Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

There was a dramatic increase in the amount of stories that the Grand Rapids Press published during the third week of the new administration. The Press ran a total of 18 stories, the same number of stories for the first two weeks combined.
The stories that dominated the coverage were:

• The stimulus plan (6)
• Foreign policy (4)
• Ongoing problems with some of Obama’s nominees (3)

There were no fluff stories as we documented last week, but there was a story on how the new administration will deal with making good on campaign promises.

The Stimulus and Partisan Battles

Much of the coverage on the stimulus plan was framed as a partisan “battle.”
A February 8 story begins by saying, “President Barack Obama and Senate Republicans bickered Saturday over his historically huge economic recovery plan.” However, once you got beyond the headlines most of the stories that dealt with the stimulus plan actually reflected that there was more cooperation between the two major parties than “bickering,” even if the cooperation has meant a shift to the right, as Peter Hart and John Nichols have both observed in recent articles.
A February 6, Associated Press article reported that, “A group of nearly 20 moderates from both parties–more Democrats than Republicans–huddled off and on all day Thursday in hopes of cutting as much as $100 billion from Obama’s plan.” This cooperation was continued in a February 7 story where a Republican Senator from Maine said, “The American people want us to work together. They don’t want to see us dividing along partisan lines on the most serious crisis confronting our country.”
The coverage of the stimulus plan even provided some details on what was included in the package, unlike what we documented last week. A February 4 story commented that part of the Senate version of the stimulus plan would include tax breaks for people buying homes. A February 6 article also mentioned that, “A roster of $88 billion worth of cuts was circulating, almost half of which would come from education grants to states, with an additional $13 billion in aid to local school districts for special education and the No Child Left Behind law on the chopping block as well.”
What was missing from this coverage was any commentary on how the public or non-partisan groups might respond to the proposed changes to the stimulus plan. United for a Fair Economy points out that the proposed stimulus changes by the Senate who primarily benefit “upper-income people.”

Iraq, Iran, and the New Secretary of State

Stories on US foreign policy were all over the map last week with an initial story on where President Barack Obama stands on troop withdrawal from Iraq, a story we already looked at on February 7.
On February 8, there was a story about Vice President Joe Biden’s first major foreign policy speech at the annual Munich Security Conference. The Associated Press reporter said, “his remarks set a tone of partnership in contrast to what some allies saw as a more bullying posture by the previous administration.”
The article states that Biden and the new administration does want to have open relations with Iran, but the story filed to mention that Biden was opposed to Iran developing nuclear weapons and that “Iran has acted in ways that are not conducive to peace in the region.” Biden, like previous administrations, does not acknowledge Israel’s possession of nuclear weapons as a possible destabilizing factor in the region.
The idea that the new administration will make a departure from the Bush years on foreign policy was also reflected in a February 8 Los Angeles Times article about Hillary Clinton’s first overseas trips as Secretary of State. Much of the Press version of the Times story focuses on how Clinton’s visit to Asia shows a priority to that part of the world, unlike Condoleezza Rice as Bush’s Secretary of State. The article also compares Clinton’s Secretary of State status to that of a celebrity by saying, “Clinton, a worldwide celebrity since the early 1990s, is expected to command even more attention, whether or not the trip reveals much about the administration’s policy plans.” Apparently, Clinton’s celebrity is more important than what the new administration’s policies will actually be.

Nominations and Governance

There were also several stories (February 3 & 4) about the ongoing nomination process with both Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer stepping down from positions because of personal tax issues. More importantly was a story on February 8, from the Associated Press that looked at the issue of whether or not the new administration would make good on their promise of staying away from lobbyists.
The story points out that on January 21, President Obama “issued an executive order barring any former lobbyists who join his administration from dealing with matters or agencies related to their lobbying work.” The article goes on to state, “However, William J. Lynn III, his choice to become the No. 2 official at the Defense Department, recently lobbied for military contractor Raytheon.”
The AP story also includes comments from a spokesperson from Democracy21, a non-profit/non-partisan group that seeks to curb the influences of big money in politics. The Democracy21 spokesperson acknowledges that the new administration has already made exceptions to the rule on having former lobbyists, but says “he focuses on Obama’s executive order and the hope of progress to come on public financing of campaigns.” This position is much different than the one expressed by the Center for Responsive Politics, which recently noted that the new administration’s “efforts are futile without a parallel order for transparency of contacts between lobbyists and government officials.”

The first full week of the new administration is over and how did The Grand Rapids Press report on politics in the nation’s capitol? There was only one story that dealt with foreign policy, a story based on a CBS interview with Vice President Joe Biden that we have already analyzed. Articles that focused on the stimulus plan put forth by the Obama administration dominated the rest of the week.

The Stimulus Plan Without Substance

Five stories on the economic stimulus plan were published in The Grand Rapids Press throughout the week, three from the Los Angeles Times, one from The New York Times and one Associated Press (AP) story. The primary focus of those stories was on the partisan tensions around the stimulus plan. In a January 28 article, the AP reporter writes:

“With Democrats enjoying a comfortable majority and expected to fall in line behind Obama, they don’t need help from GOP lawmakers to win House passage of his top priority of economic recovery. But Obama wants Republican support to illustrate his promise of a new style of politics that rejects partisan gridlock.”

This AP story was filled with commentary on the partisan clash on the stimulus package and The Press version of the original AP story omitted any content that provided details on the plan. Here is one example of what was omitted:

“The House measure includes about $550 billion in spending and roughly $275 billion in tax cuts in hopes of spurring the economy and helping those directly affected. Much of the spending would be for items such as health care, jobless benefits, food stamps and other programs that benefit victims of the downturn.”

A New York Times story on January 29 continued this trend by focusing on the partisan aspects of how the House voted on the stimulus plan. Again, no details of the stimulus package were included in the story. A January 31 article from the Los Angeles Times looked the new administration’s use of e-mail as an organizing tool to push the stimulus plan and that the new Organizing for America team was encouraging people to host “house meetings is to inform neighbors about the president’s proposal and to help the people you know connect the recovery plan to their lives and learn more about why it’s so important.” Unfortunately for readers, there were no details of the recovery plan, only commentary on unnamed “Liberal groups” who were running ads across the country in favor of the stimulus plan.
The last two stories on the stimulus plan focused on the GOP response (1/31) and conservative talk radio’s take (2/1) on the Obama economic plan. The article on the GOP response included some comments from Republican lawmakers, but it was dominated by criticisms from a GOP lobbyist Vin Weber who said, “There is not a coherent Republican message at this moment,” in opposition to the stimulus plan. The article also cited Don Sipple, a longtime GOP communications strategist who said, “I don’t think there’s very much Republicans can do on economic matters right now, other than get out of the way … then let the chips fall where they may.”
After five articles on the economic stimulus plan readers would be hard pressed to know anything about what the stimulus plan would actually do and who would benefit from it. There were no independent or non-partisan voices in these stories, such as William Greider, journalist and author of several books on the US economy. Another glaring omission in the coverage was voices from working people and members of the public who have been most negatively impacted by the recent economic crisis.

Presidential Dates, E-mail Access and Tax Records

The remaining three stories from this past week on the new Obama administration dealt with the tax records of Obama’s choice for heading up the department that will deal with health reforms, former Senator Tom Daschle. The story mentions that, “some tax issues had emerged in connection with the nomination” of Daschle, but that the administration is confident that he will be confirmed. While the tax records of potential cabinet members is relevant, there was no information on Daschle’s history as an elected official, his qualifications in dealing with health reform issues, or his relationship to the health care industry.
The last two stories on the new Obama administration for the week of January 26 dealt with personal aspects of the new president. A February 1st article from The New York Times focused on President Obama’s use of his BlackBerry and which people were allowed access to his new e-mail address. This was the longest story on the new administration for the past week, with a total of 1,379 words devoted to who has access to the President’s e-mail. The article framed the story similar to the way the news reports on Hollywood celebrities by saying, “It is now the ultimate status symbol in a town obsessed by status.” On the same day (2/1) there was also an AP story that told readers that the new White House couple is struggling to maintain their traditional Friday night date night, since the new President is very busy.

Previous Obama Administration Coverage in The Grand Rapids Press

• 01/26/09 – The Obama Administration Through the Lens of The Grand Rapids Press

On Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden appeared on the CBS news program, Face the Nation. Biden was asked about several domestic and foreign policy initiatives that the Obama administration is pursuing.

Biden Discusses Afghanistan Policy

During the foreign policy discussion, Biden was asked if there would be more US military casualties in Afghanistan because of the new administration’s commitment to increase US troop levels by 30,000. Biden said:

“I hate to say it, but yes I think there will be. There will be an up-tick, because as the Commander in Afghanistan said, ‘Joe we will get this done, but we will be engaging the enemy much more.'”

Biden’s admission was discussed in a Los Angeles Times article that appeared in the Grand Rapids Press on Sunday titled, “Expect US casualties to rise in Afghanistan, Biden says.” The Press version of the article omitted about half of the original content but did mention there was “an outcry from Afghanistan over a U.S. operation that the United States said killed 15 militants but Afghan officials said had claimed the lives of 16 civilians, including two women and three children.” Reuters news service reported that thousands of Afghanis gathered on Sunday to protest “against President Hamid Karzai and the United States on Sunday over reports of fresh civilian deaths caused by U.S.-led troops during a raid against Taliban militants.”

Continuing the Bush Policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

Omitted from much of the US news coverage on Monday were other parts of the Biden interview on Face the Nation about Afghanistan and Pakistan. When asked about a US drone attack inside Pakistan last week and whether or not the new administration will continue the Bush policy of allowing he US military and CIA to go into Pakistan to fight Al Qaeda terrorists, Biden said:

“I can’t speak to any particular attack. I can’t speak to any particular action. It is not appropriate for me to do that. But I can say that the President said during his campaign and during the debates that if there are actionable targets that he would not hesitate to use action to deal with that. But here is the good news, and I have been to Pakistan many times, there is a great deal more cooperation going on between the Pakistan military. We are working with the Pakistanis to help training up their counterinsurgency capabilities and we are getting new agreements with them on how to deal with these cross border movements, so we are making progress.”

Biden doesn’t really answer the question as to whether or not the new administration will continue what the Bush policy began but it seems for now to be a continuation with last week’s attack inside Pakistan killing up to 20 civilians.

With the first few days of the Obama Presidency already past, we thought it would be good to look at how the news media is reporting on the new administration. What follows is an analysis of the first four days of coverage in The Grand Rapids Press. This will be a regular feature here on Media Mouse and after the first 100 days of the new administration, the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy will publish a report detailing The Grand Rapids Press‘ coverage of those first 100 days.

New Administration Makes the Front Page

Over the first four days of the new administration, The Grand Rapids Press has published a total of 8 articles, with 3 articles appearing on the front page. So far, The Press has relied on a variety of sources for the coverage, such as Associated Press, Washington Post, Boston Globe and Cox News Service. Only one story has been generated by a Grand Rapids Press reporter, a piece that featured the reactions of two area Congressmen to the announcement of plans to close the Guantanamo detention center.
Some stories have been policy driven, on topics such as Guantanamo or the economy, but there have also been stories about more marginal issues as well such as what sports Obama likes to play and his administration’s use of technology.

Transparency and Detainees

Two articles appeared in The Press that discussed the new administration’s shift in policy, what AP reporter Charles Babington called, “a clean break from the Bush administration.”
One of the specific changes cited are that the Obama administration will “make government transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made.” The AP story doesn’t report what this transparency will look like, but groups such as Public Citizen and the National Security Archive have acknowledged that transparency for them means the government will renew a commitment to the ideals of the Freedom of Information Act, that allows the public to petition any government agency for documents related to policy.
The other issue that demonstrates the new administration’s “break from the previous one” is the issue of the detainee prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The AP story acknowledges that while this is the intention of the new administration, the article also points out that there is no concrete plan of how to close the prison or “what to do with the political prisoners.” The American Civil Liberties Union is cited as offering up some criticism of the Obama administration’s announcement by stating, “there are ambiguities in the orders regarding treatment of certain detainees.”
The Grand Rapids Press published an additional short article to accompany the AP story that included responses from Congressmen Pete Hoekstra and Vern Ehlers on the announcement to close Gitmo.
Hoekstra was quoted as saying:

“Given the fact that we are talking about trained terrorists and people who have committed acts of mass murder, it would seem the proper course would be to have a plan in place before making this decision.”

Congressman Ehlers added:

“Are you going to let them all go? Are you going to pay to put in a foreign prison? You can’t send them back to their own country. The president will find out as he gets into this he has far less power than he thinks, that’s the problem George Bush had.”

Unfortunately for readers, The Press does not provide any context to what Congressman Ehlers’ or Hoekstra’s position on the issue of Guantanamo has been since the detention center has been used in the current “War on Terror.”

Obama Reverses Bush Policy on Funding Abortion

On January 24, The Press ran an AP story on the new administration’s decision to allow “federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information.” The Press version of the article is much shorter than the original AP version, but neither version provides any comments or reaction from anti-abortion or pro-choice organizations. The story mostly framed the issue as a “political football between Democratic and Republican administrations.”

Obama’s Economic Plan

On Sunday, January 25, The Press published a story on the much-touted Obama economic stimulus plan. In the article, President Obama is cited as saying, “In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.” The Press version of the article focused mostly on partisan responses to the stimulus plan, but the original AP story had details on what the stimulus package actually looks like. Even with more details on the economic plan, the AP story does not provide any non-partisan or independent perspectives such as the criticism that author and journalist William Greider recently provided on AlterNet:

“Obama’s stimulus program might restart factories in China while leaving US unemployment painfully high. In fact, some leakage may occur via the very banks or industrial corporations that taxpayers have generously assisted. What prevents Citigroup and General Motors from using their fresh capital to enhance overseas operations rather than investing at home? The new administration will therefore have to rethink the terms of globalization before its domestic initiatives can succeed.”

On Saturday, the Grand Rapids Press published an Associated Press (AP) article based on the formal announcement by President-Elect Barack Obama on who he has nominated to lead his Intelligence Team.
The story mentions that Obama has chosen retired Admiral Dennis Blair to be the National Intelligence Director and Leon Panetta as Director of the CIA. President-Elect Obama is quoted as saying, “We must adhere to our values as diligently as we protect our safety.” He also said that the two men are “strong managers with the core pragmatism that we need in dangerous times.”
The story goes on to mention that Blair, who was former head of the US Pacific Command “won high marks for countering terrorism in Southeast Asia after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.” Blair is credited with assisting in the campaign to target terrorist groups in Indonesia and the Philippines, but the article never explains why these groups are identified as terrorist organizations.
The AP story does mention at the very end that, “Blair and Panetta are garnering substantial support on Capitol Hill, although concerns exist about each.” Unfortunately, the Grand Rapids Press article never expresses what “concerns exist” about either Blair or Panetta.
According to a January 9 report on Democracy Now, as head of the Pacific Command forces Blair supported the Indonesian military attacks against East Timorese churches and civilians in 1999. Investigative journalist Allan Narin also stated that, “Blair either lied to or willfully misled the US Congress in testimony given before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 3rd, 1999,” about the role of the Indonesian military.
The story also does not mention that Blair sits on the board of a major foreign policy think-tank, the Center for New American Security, and has served on several task forces for the Council on Foreign Relations. Both the Center for New American Security are centrist think-tanks that endorse an imperialist US foreign policy, albeit in gentler terms than often used by the right.
As for Leon Panetta, the Grand Rapids Press article mentions that he was a former Congressman and White House Chief of Staff under Clinton. The article also states that Panetta has no direct intelligence experience, but fails to mention that he was part of the Iraq Study Group, a 10-member group which endorsed a long-term US occupation of Iraq.