Not surprising, the coverage by the local news of the Bush Protest at Calvin College provided little information and framed the coverage in a typically biased fashion. The GR Press as well as Channel's 8, 13 and 17 reported that there were protesters. The Press and WOOD TV 8 both put the number at several hundred, while WZZM 13 said "several dozen." WOOD TV 8 typified the coverage of protesters by opening their coverage with "Not everybody was happy about the President's visit." In many ways this was all that was relevant to the local news agencies...that the protestors weren't happy. None of the coverage really gave reasons for people to be protesting Bush's visit, unless you were tied to Calvin in some way. Here the GR Press and channel 8 both focused on the religious aspect of Bush speaking at Calvin. While that is relevant, considering the role of religion in West Michigan, it did not take into account other reasons for people protesting Bush's visit to Calvin.
There were signs that focused on Social Security, the environment, the 2004 election process, and the issue of torture. One woman even dressed up like the now infamous Iraqi torture victim, with a black garment covering her whole body as she stood arms outstretched on the East Beltline. Some people also used humor to display their disgust with the Bush administration's policies. Unfortunately, no substantive reasons for protesting Bush were provided in the local coverage. The GR Press did mention that both the Confronting Empire and the West Michigan Justice and Peace Coalition were represented, but gave no indication that these groups organized the protest, nor did the coverage offer any substantive information as to the reasons for demonstrating at Calvin College.
The Confronting Empire group did provide some talking points to the media the day before the protest and sent out a Press Release. Unfortunately, these reasons were ignored by the media, which makes it easy for the public to view those who dissent as irrational. The day before the protest several local news agencies and MSNBC did contact the Confronting Empire group for interviews. In the case of local news agencies, Confronting Empire said they would do interviews with the condition that news agencies reported where and when the demonstration would begin and provide the viewing audience with a link to an internet site with more info about the protest. None of the news agencies would agree to these simple demands. As for MSNBC, the Confronting Empire group sent this message:
"We have decided to not do an interview with your news agency for 2 main reasons. First, it would be impossible in the time allotted, to discuss our reasons for Protesting Bush's visit to Grand Rapids in any meaningful sense. You have made news programs into sound-bites between commercials. Secondly, your news agency and all other major news outlets have failed in your responsibility as journalists to inform the US public about US policy, particularly the current War/Occupation of Iraq. There was no real questioning of the US invasion of Iraq, the WMDs, the ongoing Occupation and the human cost of this war. Therefore, we respectfully decline to participate in a meaningless, overly simplistic exercise."
Recognizing the role that the corporate media has played in the deception of the public several protesters surrounded the WXMI FOX 17 reporter and cameraman yelling LIES, disrupting the reporter's attempts to do a taped report from the protest. This lasted for almost 10 minutes until the WXMI reporter left the area. Towards the end of the protest about 50 people marched back to the field house and surrounded the TV trucks chanting slogans at the media, letting them know that they were complicit in the crimes of war in Iraq by failing to report the truth before the war and as the occupation continues.
