every day. The council believes the article followed through on concerns voiced in the community and how the regional health authorities dealt with these situations. The main thrust of the article was about the health system and not an individual doctor. The complainant was not named in the article.
The Manitoba Press Council did not uphold the complaint.
Complaint #07-04 - Russell Banner, September, 2007: This complaint was about a cartoon that appeared in the Russell Banner. The cartoon was a drawing of Hwy. 401 headed with “Highway of Heroes” and lined with rows of coffins. The caption read “Traffic is picking up”. The complainant was of the view that the cartoon was “distasteful and inappropriate”.
The Press Council responded to the complainant in a letter dated October 9, 2007, and stated “Like other Press Councils in Canada and elsewhere in the world, The Manitoba Press Council believes that in a truly democratic society, open debate, discussion, criticism and dissent is central to the process of generating informed and considered choices”, and that “The Council regards newspaper editorials, columns, critiques, commentaries and editorial cartoons as journalism of opinion and a manifestation of freedom of the press.” Therefore, the complaint was not upheld.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Cullen, Executive Secretary/Treasurer
Chair’s Report-2006
In May, 2006, the Manitoba Press Council office re-located to 101 - 2033 Portage Avenue.
In this past year we undertook to improve our external communications. A new website, designed by Winnipeg Free Press Council member, Gordon Arnold, was introduced and will be updated as appropriate. Also, new notice-style ads for use by member newspapers showing the Council’s website address and new telephone number were almost ready by year end.
We were very pleased with the Canadian Senate Report on media released through the year. It supports Provincial Press Councils and gave the opinion that government regulation should be avoided. These were major points made by the Manitoba Press Council in our written presentation to the Senate committee. The report and our presentation are available through links on our new website.
A new citizen representative for Brandon, Mr. Bob Janz, was approved at our fall meeting. His experience with management committees, arbitration and community activity will be helpful to our Council.
As Chair of the MPC I attended a meeting of Canadian Press Councils in Lethbridge in September. This has taken place every second year with the purpose of comparing common ground. I was nominated to write to Saskatchewan newspaper publishers, on behalf of the councils present, to outline the benefits of self-regulation and offer help in starting a Press Council in Saskatchewan. This was due to a suggestion made in the Senate Report.
Three written complaints were considered by the Council during the year. One went in favour of the newspaper with a slight reservation, the second was settled between the newspaper and the complainent and the third was completed at year’s end.
Respectfully submitted,
John Cochrane, Chair
Executive Secretary/Treasurer’s Report
Complaint #05-5 Brandon Sun, September 2005
(received in 2005, resolved in 2006):The complaint was about several editorial pieces that had appeared in the Brandon Sun, alleging that the Sun had “initiated a hate document towards the Christian Community at large”. The examples of words and phrases from the column cited by the complainant in his complaint did not occur all together or in one context. Some were used to designate a group, some described the form of the city council meeting, and some were opinions of what might take place at a Christian-run and publicly funded facility.
A reservation was voiced by some Press Council members that the latter opinions were perhaps unnecessarily insensitive and might not help the stated objective of The Brandon Sun, “to encourage rich public debate”.
However, because a group of citizens at a civic meeting asked that the process of approving a Christian-run facility be slowed down and that the city council voted to defer the issue, all Press Council members believed that it was legitimate that any aspects could be examined in an opinion column.
As the Manitoba Press Council and other Canadian Press Councils have stated, we regard opinion columns to be an important manifestation of freedom of expression and therefore should be allowed wide latitude no matter how controversial or unpopular they may be.
Therefore, the Manitoba Press Council did not uphold the complaint.
Two written complaints were considered during 2006:
Complaint #06-01 Winnipeg Free Press
The complainant was of the opinion that an article printed in the Winnipeg Free Press, December 29, 2005, treated the Liberal Party unfairly. Mr. Bob Cox of the Free Press, answered the complainant directly, and the complainant was satisfied with the response. Therefore, the Press Council, which was copied on all communications, considered the matter closed.
Complaint #06-02 Rivers Banner
This complaint was regarding the publication of a letter to the editor under the heading “Islam - a demonic religion”. The complainant felt it “was clearly hate mail” and “should be considered a very serious matter”. The complainant also said they had written a letter to the editor of the paper indicating they “were outraged, demanding a public apology”.
Although the Manitoba Press Council does not normally consider complaints about matters of opinion, which it believes is an extension of the individual rights to freedom of speech, freedom of expression is not absolute and it is not an unfettered license to publish what are obvious factual errors in a letter to the editor.
In examining the letter in question, it was clear that there were many statements about Muslims that were derogatory and inaccurate. In the first paragraph alone, eleven of its fourteen sentences were of this type.
In the opinion of the Council, the letter should not have been published as is because of the overwhelming number of inaccurate statements that were unfair to many Muslims. While letters to the editor should be given wide latitude it does not mean that overwhelming factual errors should be ignored. If the paper felt it could not edit the letter or add context it should have scrapped it. It did not contribute to healthy community debate.
The council recognized that the paper, to its credit, immediately published a letter to the editor from the complainant and from two other readers in opposition. The council believed that in the interest of fairness newspapers should publish a reasonable reply and opposing points of view. This however does not completely mitigate the publishing of a letter which in the Council’s opinion was inappropriate.
Therefore, The Manitoba Press Council upholds the complaint against The Banner.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Cullen, Executive Secretary/Treasurer
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annual report
Chair's Report - 2005
During the past year there were several notable events on our agenda.
A complete review of the council’s procedures, with an eye to the realities of the internet, which began in 2004 was completed and ratified at our June meeting in 2005. An examination of procedures by all Canadian press councils and a few in other countries was included. Our new procedures description used much of the format used by the Alberta Press Council in 2004, along with our own methods.
In February we sent a written presentation to the Senate Committee study on media. We made a case for self-regulation and against government interference.
The submission to the senate committee is available on our new web site which was introduced in July. The site gives background information on the Council, procedures for complaints and recent decisions. It also provides addresses for other Press Councils in Canada and will include other information of interest.
Two new citizen representatives joined the Council this year. Rob MacNeil, a Winnipeg lawyer, and Miriam Browne, Executive Director of the Manitoba Association of Social Workers, will add valuable experience to our deliberations.
Long-standing Council member, Mrs. Karen Elves of Brandon, resigned after seventeen years of excellent service on the board. A new member from Brandon will be introduced in the coming year.
The full Council deliberated on two major complaints this year. A complaint against the Brandon Sun was not upheld, with one small reservation. Another against the Winnipeg Free Press was dismissed. A third was still in progress at year end.
In November we presented a forum at Red River College on the topic, “Protection of Sources and the Legal Implications”. Seventy-five were in attendance, a good many of them journalism students, to hear our speakers, Harold Buchwald, Cecil Rosner, and Bob Cox.
Respectfully submitted,
John Cochrane, Chair, Manitoba Press Council
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Executive Secretary's Report - 2005
Five written complaints were received during 2005
Complaint #05-1 Brandon Sun, February 2005
A Brandon City Councillor filed a complaint that the Brandon Sun had launched a smear campaign to discredit him, and that the campaign centered on personal attacks rather than issue-focused debate on matters of public interest. After due consideration, the Manitoba Press Council, on April 14, 2005, issued an adjudication dismissing the complaint, on the grounds that newspapers should be given a wide latitude in expressing their opinions in editorials, no matter how controversial or unpopular their opinions may be.
The council pointed out that the 11 newspaper items sent as evidence by the complainant did, in fact, contain substantial amounts of issue-related debate and did centre on issues of public interest. In addition, the newspaper had published a strong critique of the paper by the complainant. The Manitoba Press Council believes that newspapers have a responsibility to provide a forum for expression of counter opinion and that was provided by the Brandon Sun.
The Council voiced a concern that at times the paper and the complainant used what could be considered extreme suggestions in their opinion and suggested that any further debate would be better if it took on a more reasoned tone.
Complaint #05-2 Winnipeg Free Press, February 2005
The complainant alleged that a columnist at the Winnipeg Free Press had defamed Donald Trump and his fiancée and that he intended to pursue the means to get the matter into court. The Council decided not to adjudicate the complaint and dismissed the matter because, as is indicated in its procedures, complaints involving civil or criminal proceedings, either in progress, pending or in prospect, would not be handled.
Complaint #05-3 Brandon Sun, April 2005
This complaint alleged that the Brandon Sun “overstepped journalistic ethics, by instructing the police to investigate our private function, and then wrote an article insinuating possible criminal activities, thus causing undo suspicions upon the social organizers and patrons”. The Publisher of the Brandon Sun responded, rejecting the premise of the complaint, and enclosing copies of three articles that clearly showed they had no malice towards the group in question. This letter was sent to the complainant in April 2005 and no further correspondence was received.
Complaint #05-4 Brandon Sun, May 2005
The complaint was received in an email, as a “cc” to the Press Council sent to the Brandon Sun and alleged that an article in the Brandon Sun contained errors and caused her trauma as a victim. In July, 2005, we inquired whether or not the complainant had heard from the Brandon Sun, and if she wished to pursue a formal complaint. We heard nothing further.
Complaint #05-5 Brandon Sun, September 2005
The complaint was about several editorial pieces that had appeared in the Brandon Sun, alleging that the Sun had “initiated a hate document towards the Christian Community at large”. The complaint has not yet been resolved.
Respectfully submitted,
Diane Cullen, Executive Secretary/Treasurer