Today, the local antiwar group ACTIVATE delivered a packet to the Grand Rapids Press calling on the Press to take specific steps to improve its coverage of the Iraq War. Citing an analysis performed earlier this week as well as numbers compiled at various points since the start of the war in 2003, ACTIVATE is asking the antiwar movement and the citizens of Grand Rapids to send an email to the Grand Rapids Press demanding that the Press utilize an increased variety of sources, that the Press report on the human and economic costs of the war, and provide improved coverage of the antiwar movement. ACTIVATE has scheduled a meeting with the Grand Rapids Press and is seeking emails from the public as a means showing that concern over the Iraq War coverage extends beyond their group.
As part of its preparation for the meeting, ACTIVATE reviewed the Grand Rapids Press' coverage of Iraq for the week of February 19, 2007 to February 25, 2007. During that period, there were twenty-two stories published in the Grand Rapids Press. Of those twenty-two stories, there were two front-page stories ("Shelby marine killed by Iraq bomb" on 2/21 and "Chlorine gas returns to the battlefield" on 2/22), with the remaining twenty stories appearing primarily within the first four pages of the Grand Rapids Press. Only one story, "Shelby marine killed by Iraq bomb" was written by the Press, with the majority of their coverage being reprints of stories from the Associated Press newswire. The overwhelming number of sources quoted in the Grand Rapids Press' coverage were from the United States military or government (13). The second most frequently quoted sources were friends or families of soldiers killed in Iraq (6). Tony Blair was the only international source quoted (twice), while the only Iraqi source quoted was a government spokesperson. There were no antiwar voices quoted or cited during the week and the only "opposition" present was that of Democratic Senators (2) and Tony Blair, although the opposition of both is limited.
The Grand Rapids Press has engaged in similar reporting since the invasion according to research from the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID). A study examining the initial period of the war from March 17, 2003 to May 2, 2003 found that the 504 stories run by the Grand Rapids Press during that period consulted official sources, reprinted wire service stories, minimized antiwar perspectives, and rarely questioned the assertions of military and government representatives. A follow-up study in 2004 covering the period of January 12 to March 12, found that the 88 stories run by the Grand Rapids Press relied primarily on official sources and downplayed the human costs of war except when dealing with the deaths of United States' soldiers. Subsequent analysis of the Grand Rapids Press' Iraq coverage done as part of GRIID's Dissecting the Local News (http://www.mediamouse.org/griid/dissecting.php) project has shown examples of the Press continuing to rely on official sources, minimizing antiwar voices, and focusing opposition to the war primarily in terms of partisan politics. Media Mouse has also documented similar issues in the Press, particularly in a recent story portraying Representative Vern Ehlers as a reluctant supporter of the war despite a record of support and in its coverage of Iran.
Targeting the Grand Rapids Press and holding them accountable is part of ACTIVATE's ongoing "Days of Resistance" campaign that is hoping to reinvigorate the local antiwar movement by reconsidering tactics, trying new organizing approaches, and taking the first step towards reaching out to communities traditionally ignored by the antiwar movement. The group's events--which began with a protest outside of a military recruiting center on January 26-are leading up to events commemorating the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq including a march on March 17.
