The Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) has released a new report examining the Grand Rapids Press' coverage of the US occupation of Iraq and US policy towards Iran. The report is titled Reflecting the Government's Point of View: Grand Rapids Press Coverage of Iraq and Iran and is the 36th report completed by GRIID. This study demonstrates a consistent pattern of how the Grand Rapids Press has reported on Iraq since the US occupation began in 2003. This is the fourth study that GRIID has done on the US war/occupation of Iraq and in each report, there has been a disproportionate amount of US sources, limited coverage of the human cost of war, and the framing of US policy in a positive light.

This study covered a 4-week period from November 11 through December 9. Here is a summary from the report and content analysis:

"GRIID looked at the amount (48) of stories/Briefs and where they appeared in the newspaper. We documented stories by theme and found that there were "in country" stories, stories based on US Military strategies, US policy stories, stories with an international focus, violence-based stories, stories that dealt with Private "security contractors," and local stories. GRIID also looked at how stories were framed, and who was sourced in the stories.

Iraq

There were a total of 42 stories on Iraq during the 4-week study period, with 10 Briefs and 32 full articles. There were several themes addressed in these stories - stories that dealt with what was happening in Iraq that were not war focused, stories based on US military strategies, US policy stories, stories with an international focus, violence-based stories, stories that dealt with private "security contractors," and local stories. The bulk of the stories dealt with US Military strategies, violence in Iraq, military contractors, and US policy on the occupation of Iraq. The only time that Iraqi perspectives are central in the stories were more human interest, such as the Nov. 11 article that looked at an Iraqi liquor storeowner. When it came to policy matters or human rights issues, Iraqi voices were almost completely absent. As is documented in the study, there were 46 times that US sources were cited as compared to only 9 times that readers were provided an Iraqi perspective. When covering US policy and ongoing funding for the war in Iraq, the news coverage continued to present the Democratic Party as an oppositional voice to the Bush administration, despite the fact that in the past year the majority of Democrats have voted with the administration to continue funding. There were no real anti-war perspectives provided during the entire study, from either national or local organization.

Iran

There were only six stories (3 articles and 3 Briefs) that dealt with Iran during the 4-week study. One of the briefs (Dec. 4) mentions that Iran asked the Canadian Ambassador to leave. The Brief does not provide any reasons for this action and only sources the Canadian government. Another Brief (Nov. 12) has Michigan Congressman Vern Ehlers stating that he is opposed to going to war with Iran and that he can see no good coming from such an action. While Ehlers has never publicly stated he is in favor of war with Iran, he has voted on legislation that marginalizes that country. The other Brief (Nov. 21) and the three articles on Iran all deal with Iran's nuclear program and US diplomatic response to that program.

Even though the coverage of Iran was quite limited during this 4-week study period, it is clear that the stories are biased towards the US administration's position on Iran with virtually no mention of what Iran thinks about the current US policy on their country, nor does the Grand Rapids Press provide readers with where the international community stands in regards to Iran."

GRIID is asking that folks send a pre-written email to the Grand Rapids Press asking that they improve their coverage of Iraq and Iran.

You can view all other GRIID reports on Iraq by going to the reports section. GRIID also provides regular analysis of stories in the local media as part of its "Dissecting the Local News" feature.