A news council is an organization set up to look into complaints about

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

, such as inaccuracy and

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

. The methods that are used vary substantially from one country to another.

News councils in Britain

Complaints against British newspapers and magazines are heard by the

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Indep ...

, which is funded by a

levy Levy, Lévy or Levies may refer to: People * Levy (surname), people with the surname Levy or Lévy * Levy Adcock (born 1988), American football player * Levy Barent Cohen (1747–1808), Dutch-born British financier and community worker * Levy ...

on all newspapers and magazines. It does not hear complaints about journalism in other media. (See main article.)

News councils in the United States

The idea of a news council has met considerable resistance from U.S. journalists, many of whom fear that it could lead to government regulation of the press. Advocates of news councils often pointed to the Minnesota News Council, which was started by the Minnesota Newspaper Association and inspired by a predecessor to Britain's Press Complaints Commission. The Minnesota News Council started hearing complaints since 1971, using a panel made up of half people from news organizations and half from the public. About half of the complaints were upheld. The organization shut down in 2011 because of reductions in funding and the number of people filing complaints. The Minnesota News Council said it got about 40% of its money from non-news companies, 20% from news organizations, 30% from foundations and 10% from individuals. It seeks contributions from all sources except the government. It hears complaints about all news media, including

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

and

online news An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...

. The Washington News Council, serving

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, was based on the Minnesota group. It held its first hearing in 1999 and operated for 15 years before closing in 2014. In 2005, the Washington and Minnesota groups said they would award $75,000 to each of two nonprofit groups interested in starting new news councils in other states.

News council in Bolivia

Bolivia's National Council of Journalist Ethics includes a National Tribunal of Journalistic Ethics, which monitors the behavior of journalists according to ethical criteria. The tribunal accepts and rules on individual complaints.

News councils

Minnesota News CouncilWashington News CouncilHonolulu Community Media Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:News Council Journalism organizations Complaints organizations