At Washington News Council Complaint Hearing, June 14, 2003

The slaughtering of an animal so that it can be processed into food is never a pretty sight. But because the process is not edifying to watch does not mean that it is either inhumane or illegal. The beef and dairy industries, in cooperation with federal and state authorities, have designed a system that protects both the animal from unnecessary suffering and the public from serious diseases. Laws and regulations have been established to ensure that these two objectives are accomplished and a non-vested public agency - USDA - has been appointed to enforce the rules that sustain the system. Consumers who understand neither animal behavior nor the system devised to protect their health may find much that appears distasteful in the slaughtering process. We would hope, however, that the news media would accept a responsibility to look beyond surface appearances and ascertain the true facts before broadcasting a story with so much potentially negative impact on so many people. Sadly, in the case of KIRO-TV's Midway Meats stories, we feel that this responsibility was ignored

This hearing takes place at a time of introspection for news organizations across this nation. Questions about the ethics, accuracy and fairness of our journalists can be heard rising from every quarter of American society - even from journalists themselves. These questions have shaken some of the most prominent institutions of American journalism, including the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Numerous public opinion polls - including one conducted recently by the Washington News Council itself - have charted the deep and abiding distrust in which Americans hold their news media. In this troubling context, we hope that you will see your vote today as an opportunity to encourage Washington's journalists to live up to a higher standard of professionalism. We believe that accuracy and fairness in reporting are not only the keys to a more socially constructive journalism, but are also entitlements for those of us upon whom the media fix their attention.

We are gratified by the Washington News Council's findings in our favor on eight of the nine separate issues it evaluated. 

We are grateful to the members of the Council for their fair consideration of our complaint and for the time and care they devoted to this process. We hope that the Council's decisions will encourage media throughout Washington to continue their ongoing efforts to improve the accuracy and fairness of their news reporting.

CONTACT:

Blair Thompson

Consumer Communications Manager

Washington Dairy Products Commission

www.cowtv.com