By: Editorial Staff
THE MINNESOTA NEWS Council has unanimously rejected a complaint of unfairness by a county commissioner against the Winona Daily News.
Winona County Commissioner M.J. "Mac" McCauley said the paper was unfair when it didn't reach him for comment in two stories in which a political opponent suggested that McCauley had sold his vote to a private company seeking a county contract.
He said that any time a news organization publishes a story in which someone is accused of dishonesty it should give that person a chance to respond.
The News Council agreed. But it said he would have deserved more sympathy if he had complained to the paper as soon as the stories appeared, written a letter to the editor or spoken up for himself at the next county board meeting.
Jim Galewski, news editor at the News, said the paper did not feel compelled to reach McCauley for comment because the political opponent was quoting others about McCauley's integrity.
A member of the news council said the paper would do better to take responsibility for pursuing such an accusation rather than putting the burden on an accused person to write a letter that might appear to be self-serving.
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