¦KIRO Television regrets that the Washington News Council chose to even proceed with the complaint brought by the Beef and Dairy Commissions.

¦The CouncilÃs agenda was not to determine whether the stories were factually accurate, but whether they met some vague concept of fairness asserted by the beef and dairy industry cheerleaders.

¦KIROÃs broadcasts were factually accurate, and the CommissionÃs proceedings were nothing but attempts at censorship. There is a good reason why no media entity has ever appeared at one of the CommissionÃs [sic] hearings: It makes no attempt to protect the Constitutional rights of newspapers and broadcasters, preferring to replace them with a standard of hurt feelings.

¦No one could pursue investigative journalism in the public interest if that became the new standard.²

Helen Swenson

KIRO News Director

(Statement faxed to Seattle Weekly, June 16, 2003)