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Media Ethics welcomes any and all contributions. All submitted manuscripts are subject to editing at the discretion of the editor. Because of our editorial policies of independence and inclusion, neither the sponsors nor the editor or publishers shall be held responsible for any views expressed in Media Ethics by authors or others, or for their own follies. Photographs often are digitally altered. Unless otherwise specified, authors and photographers retain all copyrights to their work, subject only to print and electronic publication by Media Ethics itself.

"Unprecedented." "Groundbreaking." "One of a Kind." How the Washington News Council studied the Spokane Spokesman-Review

John Hamer

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Media Credit: Javier Garcia-Albea
The words in the title have been used-accurately-to describe the Washington News Council's (WNC) recent publication, Reporting on Yourself: An independent analysis of The Spokesman-Review's coverage of and role in the Spokane River Park Square redevelopment project. It is indeed a unique case study in media ethics.

The downtown mall project's developer was the Cowles Company-which also owns and publishes The Spokesman-Review. That dual role led to widespread criticism of the newspaper's performance and ethics over more than a decade. Even many of the paper's reporters and editors expressed concern about the coverage, and some left for other jobs.

The Washington News Council's report-done at the personal request of Spokesman-Review Editor Steven A. Smith-analyzed the paper's coverage over a 10-year period. Our copyrighted report-see box on how to get a copy-was recently released. We interviewed most of the key players, including the publisher, the company president, the former editor, and current or former editors and reporters. We offered a set of strong findings and made several clear recommendations for changes at the newspaper. Our report is neither a "whitewash" nor a "witch hunt," as some had feared it would be, but it is definitely a candid, unsparing critique.

The WNC (www.wanewscouncil.org ) insisted on having complete autonomy to review the coverage and express our opinion. To his credit, Smith agreed in advance to provide access to current newsroom employees, to open records and files, and to encourage former employees to cooperate. He also agreed to post our entire report-unedited except for fact-checking-on the paper's Web site, and to publish the entire text in a Sunday edition of the paper.

No newspaper has ever asked for such a comprehensive outside review, and no news council has ever produced such a report. It's one of a kind. Our report is already being used in media ethics classes in journalism schools, and multiple copies are being requested by journalism teachers nationwide.

Principal Findings

The Washington News Council concluded that:

• The Spokesman-Review did not investigate thoroughly in a timely manner and report promptly and forthrightly the financial structure of River Park Square.
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Media Ethics is independent. It is editorially eclectic, and the sponsors are not responsible for its content. It strives to provide a forum for opinion and research articles on media ethics, as well as a venue for announcements and reviews of meetings, opportunities, and publications.


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