A news council is an organization set up to look into complaints about journalism, such as inaccuracy and bias.
The idea of a news council has met considerable resistance from U.S. journalists, many of whom fear that it could lead to government regulation of the press.
Advocates of news councils often pointed to the Minnesota News Council, which was started by the Minnesota Newspaper Association and inspired by a predecessor to Britain's Press Complaints Commission.
The Minnesota News Council started hearing complaints since 1971, using a panel made up of half people from news organizations and half from the public.
The organization shut down in 2011 because of reductions in funding and the number of people filing complaints.