Reprinting Media Releases: The GR Press fails to practice journalism in story about new TV show
In last Sunday’s edition of the GR Press it was announced that a local Christian non-profit, The Dove Foundation, will be producing a new TV show that will offer movie and video game reviews with a “faith-based” perspective.
The article notes that Rachel Ruiz from WOOD TV8 and a “senior associate at Grand Rapids public relations form Lambert, Edwards & Associates, will offer their take on new movies and DVD releases.”
The article also cites the Dove Foundation founder and director Dick Rolfe who emphasizes the show’s focus is to provide a Christian program to help families know which films are “appropriate” to view as a family.
The Press offers no background information on the Dove Foundation but quotes Rolfe as saying, the show will be “a vehicle to expand our brand and our reach to more consumers.”
The Dove Foundation has very narrow guidelines about what films are family friendly, based on their own interpretation of Christianity. For instance, while they take issue with obscene language and hyper-sexual content in movies, they rarely challenge violence and hyper-commercialism that are more and more present in films that target younger audiences.
One of the officers for the Dove Foundation is Dar Vander Ark, the director of the Michigan Decency Action Council, a right wing organization that promotes censorship and is actively anti-gay. The Dove Foundation also has on its board of director Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a conservative radio talk show host.
Dove also has received funding from such entitles as the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation and the Edgar & Elsie Prince Foundation (parents of Blackwater founder Erik Prince).
The Dove Foundation has a very clear agenda that is more than a vague notion of promoting family values media. It is unfortunate that the GR Press did not do more than reprint a version of the Media Release that the foundation sent out.
This is the first of a series of interviews that we will post with people from West Michigan who are working to push for a new immigration policy from the federal government. The West Michigan Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform is working with the national group Reform Immigration For America (RIFA) to hold the new administration to its promise to reform immigration policy. You can join the local group by becoming a member on Facebook or contact Diane at dianelawkessler@gmail.com.
This interview is with Barry Mehler, a Professor of History at Ferris State University and the Director of the Institute for the Study of Academic Racism. Barry addresses the historical and contemporary relationship between White Nationalist/White Supremacists and anti-immigration movements.
(Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of news analysis pieces that will look at the Grand Rapids Press coverage of the US occupation/war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This new GRIID study began on May 26 and will continue through the end of August. This article begins with analysis of the GR Press story and then includes the article at the bottom. Note that the text that is bold is the portion of the original story that was omitted in the GR Press version.)
On Sunday, the GR Press ran an Associated Press story about recent violence in Afghanistan. The article focuses on a recent suicide bomb attack by the Taliban on a NATO facility in Kabul. Most of the story gives details of the attack, how many wounded and how the bomber was able to elude the security checks.
The only source in the GR Press version of the AP story was Afghan President, Hamid Karzai. Karzai is quoted as saying the attack was from the “enemies of Afghanistan” who were “trying to create fear among the people as we get close to the election.” In the original AP version of the story there are addition sources cited and even a Taliban spokesperson is quoted at length.
Unfortunately, there is no context to this story, particularly as it relates to suicide bombings in Afghanistan. Professor Robert Pape, author of the book Dying to Win has written that there were virtually no suicide bombings in Afghanistan prior to the US occupation of that country in 2001 and that the main cause of the attacks is because of the occupation.
This is also the first article all summer in the GR Press that has mentioned the upcoming election in Afghanistan. However, the article doesn’t provide any information about the election, who the candidates are, or what the Afghani population is wanting to see as an outcome of the elections.
August 16 AP
Seven dead in bombing
A suicide car bomber struck near the front gate of NATO headquarters in Kabul on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding nearly 100 in a brazen daylight attack less than a week before Afghanistan’s landmark presidential election.
Also Saturday, U.S. Marines pushed deeper into the strategic Helmand province town of Dahaneh for a fourth straight day, meeting fierce Taliban resistance as surface-to-surface missiles and Harrier fighter jets pounded insurgent positions in the surrounding hills.
The blast, which occurred about 8:35 a.m. in Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic quarter, appeared aimed at frightening Afghans against participating in Thursday’s presidential election and demonstrating that insurgents can strike whenever and wherever they want.
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the explosion, which rattled windows across a wide area of the Afghan capital and sent a huge, mushroom cloud of dense black smoke rising into the blue sky.
It was the biggest insurgent attack in Kabul in six months and shook public confidence in the extensive network of checkpoints and armed guards that maintain security in the city.
The bomber managed to evade several rings of Afghan police and detonated his vehicle about 30 yards (meters) from the main entrance to the NATO base, where top U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal has his headquarters. It was unknown whether McChrystal was there at the time of the attack.
After the blast, bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street. They included children who congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners. Windows of nearby antique shops and diplomatic residences were shattered and blood smeared the ground.
President Hamid Karzai blamed the attack on the “enemies of Afghanistan” who were “trying to create fear among the people as we get close to the election,” in which Karzai is favored to win a second, five-year term.
Karzai said in a statement that Afghans “are not afraid of any threats, and they will go to cast their votes.”
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy about 150 yards (meters) down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida because of the size of the blast.
Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the blast but did not say how many. Macedonia said three Macedonian soldiers who were guarding the gate were slightly injured.
Afghan security forces stopped the vehicle in front of NATO headquarters, then the bomber detonated the explosives, Tremblay said.
“The security measures in place have stopped cold the bombers as planned,” he said, calling the latest attack an example of the “residual risk” that remained despite the safety measures taken. “It’s very difficult to stop a suicide bomber.”
The blast killed seven Afghans and wounded 91, Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said.
Among the wounded were four Afghan soldiers and Awa Alam Nuristani, a member of parliament and Karzai’s campaign manager for women, the ministry said.
“I was drinking tea in our office when a big explosion happened,” said Abdul Fahim, an Afghan in his mid-20s who suffered leg injuries. “I lay on the ground and then I saw wounded victims everywhere, including police and civilians.”
The chief of Kabul’s criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said 600 pounds (272 kilograms) of explosives were used, and that because of the amount he suspected al-Qaida was involved. The attacker passed three police checkpoints, Sayadzada said.
But Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said a suicide bomber named Ahmadullah from the Bagrami district of Kabul province carried out Saturday’s attack.
It was the first major assault in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city. At least 28 people, including eight assailants, were killed.
Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashery said police were trying to figure out how the insurgents managed to carry out such an attack in one of the most tightly secured areas of the city.
“They must have used a new tactic to carry out this suicide attack,” he said. “What kind of tactic we cannot say until the investigation is over.”
Mujahid brushed aside talk of new tactics but said “we have peoples’ support with us, the people are helping us to carry out our attacks.”
“We have already announced that the people should not participate in the election,” he said. “We have announced that the people should not participate in this American process. We are going to block the highways and roads leading to polling centers and attack those polling centers where we see Americans and other foreigners.”
In Dahaneh, Marines launched a pre-dawn raid against a Taliban position on the southern edge of the town, storming a fortified compound and then blowing up two towers from which insurgents fired rockets and mortars at U.S. troops the day before.
Marines found marijuana plants growing in the courtyard and confiscated trigger plates used to manufacture roadside bombs.
U.S. troops launched an assault on Dahaneh early Wednesday, hoping to disrupt Taliban supply lines in the Now Zad valley and establish Afghan government control over an area held by the Taliban for years.
New GRIID Intern – Divain
GRIID is fortunate to have another new intern that joined us this week. Divain is no stranger to GRIID, since she participated in the Yo Puedo Media Project, where Latino/a students produced media around the themes of dating violence and sexual assault prevention. Divain is entering her senior year at Lee High School and will be working on several media projects over the next few weeks.
Media Bites – JC Penny Back to School
In this week’s Media Bites we take a look at a new back to school commercial by JC Penny. The 1-minute spot has students transform a school cafeteria into a fashion show runway. The commercial uses music from a hip band and promotes a line of branded clothing that the company sells. The commercial also plugs its website which features the same models used in the TV ad. This spot is an excellent example of how advertisers target youth, where youth are not just selling products, they are selling style.
The GR Press Promotes “Corporate Sustainability”
On Saturday the Grand Rapids Press ran a front-page story in the business section entitled “Eco-friendly packages have benefits.” The Press article looks at some recent decisions by four companies to make some changes in how they package certain food/beverage items; Spartan Stores, Old Orchard Brands, Ice Mountain and Wal-Mart.
In many ways the story reads like a public relations piece, with bits of information that are framed positively about what each company is doing. For example, when the Press writer refers to what Wal-Mart is doing it says:
“In Wal-Mart stores, the changes are evident. Only highly concentrated liquid detergent in smaller containers is sold. Granola bars are sold wrapped in pre-cut tape instead of boxes. When suppliers are able to reduce packaging and costs, it has a ripple effect, said Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg.”
The Press reporter then goes on to quote the Wal-Mart spokesperson at length, with no other perspectives provided that might challenge what the company claims when it say this policy “benefits everyone.” It is almost like reading the Wal-Mart promotional material on their web page that touts the company’s sustainable practices.
The same is the case with the other three companies featured in the story, positive commentary followed by input from company spokespersons. In fact, the only other source cited in the story is a representative from a Muskegon-based packaging company and they also speak favorably about the trend with “eco-friendly” packaging.
The story also includes a highlighted section on what the companies have done, which includes the heading, “How the packages make a difference.” There is even a staged photo that the Press included with items from each of the companies featured in the story.
Green Capitalism
This story is part of a growing trend within the corporate world and to some degree within environmental circles where anything that is perceived to be eco-friendly it is celebrated. The problem with this approach, particularly for journalism, is that it tends to avoid criticism of corporate practices, which means that the public is exposed to less dialogue and less information about the long-term impact of such practices.
For example, there is a rowing movement of people who would say that the very idea of bottling water is inherently unsustainable. Ice Mountain/Nestle is making millions of dollars in profit off the use of water that should be part of the public domain and then the company turns around and tries to convince us that they are environmentally responsible.
Then there is Wal-Mart, the largest retail company in the world. Wal-Mart has a long history of exploiting workers, they destroy local businesses and take advantage of local communities, and have significantly negative impacts on local ecosystems. The fact that companies like Wal-Mart can continue to get such uncritical coverage should tell us something about the state of journalism in this country.
In additional to promoting Green Capitalism, this August 8 GR Press story also puts the emphasis on the demand side of the market. Over and over again in the article the Press reporter doesn’t challenge comments from corporate spokespersons who say things like, “A lot of the customers have requested more eco-friendly, recyclable materials.” This implies that it is up to consumers to demand sustainable manufacturing practices, when in fact other countries have decided that the responsibility lies with those who make the product, not just the consumers.
Germany adopted a policy a few years ago where manufacturers are responsible for all the packaging they produce. Once you are done using the product you can bring it back to the company and they must deal with the waste. Germany calls it their Green Dot Policy.
To emphasize that the Press views this issue from the consumer end of things they included an additional insert in the story. The insert is entitled “Green Shopping,” where the public is encouraged to “buy products in bulk” and to “buy products made from recyclable materials.” This insert came from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The problem with this type of reporting is that it helps to frame the debate about what must be done for humans to truly live sustainably in the world. (See a recent article by Derrick Jensen that explores what is wrong with individual behavior instead on real political change.) As long as the Press and any other news media fail to challenge corporate perspectives, or include independent perspectives, the public debate on one of the most critical issues of our day will be one-sided.
Media Alert – Did GE Stifle Keith Olbermann?
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting recently sent out this new Media Action Alert:
In the wake of an August 1 expose in the New York Times, an agreement reportedly reached by executives at the parent companies of Fox News Channel and MSNBC to rein in the networks’ two stars’ criticism of each other seems to have fallen apart. The behind-the-scenes deal-making, though, still illustrates the corrosive effect on media of corporate ownership.
The alleged deal concerned MSNBC‘s Keith Olbermann and Fox News Channel‘s Bill O’Reilly. Olbermann seemed to deny any arrangement limiting his speech, and criticized Fox and O’Reilly right after the Times story was published (8/3/09). O’Reilly, in turn, resumed his criticism of GE on his August 5 show. But many questions remain about the nature of the deal.
The two hosts have feuded for years; in response to Olbermann’s on-air criticism of him, O’Reilly attacked not only Olbermann but the entire NBC franchise, including NBC parent GE–zeroing in on the corporation’s business in Iran. “If my child were killed in Iraq,” O’Reilly once declared (4/14/08), “I would blame the likes of [GE CEO] Jeffrey Immelt.”
Olbermann’s rants helped make his show MSNBC‘s top ratings-getter; according to a May 19, 2008 account by the Washington Post‘s Howard Kurtz, Fox chair Roger Ailes “warned that if Olbermann didn’t stop such attacks against Fox, he would unleash O’Reilly against NBC.” As one GE spokesperson put it, executives at News Corp. “tell us if the attacks on O’Reilly end, the attacks on GE will end. They’ve had conversations with our news executives saying, ‘If you stop, we’ll stop.”’
More than a year later, the New York Times report depicted executives at both companies as eager to end the conflict–GE in particular had seen O’Reilly’s criticism spill over into a shareholder meeting (Reuters, 4/23/09). When Immelt and News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch were interviewed at a Microsoft-sponsored CEO summit in May of this year, the Times report indicates that they expressed interest in a truce of some sort. Soon thereafter, an agreement was hashed out, and the criticism from both sides dramatically diminished.
According to the Times, MSNBC president Phil Griffin “told producers that he wanted the channel’s other programs to follow Mr. Olbermann’s lead and restrain from criticizing Fox directly, according to two employees.” For his part, Olbermann told the paper, “I am party to no deal.” While Olbermann seemed adamant that he was not under any obligation to stop criticizing Fox, other MSNBC sources indicated that they indeed felt muzzled. Indeed, Salon‘s Glenn Greenwald (8/3/09) reported that one regular MSNBC guest “was recently told by a segment producer that explicit mentions of Fox Newswere prohibited,” and that “there has been talk among MSNBC employees ever since the GE edict was issued about ways to protest it and to stand up for their journalistic freedom…. Everything has been discussed at MSNBC from joint defiance of this edict to mini-strikes in the form of prolonged vacations and absences.”
While one might expect little in the way of journalistic ethics from Fox News (CJR, 5-6/98), what about MSNBC? While the channel does have a more liberal political slant–at least for a few hours in the evening– it is certainly not immune from corporate pressure. Most notably, MSNBC canceled antiwar host Phil Donahue’s program in the run-up to the Iraq War, as NBC executives panicked about showcasing even the slightest dissent (FAIR Action Alert, 3/7/03). When host Ashleigh Banfield’s criticism of pro-war jingoism in the media offended NBC management (New York Times, 5/5/03), she was demoted and eventually fired. CNN‘s Jessica Yellin and CBS anchor Katie Couric made similar comments about the political climate at MSNBC and NBC (Salon, 8/1/09).
And Olbermann was not exempted from MSNBC‘s political pressures. In a 2005 interview with Al Franken, Olbermann said:
You were good enough to come on this newscast with me late in the summer of 2003. It was August or September. And by coincidence, either the next day or the day before, Janeane Garofalo had been a guest on the newscast. And I got called into a vice president’s office here and [was] told, “Hey, we don’t mind you interviewing these guys, but should you really have put liberals on, on consecutive nights?”
Olbermann’s criticism of right-wing demagogues at Fox News was one of the key features that made his show one of the most popular in cable news. But at MSNBC, evidently, ratings ultimately are not as important as the interests of its corporate parent. While it’s encouraging that Olbermann has made it clear that he intends to continue criticizing Fox where appropriate, what should one make of the silence of his bosses– the people who, apparently, arranged this “cease-fire”? If GE’s journalists indeed have freedom to report the news as they see fit, the company’s executives should say so. If not, they should explain how and why they put this policy into effect.
ACTION:
Call on General Electric to renounce any corporate agreement to limit the expression of Countdown host Keith Olbermann and other MSNBC/NBC journalists.
CONTACT:
General Electric
Jeffrey Immelt
CEO
jeffrey.immelt@ge.com
Gary Sheffer
Executive Director, Communications & Public Affairs
203-373-3476
gary.sheffer@ge.com
Local Group kicks off Food Diversity Project
The Grand Rapids-based organization Our Kitchen Table (OKT) held an event on Tuesday, August 4 to kick off their new Food Diversity Project. GRIID intern Sheri Munsell did a short interview with OKT organizer Lisa Oliver King.
After the OKT presentation in the community garden next to the Southeast Community Association (SECA), people had the opportunity to hear presentation from Clinton Boyd with the Sustainable Research Group. Clinton provided the aufience with some data on lead and mercury poisoning in Kent County. He stated that people who grow gardens should have their soil test first to see if there are any contaminants in the soil before they grow food. People should also think about where they plant their gardens, since gardens closer to road, particularly busy roads, will be at greater risk of contamination.
Malik K. Yakin with the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network was the keynote speaker for the event. He discussed the reality that Detroit residents face with over 100,000 vacant lots in the city, poverty and institutional racism. He also said that all of the major food grocery chains have left Detroit city proper, so most people are limited to where they can buy food, which means that there are less healthy food items available to many Detroit residents.
It is within this context that the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network was born. This organization has been able to acquire land in one of the Detroit parks to begin a small farm project. People are learning how to grow food, they are creating compost and providing some employment for youth.
In addition, the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network has helped begin 200 community gardens in the city, as well as 40 school-based gardens. However, they are not just interested in promoting urban agriculture, the organization wants food justice. Recently they were able to get the City of Detroit to pass an impressive Food Security Policy, a policy, which could be a model for other communities to adopt if they are serious about sustainability.
West Michigan Media Responds to New Blackwater Allegations
Within the last 24 hours it has been reported that Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, is being accused of committing murder. Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army, broke the story yesterday that 2 former Blackwater employees testified under oath in a Virginia federal court.
Blackwater has been under investigation for some time over charges of killing several Iraqi civilians during a contract operation in September of 2007. In the new allegations, the former Blackwater employees now are stating that Erik Prince ordered Blackwater operatives to kill people who were going to provide information on the September 2007 civilian shootings committed by Blackwater contracted workers. Democracy Now! has posted the transcripts from both former Blackwater employees, who are referred to in court documents as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2.
The other major revelation in the court testimony from John Doe 1 & 2 is that Erik Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe”:
To that end, Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.
Mr. Prince operated his companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life. For example, Mr. Prince’s executives would openly speak about going over to Iraq to “lay Hajiis out on cardboard.” Going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince’s employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs, such as “ragheads” or “hajiis.”
West Michigan Media Reactions
So far there has been a significant amount of local news media response to the allegations that Holland, MI native Erik Prince ordered the murder of Iraqi civilians. The Grand Rapids Press posting on Wednesday afternoon does provide the basics around these new allegations and even includes part of the interview that MSNBC did with journalist Jeremy Scahill. This is a significant improvement from previous GR Press coverage when Prince spoke in Grand Rapids or when the Grand Rapids Press did a feature on Blackwater founder Erik Prince in 2007. It is interesting that the Press now considers Scahill a credible source, considering the very short article they did on Scahill when he spoke in Holland in May of 2007.
The leader in local TV news, WOOD TV8, has a very short piece on their website that provides limited information about the allegations and only cites CNN as a source on the story. WOOD TV8 also does not mention anything about the comments from the two former employees in regards to the company seeing its mission as a Christian crusade. WZZM 13 had a much shorter story on these allegations and they also ignore the Christian crusade aspect of the story.
WXMI 17 (as of 2:30pm) had no stories online about the new Blackwater allegations. Instead, the lead story was that Paula Abdul was quitting American Idol. WOOD Radio also had no information on the Blackwater story as of Wednesday afternoon on either their local or national news sections.
Media Bites – Bank of America
In this week’s Media Bites we look at a recent Bank of America commercial. We discuss how the ad is deceptive since the commercial conveys nothing about the massive taxpayer bailout the company received last year. Bank of America is trying to present themselves as a company that helps Americans, but the fact is they are primarily interested in helping themselves. Bank of America was also cited in a new study of financial institutions that continued to pay huge bonuses to employees. Lastly, we look at how much money the company uses for lobbying and supporting political candidates.
