Minnesota News Council

Mission

The News Council believes that public discussion addresses and promotes media fairness more effectively than court. The Council convenes a 25-member volunteer council (composed of half media and half public members) to hear citizen complaints about news coverage. The Council also provides educational opportunities - in the classroom and in public forums - for the public and the media to listen to and learn from each other; empowers the public to expect and demand high journalistic standards, and serves as a local and national resource on fairness issues.

Programs

The Council conducts programs for the general public, for high school and college students and for journalists. We provide consumers of news with assistance in resolving their complaints with individual news organizations. We sponsor public and private forums where the public and the media can meet to discuss larger ethical issues that encompass a number of media (for example, coverage of religion or coverage of crime and violence). We produce a monthly e-newsletter in which we seek to inform the public about how the media operates and in turn offer public feedback to journalists. We maintain a Web site with News Council news events, and resources for ethics research. We conduct mock hearings for high school and college classes, providing students with hands-on experience in considering real-life ethical issues. We conduct ethics workshops for journalists and sponsor an award for media organizations who show accountability to their public.