A complaint against the Guelph Mercury by a former member of the Mercury’s Community
Editorial Board was dismissed by the National NewsMedia Council.

Kovarthanan Konesavarathan objected to the editing of a letter to the editor about a column he
wrote while he was a member of the paper’s community editorial board. He argued that the
Mercury staff removed two sentences with vital information.

The NNC noted the sentences removed provided specific information, but the editing did not
significantly change the tone or the intent of the original letter. As well, Council noted the
subject of the letter did not make any objection to the editing.

In that light, and considering that editing a letter to the editor is not a breach of journalistic
standards, the National NewsMedia Council has dismissed the complaint.

Article: “Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition letter to the editor”

Published: July 30, 2015