More job loss

Analysis:

This story announces that Brunswick is eliminating 115 production jobs in Muskegon and sending them to Mexico. However, the story is framed to minimize any negative attention on the company. First, the reporter shows kids at a bowling alley benefiting from a Brunswick program. The first perspective viewers hear is from the company President who says “They are good employees who have made good quality bowling balls for us for years, and we feel bad about the fact that they will be losing their jobs.” This clearly is intended to make the company president look sympathetic towards the plight of workers.

After more commentary from the reporter, they finally talk to a worker who basically says this will be bad for the community, but the reporter then ends the story by saying that the worker went back to college to get a degree, as if to say the job lose thing is working itself out in the end anyway.

Unfortunately, no real reasons are provided other than from the company president who said Brunswick wasn’t profitable for years. There is no elaboration or verification of the reason given for job loss. Go to the Brunswick corporate website and you will find that from 2002-2004 there was a steady increase in sales and earnings over the past 2 years. It took us 2 minutes to verify the claims made by the company president, which according to their website were not true. Viewers might ask themselves what a difference it could make if reporters actually investigated allegations, such as the one from Brunswick, and what that means for the community. One last thing to mention is that much of the factory flight is due to trade policies. So, even though Mexico is mentioned as the destination of the jobs, channel 17 does not look at how NAFTA played a role in this, and they don’t tell workers and their families who have lost jobs that there are some provisions for workers who lose manufacturing jobs to NAFTA.

Story:

WXMI 17 News reader – After nearly 100 years of making bowling balls in Muskegon the Brunswick corporation is moving production to Mexico.

Reporter – Michelle, 115 production workers, many who worked for the company for decades will be fazed out in one to two years. The news is devastating to many who say Brunswick is a major part of the community. Brunswick is doing a lot to help these kids score big. A kids bumper league at Northway Lanes in Muskegon, where the only place the ball can go, is to the pin. But just up the street there are no bumpers protecting Brunswick workers.

Factory President – They are good employees who have made good quality bowling balls for us for years, and we feel bad about the fact that they will be losing their jobs.

Reporter – One hundred and fifteen manufacturing jobs cut, production moving to Reynosa, Mexico. The President of Brunswick Bowling and Billiards says that the company hasn’t been profitable in years. Executives spent the last 12 months trying to avoid job cuts, but not everyone will be let go. Breathing a sigh of relief tonight are some 275 sales and supporter staffers in this building. Stopping production across the street should save the company about 5-6 million dollars a year, but what actually happens to the building once it is empty is anyone’s guess. The news doesn’t surprise Eugene Thompson, he heard rumors of job cuts a year ago. His mother worked for Brunswick. He was hired 13 years ago.

Worker – It is a sad thing. Like I say, a lot of people have kids and things. So, it is not just me, so it will affect this whole community.

Reporter – Back at Northway lanes, parents are concerned, concerned about the future of the city where they are raising their kids.

Parent – We are turning into a tourist attraction and our employment rate is just going down. It is a shame and it is going to hurt us.

Reporter – The transition will cost Brunswick $7 million over the next 2 years and as for Eugene he told us he went back to college when he heard the plant might close. He graduates next year with a mechanical engineering degree. He just hopes that the other 114 unemployed workers will have other options.

Total Time – 2 minutes and 16 seconds