On Monday, March 28 a coalition consisting of eighteen local labor, environmental and human rights groups held a press conference to announce the launch of the Stop CAFTA Campaign. CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, is a proposed trade agreement between the United States and six Central American countries that mirrors in many ways NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. Like NAFTA, CAFTA has been crafted with little regard to workers rights, environmental sustainability or public input. West Michigan has lost thousands of jobs from factory flight to Mexico and Canada in recent years as a direct result of NAFTA. CAFTA would very likely lead to similar results as the language of the treaty is very similar.
Despite the impact CAFTA could have on the economy, both nationally and locally, the Grand Rapids Press and the three local TV stations, WZZM, WOOD, and WXMI did not bother to cover the Stop CAFTA Campaign press conference. Ironically, the lead story on all three TV news broadcasts that evening were the layoffs in Grand Rapids of several hundred jobs at Steelcase, including 30 of which are being sent to Mexico. This trend by the local media of reporting regularly on job layoffs but seldom reporting on the reasons for why these layoffs are happening has been documented by GRIID for some time now.
So what else did the local TV stations report on aside from the Steelcase layoffs? WOOD 8 aired five crime stories, two disaster stories and a piece about Terry Schiavo. WZZM 13 reported, among other things, 10 crime stories, an Oregon woman who drove her SUV off a bridge, a new breakfast sandwich at Burger King, and that Britney Spears may be pregnant. WXMI 17 also reported on the new Burger King breakfast omelet sandwich as well as seven crime stories and that a condominium burned down in Georgia.
These TV stations are allowed to generate profits using the public airwaves free of charge in exchange for promises to serve the public interest. That they ignore topics such as the Stop CAFTA Campaign, a citizens initiative to protect jobs, workers rights and environmental protections, while reporting a steady stream of crime and disaster, celebrity gossip and commercials disguised as news, illustrates that their commitment to serving the public interest has been overridden by their desire for ratings and profit.
For people who feel that the local media have, by not covering the Stop CAFTA Campaign, failed to fulfill their obligation to serve the public interest, we would suggest contacting the news directors at the three local TV Stations as well as the editorial staff at the Grand Rapids Press and demand that they provide better coverage of these crucial news topics.
Contact:
WOOD TV 8
News Director: Patti McGettigan
Phone #: 771-9366
E-mail: patti.mcgettigan@woodtv.com
WXMI FOX 17
News Director: Tim Dye
Phone #: (616) 364-1717
E-mail: tdye@wxmi.com
WZZM 13
News Director: Tim Geraghty
Phone #: (616) 785-1313
E-mail: tgeraght@wzzm.gannett.com
Grand Rapids Press
Editor: Mike Lloyd
Phone #: (616) 222-5455
