July 25, 2025 – for immediate release
The National NewsMedia Council (NNC) has dismissed a complaint about the accuracy of a March 19, 2025, article published by the Belleville Intelligencer.
Douglas Lobel filed a complaint with the NNC stating that an article reporting on the cancellation of a public event by the Belleville Public Library failed to disclose the name of a speaker who was scheduled to present at the event.
The complainant argued that the article’s failure to name the speaker, a Canadian physician who has a history of advocating for physicians in Gaza, did not present a full picture of the issue for readers. This omission, he said, created the impression that the cancellation of the event was “procedurally bureaucratic” and “obscured” the actual reason for the event’s cancellation.
In response to the complainant’s concerns, the news organization argued that the focus of the story was to highlight what physicians in war zones endure. The news organization reiterated that the story’s purpose was not to “take a stand” on which side was “right” in their actions in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
In its review, the NNC considered widely-accepted journalistic standards about accuracy.
The NNC agreed with the view that the article describes an event highlighting the experience of doctors on the ground, and that the piece does not show support for any particular party involved in the conflict. An ordinary reading of the piece in question showed a report on the general content of the event and the scheduling matter that resulted in the event’s cancellation.
In this case, the NNC also observed that the article contained statements from the chair of the library board as well as quotes from a letter issued by the library CEO regarding the library’s rental policy.
The NNC respects that individuals may wish to see additional context or specific details included in news stories on contentious subjects. That said, journalistic standards and practices allow journalists the ability to select the scope of the story and the facts relevant to the topic or issues at hand.
For the reasons outlined above, the NNC did not find grounds to support a complaint about a breach of journalistic standards.