On Monday, the Grand Rapids Press published a front-page article on the National Guard’s $20,000 bonus for new enlistees. The article, “Guard bonus a big plus, recruits say,” touts the aforementioned monetary incentive for joining the Guard and Michigan National Guard recruiting commander Colonel Sam Dalman’s assertion that it is West Michigan’s sense of patriotism that is keeping recruits in West Michigan interested in the military. While the article did include one quote from a student attending Creston High School in Grand Rapids who was opposed to the war in Iraq and mentioned that the military is facing difficulties recruiting African-Americans, there was no mention of the national counter-recruitment movement nor was there any mention of local groups organizing against military recruitment in the public schools. The Press also ignored the fact that the military recruits a disproportionate number of people of color in Kent County.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the local media has run articles that essentially act as recruiting pieces. Last month WZZM 13 aired a one-hour program on Marines and heavily promoted the program during its newscasts and in advertisements. The program, “Class 186: The Making of a Marine Officer,” focused on the patriotism of military recruits and their “bravery” in a special that was produced by WZZM 13’s parent company Gannett to present a favorable portrayal of the Marines. Over the summer, the local media ran multiple stories linking military service to patriotism and 9/11, with WXMI 17 running a story featuring the undocumented assertion that following 9/11 people want to join the military to “serve their country” and WZZM 13 running a story that touted the military’s signing bonus. The free advertising for the military provided by favorable media coverage no doubt helps local military recruiters in their recruiting efforts which along with advertising include a variety of different tactics such as ROTC programs in high schools, the presence of recruiters in high schools and local colleges, participation in the annual Martin Luther King Junior Day parade, extensive data mining, and other such tactics, all of which have been joined by a host of newer techniques designed to help the military attain its 2006 recruiting goals after missing its goals for 2005.
