16 — Wednesday, June 17, 1992 — North Shore News Press Council dismisses Reform party complaint A CONTENTION that a newspaper should give pref- erential treatment editorially to a paid advertiser has been dismissed by the B.C. Press Council. The Reform Party of Canada (Saanich and the Gulf Islands Constituency Association} com- plained to the council about a front page story in the Aug. 15 issue of the Victoria Times- Colonist that it claimed held the party up to public ‘‘ridicule."” The offending article was based on an advertisement the Reform party had placed in the business personals section of classified the same week. The Reform party constituency association was advertising for candidates interested in contesting the next federal election. The association objected to the placement of its ad — between one for ‘Exotic Aerobic Video’ and another for ‘Giggles ’N Grins Singing Telegrams.” When the ad formed the nucleus cf a page-one story on the party’s search for a candidate, the constituency president, Mr. L.E. Kirk, complained to the Times-Colonist that ‘“‘it was _unethical to use our advertise- ment, for which we were paying, as the basis of a joke.’’ At the public hearing into the matter, John Wells, managing ed- itor of the Times Colonist, said that it was the policy of the news- paper to report and comment on what it liked, with no regard to whether the person or party under discussion was a paying advertiser. Rean Meyer, speaking for the constituency association, said the Times-Coloniss. had committed a breach of trust between client and agent and should not have held the party up to ridicule over the strange placement of its classified ad. For clarification of the issue it should be noted that the first line of the Reform party ad, in all caps, read: ‘ARE YOU A BUD- DING JOHN,’ followed on the second line with, ‘A. MacDonald or a Winston Churchill?” The headline on the Times- Colonist story of Aug. 15 read: ‘Another John, eh? Reform offer there amid exotic videos.’ Text of the April council adjudication: “The Reform Party of Canada argued that a classified advertise- ment seeking candidates had been insensitively placed in the ‘business personals’ category of the Times-Colonist on Aug. 15, 1992. “A spokesman for the Saanich and Gulf Islands Constituency Association of the party said he was ‘chagrined’ at the ad place- ment, and felt that the page-one story that followed — which he said ridiculed his party — was a breach of trust between agent and client. “The Reform party repre- sentative also said he believed the fact that his party had spent money on the advertisement, and previous other advertisements, should have resulted in more sen- sitive treatment of his party in the newspaper. “In a unanimous adjudication, the press council ruled: “1. 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BE EXPIRY DATE: June 23a, 1952 FL 00040 TM. OFAC. OF BURGER KiNG CORPORATION © 1992 @ Please Present this cou; 2 EXPIRY DATE: June 29, 1992 a FAA-0001 2 T.M. OFLC. DE BURGER IG CORPORATION 8 92 PP TA TT Flame Broil ae *Flame-Broiled Double Cheeseburger ¢ Phas a Flame Broiled Doable Cheeseburger at the regulas price and pet re Se te Be Double Cheeseburger FREE! , on before Not valid with any No cash vatue. GSUSRRTATSSEOAR NARS ECORARS Sees the Reform Party of Canada who placed it. “2. The page-one story that followed was not malicious, but rather constituted fair comment on a Situation and a political party in the public cye. “<3. That the Reform Party of Canada spokesman unrealistically expected the newspaper to give preferred treatment to the Reform party because it was an advertiser. “Although the B.C. 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