In our studies on local media coverage of the Iraq war, we have noted that the local TV stations relied almost exclusively on official sources, government or military, for war reporting. These news outlets acted primarily as a conduit for official sources, rarely questioning or providing other perspectives, whether they are national or local. And yet, in the limited instances where the local media do report on a local event or action opposed to the war, great efforts are made to provide "balance" by including pro-war voices.

The coverage of yesterday’s national vigil to show support for Cindy Sheehan was no exception. While all three TV stations and the Grand Rapids Press covered the event, the coverage was superficial and lacked context. The Grand Rapids Press article on this event, while quoting several participants, gave the most print space to a seventeen year old counter-protestor who though the event was "ridiculous." WXMI FOX 17 did a story that was almost three minutes long. In this piece they interviewed a local woman opposed to the war who has a son in Iraq. This was followed by an interview with another local soldier’s mother, a woman who was not at the vigil and supported the war. WZZM 13 also ran a fairly lengthy piece in which they gave brief quotes from some of the organizers and participants of the vigil. After the piece ended, the newsreader stated: "Now that you've heard from the people who think that US forces should pull out of Iraq, we'd like to hear from those of you in support of the war. So you can call our talkback line at that number right there, 559-1302 and tell us why you think American military should stay in Iraq, we'll listen to some of your responses at the end of tonight's newscasts." Some of these call-in responses were then played at the end of the broadcast. WOOD TV 8 reported in a short story that the vigil had taken place, but did not give any details or interview anyone.

Providing more than one perspective on an issue is one of the requirements of good journalism. And yet, it seems that the local media seem to hold to this standard only when reporting on voices or events that are critical of the war in Iraq, and not vice-versa. Stories and articles reporting on local soldiers and families, which make up a large percentage of the local news coverage of the Iraq war, almost never contain any perspectives critical of US government policy. In stories about unfolding events in Iraq, the voices presented are almost always governmental or military, and if an opposing voice is heard, it quite often is still coming from a “official” source, that is, an opposition voice within the government. Grass roots and citizen groups opposed to the war, while representing the concerns and opinions of large percentages of the American populace, are usually excluded, or if included, are juxtaposed with opposing voices.

For people who feel that the local media have, by selectively “balancing” stories only when reporting anti-war perspectives, 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.

Links to Articles:

WOOD TV 8 article
WZZM 13 article
WXMI FOX article
Grand Rapids Press article

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

"His Job is a Blast" read the headline of an August 5 Grand Rapids Press article. At first you think this a piece about a guy who sets off fireworks for holiday celebrations. With further investigation we discover that the headline celebrates a guy who flies B-52 bombers for the US Air Force. In what has become common journalistic practice since 9-11, this article canonizes US soldiers in unquestioning fashion.

In the second paragraph it states that the plane of Officer Eric Johnson "recently delivered the lethal contents of its belly to sites in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom," and later on that he "was chosen to fly one of the first planes to bomb Taliban sites in Afghanistan." The pilot, Eric Johnson, is even quoted as saying "we helped blunt the advance of the enemy troops." What enemy advance? The Taliban and Al Qaeda forces were in constant retreat from the onslaught of the US ariel bombing. We could not find any reports that claimed the Al Qaeda.

One striking omission in the article was whether civilians were killed from the bombing of "Taliban sites." Most of us are familiar with the Afghan wedding party that was recently hit by US bombers (http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/ASA110132002?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES\AFGHANISTAN), but there has been scant media coverage of the numerous and well documented instances of US bombs destroying UN mine inspection warehouses, residential neighborhoods, Mosques and fleeing civilians. Human Rights Watch has documented the consequences us dropping cluster bombs (http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/11/CBAfgh1116.htm), and the Los Angeles Times after sending reporters to Afghanistan (July 2002) wrote that "witnesses said U.S. warplanes killed and maimed civilians because of unreliable intelligence, stray ordnance and faulty targeting, or because enemy fighters mingled with civilians." http://www.globalexchange.org/september11/20020603_112.html. The most thorough of civilian casualties from US bombing has been the report by Prof. Marc Herold. His report can be found at http://www.zmag.org/herold.htm.

We encourage you to contact the GR Press and tell them to stop sanitizing the coverage of US military operations since October of 2001 in Afghanistan. Demand reporting that questions and challenges the US bombing raids. Also, ask whether or not the military campaign in Afghanistan is preventing terrorism or creating a climate for further acts of terror against the US.

Contact:

Chris Sebastian wrote the article - his direct line is 222-5596

Editorial Dept.: 222-5508

Fax: 222-5409

Local News Desk : 222-5455

Public Pulse:

mail to 155 Michigan St. NW, GR 49503 or e-mail to pulse@grpress.com