Complaints Report: 1986

The Press Council received 30 written complaints in 1986. Two reached hearing and adjudication stage; two others were put ahead for hearing in 1987.

Of the remaining complaints:

Seven were not followed up by the complainants; two were referred to the Advertising Standards Council of B.C. (the Press Council does not deal with advertising matters); two were against television stations, also outside the Council's terms of reference; seven were otherwise not suitable for Council consideration, being complaints about non-publication of letters to the editor or submitted articles, or about style or circulation matters; two lacked specificity; one was satisfied by the newspaper involved, and five remained uncleared at year's end.

In addition, many written and telephone inquiries, for-information copies of readers' correspondence with newspapers, and comments short of complaints were received and dealt with.

Details of 1986 hearings and adjudications follow.

VANCOUVER PARKING ASSOCIATION vs THE (VANCOUVER) PROVINCE

The association, which represents major parking companies in the city, complained about a review of a Johnny Cash show by music critic Tom Harrison in which he referred to "an admirably low ticket price that soothed the sting inflicted by the bandits who run the parking lots."

Although it dismissed the complaint, the Council called use of the term "bandits" unfortunate.

E.A. Keate, association president, told the Council he did not believe parking lot operators were bandits. He said a blanket statement calling them bandits was irresponsible and reflected adversely on the industry and the city. He had asked for a retraction but none had appeared.

In a letter to the edItor published by The Province, Keate has objected to the term "bandits" and said most downtown Vancouver lots charged less in evenings than those in most other urban centres. But he said the letter had been shortened and identified him wrongly as president of the Downtown Parking Association, which does not exist.

Reviewer Harrison told the Council the Cash show was an early one and he paid $1 more for parking than he would have had to later in the evening. He said he was aware that people were angry about parking rates generally and he was expressing sympathy with them by the reference in his review.

The adjudication:

"The Council concluded that the choice of the term 'bandits' was unfortunate. However, it appeared within the body of a review and reflected Mr. Harrison's opinion and his perception of discontent expressed by some concert-goers over parking prices. The Council noted that no specific lot or operator was identified. The review appeared only two weeks after the opening of Expo, at a time when much public concern had been expressed over the fair's effect on downtown Vancouver parking.

"The Council found that a letter to the editor from Mr. Keate, which The Province published, gave the Parking Association the opportunity to counter the comment made by Mr. Harrison. Mr. Keate's letter was edited for length, but the space allotted afforded him a fair response.

"The Council criticized an editing error on the part of The Province in incorrectly identifying Mr. Keate as president of the non-existent Downtown Parking Association, rather than the Vancouver Parking Association. The Council decided, however, that the error was not of major significance.

"The complaint is dismissed."

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G.T. ROSEN vs THE (VANCOUVER) PROVINCE

This complaint arose from a controversy about the 1986 Miss Vancouver Pageant. It was brought by G.T. Rosen, president of the Collingwood Community Association and father of the winner, Debbie Rosen, who had been appointed by the association to enter the pageant as Miss Collingwood.

Rosen told the Council that a Province story on the controversy was an "unfair and deliberately inaccurate report."

The story reported that some of the losing contestants were protesting what they saw as a conflict of interest in the running of the pageant. In addition to stating that Rosen was president of the Collingwood association, the story quoted the girls as saying that Rosen took tickets on pageant night.

Other association members told the Council that Rosen did not vote on his daughter's appointment and had excused himself from discussion of it. They said his ticket-taking at the pageant was not an influential position.

Jon Ferry, a Province assistant city editor, said the paper had merely reported the controversy and had not taken sides. He said what was considered an appearance of conflict of interest had warranted investigation, and all sides had been presented in the stories that resulted.

The adjudication:

"The Council dismisses the complaint that the stories were unfair and deliberately inaccurate although it notes there were some errors of omission (for example, it should have been pointed out that Debbie Rosen was not the only community representative to be appointed rather than chosen in competition; in fact, there were several).

"The stories fairly reported what was perceived to be a conflict of interest in the Miss Vancouver pageant.

"However, the Council feels that The Province denied the opportunity for further clarification in the form of letters to the editor. One letter, from Elsie May (queens' chairman of the pageant), put complaints from contestants in perspective. Another letter, from contest judge Hugh Pickett, if published would have dispelled any notion in readers' minds that the contest was somehow 'fixed.'

"The Council also feels that there is need for The Province to review its policy regarding allocation of space for letters to the editor."

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