Notice of 2023 National NewsMedia Council Annual General Meeting
Please note that the National NewsMedia Council will be holding its 2023 Annual General Meeting on June 15, 2023, at noon (12 pm) EDT. This year’s meeting will be held via tele/videoconference. Members can access a PDF of the meeting notice, agenda, and proxy forms by clicking here. All current members in good standing who wish to attend the AGM should RSVP to Brent Jolly, the NNC’s managing director, at bjolly@mediacouncil.ca as soon as possible. Upon receipt of your request …
Update from the Complaints Desk: Breaking through allegations of ‘bias’
The National NewsMedia Council regularly receives complaints alleging bias in the news. Bias in journalism is a widely-debated topic in both academic and popular literature. It is also one of the most cited concerns in reader complaints submitted to the NNC, and it may come from all sides of the political spectrum, particularly in the lead up to elections. Among the many complaints the NNC receives, the use of the term ‘bias’ often reflects a desire to see a specific …
The NNC invites members to participate in its first general membership survey
The National NewsMedia Council is distributing its first general membership survey to its nearly 600 members. The objective of this survey is two-fold. First, the NNC is keen to identify what additional guidance or resources, related to journalism standards, member publications would find helpful. The second objective is to gauge the current state of news literacy efforts within Canadian publications and how those efforts could be strengthened. The survey is composed of nine (9) questions. We expect it should take …
Update from the Complaints Desk: The importance of editorial discretion
A cornerstone of a free and responsible press is journalists’ ability to report information that is significant, interesting, or new. Reporters and editors are tasked with deciding which details are needed for readers to understand the broader context of a given story. In exercising this editorial discretion, journalists follow standards of accuracy and fairness, and take care to avoid undue harm. While quality journalism seeks to provide readers with a full account of events, occasionally it is also possible that …
The National NewsMedia Council begins 2023 by welcoming three new directors
The National NewsMedia Council begins the new year by welcoming three fresh new faces to its board of directors. Two of the new directors are professional directors who hold senior editorial positions at their respective news organizations. One is a public director with expertise in both the legal and financial sectors. Sophie Gaulin joins the NNC board as the executive director and editor-in-chief of the Franco-Manitoban newspaper La Liberté. She strongly believes in the need for a free, strong and …
Update from the Complaints Desk: A snapshot of complaints about published images
While most complaints relate to specific statements contained in a story, sometimes the NNC will hear from individuals concerned about other elements of a piece, including the photographs used. As with any journalistic content, there are standards and best practices surrounding the publication of images. Below are some of the complaints that the NNC assessed that dealt with concerns about photos. News organizations take care when sharing images of tragic accidents An individual filed a complaint stating concern about sensitive …
National NewsMedia Council releases new best practice guidelines for reporting on police and minor crime
The National NewsMedia Council (NNC) is pleased to announce the public release of its latest best practice guidelines for reporting on police and minor crime to reflect and further inform newsroom discussions on these issues. The release of this report comes after several years of discussions between readers and news organizations about the public’s growing concerns surrounding the news value, and the long-term impact, for example, of being named in a news report on what could be considered a ‘minor’ …
Update from the Complaints Desk – July 14, 2022
The National NewsMedia Council (NNC) is an industry self-regulatory organization that receives and evaluates complaints about possible breaches of journalistic standards from members of the public against member news organizations. Another critical element of our organization’s mandate is to promote a news literate public that is aware of journalism’s critical role in a democratic society. In this latest dispatch from our complaints desk, you’ll find several summaries of recent reader complaints that the NNC has received and which have been …
The National NewsMedia Council welcomes three new directors
The National NewsMedia Council (NNC) is pleased to announce it has confirmed three new directors to its board following its annual general meeting held last week. Two of the new directors are professional directors with editorial positions at their respective news organizations, and one director is a public director with expertise in the regulatory field. Paul Samyn, the editor-in-chief of the Winnipeg Free Press, joins the NNC as an industry director on a one year term. Samyn has been part …
Protected: Notice of 2022 National NewsMedia Council Annual General Meeting
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