Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Analysis:

In this story, three people are talked to by the reporter, a representative of Charter Cable Company, a cable industry analyst, and a cable TV subscriber. Of these three voices, the consumer is for the a la carte plan while both the cable company executive and the analyst are opposed. That the representative from Charter Cable is critical of this proposal is not surprising, cable companies have been uniformly opposed to a la Carte programming nationwide. Nor is it surprising that the analyst, Steve Effros, is opposed, as he is the former head of the Cable Telecommunications Association, which represents cable companies. This background information is not presented in the story, rather, Effros is framed as an unbiased source. The only person shown speaking in favor of this proposal is a random cable subscriber interviewed on the street. No voices from the FCC or from any consumer advocacy groups that support the a la carte proposal are presented in the story. The reporter does mention that according to an FCC study, consumers could save up to 13% on there cable bills. The viewer is not told the name of the study, nor how it can be found. The Cable industry analyst makes claims that “virtually every analysis of a la carte says the customer winds up paying more, and getting less.” The reporter does not provide any verification on this claim. Nor does the reporter ask any follow up questions when the spokesperson from Charter Cable states that “We should continue to provide those video services offerings under a free enterprise system rather than having mandates dictated to us from Washington DC.” Given that cable companies have franchise agreements with municipalities that guarantee them with a local monopoly on cable service, it would seem reasonable for a reporter to ask how the current cable system represents a model of “free enterprise.”

Story:

Newsreader #1 – It’s a debate that started on Capital Hill and could end in your living room, a la Carte cable.

Newsreader #2 – It’s an idea being pushed by the Federal Communications Commission to help cut the costs of cable. Fox 17’s Mike Avery has more on this hot button issue in tonight’s consumer hard drive.

Unidentified voice – You have HBO, then you have Cinemax Reporter – A la carte, a system that prices each item separately, it’s that idea that’s being applied to the cable television industry by the federal government, allowing consumers a choice in which programming they want, and paying for just that.

Troy Hayes (cable customer) – For instance I’m going to go in the store here and I’m going to have a choice of options of what I’m going to buy, from no brand cheese to Craft cheese, you know I get what I pay for, I think its a great idea.

Reporter – But the cable industry doesn’t like the a la carte idea, citing losses in advertising revenues, and higher subscription fees for consumers.

Dan Spoelman (Charter Communications) – We should continue to provide those video services offerings under a free enterprise system rather than having mandates dictated to us from Washington DC.

Reporter – Industry analyst Steve Effros agrees. Steve Effros – Having been here for over thirty years in Washington, I’m pretty safe in saying that when the government gets its hand in just about anything, the unintended consequences usually out weigh what they were trying to do.

Reporter – A la carte is being driven by the FCC, Senator John McCain has even drafted legislation trying to reduce consumers cable bills. In fact, a recent report by the FCC says consumers could save up to 13% on their bill through a la carte. Effros says it’s misleading.

Effros – This is why virtually every analysis of a la carte says the customer winds up paying more, and getting less. They get fewer channels and it costs them more. Spoelman – Effectively in an eighty channel package that you have today, you would pay the same amount for about four channels.

Reporter – But one consumer we talked to today says being able to pick your own channels is worth it. Hayes – And i think it’s the same thing with cable, that as long as I’m getting what I paid for, then I shouldn’t complain about how much it costs, I’m getting what I paid for.

Reporter – But at what cost? According to Effros, there’s plenty to be lost.

Effros – If you did it the other way, if you said alright, only the programs I want to buy, are the ones that are going to come into my home, you would probably destroy the ability of smaller channels to survive. And so diversity gets lost in the process. And we think that’s a very bad idea.

Reporter – That depends on who you ask. In Grand Rapids, Mike Avery, Fox 17 News at ten.

Analysis:

Most of the visuals used during this story are still photos of early cereal ads or video footage of commercials since the 60s that were obtained via a PR website called PR Newswire. The actual link for the media release from Kellogg’s shows that the channel 17 newsreader is just repeating what was sent out by the PR firm. This is another example of what could be considered a Video News Release.

Story:

WXMI 17 News readers – Battle Creek celebrating a birthday tonight. Kellogg’s turns 100 this week. The first cornflake was made back in 1906 at the Battle Creek Toasted Cornflake company. Since then Kellogg’s has roled out new brands every decade. In 1928 Rice Krispies and Frosted Flakes in 1952 and Apple Jacks, Fruit Loops and Special K in the 60’s. To celebrate the centennial they are selling vintage merchandize with designs by Norman Rockwell.

Total Time: 28 seconds

Analysis:

The headline you read is from the Press is accurate in that there were hundreds who came together in opposition to the proposed federal immigration legislation. The story had a picture of the crowded church as well, but if anyone reads the article you get a very different picture. The story begins by quoting a woman named Gloria who came to the US 14 years ago as an undocumented immigrant, but quickly the article shifts to provide the perspectives of 2nd Congressional District Pete Hoekstra, who voted for this legislation in the House, 3rd Congressional District Rep. Ehlers, who also voted in favor of this bill, and Jared Rodriquez, from the local Chamber of Commerce. At the very end of the article Gloria’s son is quoted talking about his memory of crossing into the US at age 7. He’s now a 21 and says that he can’t get a student loan as he is undocumented.

The event had several speakers. First, Grand Rapids School Board member Luis Pena spoke against the legislation, plus several immigration lawyers that could discuss the specifics of the House bill 4437 and Grand Rapids Mayor, George Heartwell, who not only spoke against the legislation, but said he planned on introducing a resolution at the next City Commission meeting against said legislation. The event speakers stressed the need to lobby Senators Stabenow and Levin, since the Senate will be taking up this issue in the coming weeks. Readers should ask themselves why the Grand Rapids Press would omit this information and spend most of the article talking to people who weren’t even at the event?

Story:

Hundreds gather in opposition to federal immigration legislation
By Ted Roelofs
GRAND RAPIDS — Row after row, they filled the pews on a bitterly cold afternoon. A woman named Gloria explained why she was drawn to this rally for the shadow world of West Michigan: The estimated 40,000 undocumented residents who live and work among us.

“I am still a human being,” she said. “We come into this world and leave the same way as you do.” Like many of the estimated 500 people who jammed United Methodist Hispanic Church on Saturday, Gloria entered this country illegally.
The mother of three, who crossed the border at Tijuana, Mexico, at night 14 years ago, only wants the chance to make a better life for her and her family.

“We ask the same rights as every citizen,” she said. But the emotions on the other side are just as raw. Advocates of tough immigration measures say it is time to seal the borders and crack down on undocumented workers and companies who employ them.

With an estimated 10 million undocumented residents in the United States, growing fears about the borders and a national election this year, the debate seems likely to heat up. A banner at the front of the sanctuary decried one of its flash points — a get-tough House bill that passed in December, with the support of U.S. Reps. Vernon Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, and Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland.

The issue is expected to land in the Senate next month, where a rival measure from John McCain, R-Ariz., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., is drawing support from moderates in both parties. The McCain-Kennedy bill would broaden rights of undocumented workers, allowing employers to hire foreigners under a temporary visa program if they can prove they are unable to hire American workers for the same job. Undocumented workers ultimately could apply for citizenship after paying a fine and back taxes.

President Bush has proposed a similar guest-worker measure but does not offer a road to citizenship to illegal residents. The House bill is much harsher. It calls for criminalizing illegal migrants, compelling employers to verify whether an employee is here legally, raising penalties for noncompliant employers and build more fences along the Mexican border.

Hoekstra calls the issue “complicated.” But, as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, he asserts it is time the nation gets serious about securing its borders. Moreover, Hoekstra said it is time to hold undocumented immigrants and uncooperative companies accountable for their actions.

“It’s a tough law, yes. But we have been negligent over the last number of years for not enforcing the law,” he said. “We should not be rewarding people who come into this country illegally.” But Ehlers and Hoekstra say the House measure alone is not enough, since it does not address the need for a guest worker program. “It was not a comprehensive bill,” Ehlers said.

His misgivings hint at deeper divisions within the GOP on the issue. At the meeting of the Conservative Political Action Committee this month in Washington, D.C., proponents of an immigration crackdown assailed everyone from Bush to the restaurant industry to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for taking what they consider a soft approach.

The Grand Rapids Area of Commerce has taken no formal position. But Jared Rodriguez, vice president of government affairs for the chamber, noted the U.S. Chamber backs the McCain-Kennedy approach. “What would be the mandates on business that would come from this?” he said measures like the House version. “What would it mean in dollars and cents to our members?”

Rodgriguez did not mention just how integral this community has become to West Michigan. They work construction, put up drywall and do piecework in noisy factories. They pick the blueberries in Ottawa County, wash dishes in the back of restaurants and scrub toilets in hotels. Hundreds of their children go to schools across the region.

Their life here depends on their willingness to work. They cannot collect welfare or food stamps. Gloria’s son, Gonzalo, has vivid memories of the night they crossed the border 14 years ago. He was just 7. “I remember hiding under a bush. There was a big helicopter shining a spotlight on us. I remember being picked up and thrown over the fence. I was literally thrown into America.”

Now 21, he speaks impeccable English and is a graduate of Grand Rapids City High School. He supports his mother as a manager in a retail store, but would like to go to college someday. But since he cannot get a student loan as an undocumented resident and cannot apply for citizenship, he has trouble believing it will come to pass. “To me, the future is day-to-day. I can’t set any long-term goals,” he said.

Analysis:

People should ask themselves what did they learn about Candidate Bowen? Readers learn that Bowen was a former Grand Rapids City Commissioner and district judge in Wyoming. This means that he has a voting record and a record of making legal decisions, none of which is discussed in the article. Readers are told that he played linebacker for MSU and is a Catholic Central graduate. The only information that could be considered part of his platform appears in the second to last paragraph when Bowen says “I will prosecute consumer protection violations, something he’s not done; I’ll prosecute environmental violations, something he’s not done. I will basically return the office to the people.”

Bowen also makes claims about current Michigan Attorney General Cox such as “failing to ‘fight for consumers,’ saying Cox was driven, instead, by ‘his friends in big business.'” These claims could be verified by looking at the State website on what Cox has accomplished as Attorney General. The last paragraph also mentions that Cox responded to the “attacks” from Bowen by releasing “a list of accomplishments last week that showed he out-collected former attorney general and now Gov. Jennifer Granholm in recoveries for consumers, $9.2 million in three years to $8.3 million in four years for Granholm.” Again, there is no verification of these claims and as of this posting there was nothing on Cox’s re-election website about this list of accomplishments. What the article spends most of the time doing is talking about how Bowen is “getting noticed by the GOP.”

Story:

GRAND RAPIDS — Scott Bowen’s entry into the race for attorney general last spring was met with a resounding, ‘Who?’ outside Kent County.

The former Grand Rapids city commissioner who had served less than two years as a district judge in Wyoming wasn’t exactly a household name.

As he officially kicked off his candidacy today from a boxing ring at Martin Luther King Jr. Park — to show he is a fighter, as his spokesman, Chris DeWitt, said — Bowen has a way to go before he breaks the pane of public consciousness.

But, he has gotten the attention of Republicans, who have paid him the ultimate tribute by responding to salvos he has shot their way.

Bowen continued his attack on Attorney General Mike Cox for failing to “fight for consumers,” saying Cox was driven, instead, by “his friends in big business.”

Republicans have tried to paint him as “Fieger-like,” after he mentioned Cox’s infidelity troubles. They accused him of breaking the code of judicial canon by meeting and greeting political leaders at the Mackinac Island Detroit Economic conference last spring, even as he still was on the bench. And they mocked the $110,000 he’s raised, compared to Cox’s $1 million war chest.

“They’re worried about a guy who’s a relatively obscure, 41-year-old ex-judge from the West Side of the state. That says something,” said Bowen, a Catholic Central grad who went on to play two seasons as a linebacker for Michigan State University.

“They’re breathlessly trying to keep me in hot water. I think they realize he can be beaten by me.” The strategy to take on Cox early paid dividends Bowen and his campaign team weren’t expecting, DeWitt said. “Did we know how Republicans were going to react to him? No,” DeWitt said.

“But their reaction has helped raise his profile. Certainly, they’ve been wrong in their attacks, but, helping to raise his profile, they’ve aided in that effort.”

Republicans welcome the battle, said Sarah Anderson, spokeswoman for the state GOP.

“If he is the nominee, it will provide a great contrast between a guy who made his money defending telemarketing scam artists and other questionable characters and Mike Cox, who, as prosecutor, spent his time putting those people behind bars,” Anderson said.

Democratic delegates, who will be determining their party’s ticket in August, are getting the message Bowen will take it to the GOP incumbent, DeWitt said. State Rep. Alexander Lipsey, D-Kalamazoo, and Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans are two other possible candidates.

“We’re getting the word out there that he will be aggressive in the fall,” he said. “Scott certainly won’t be shy. Democrats will see Scott as someone who can bring the campaign to the Republicans in an aggressive way.” Bowen, who will make his case Saturday at a state Democratic Party issues convention in Lansing, lashed out at Cox for what he calls a lack of integrity in the office.

“I will restore the office to the days of integrity and professionalism under Frank Kelly,” Bowen said Tuesday. “I will prosecute consumer protection violations, something he’s not done; I’ll prosecute environmental violations, something he’s not done. I will basically return the office to the people.”

Cox released a list of accomplishments last week that showed he out-collected former attorney general and now Gov. Jennifer Granholm in recoveries for consumers, $9.2 million in three years to $8.3 million in four years for Granholm.

Analysis:

This story just tells viewers that Republican Dick DeVos will begin airing ads. They provide no analysis of the ad, no commentary on the role that paid political ads play in elections, nor how much channel 13 will profit off these ads.

Story:

WZZM 13 Newsreader – And the race for Governor takes a step forward tomorrow. The campaign for Republican Dick DeVos will begin airing new TV commercials and that includes the purchase of time right here on WZZM 13. DeVos has not formally declared his candidacy, but candidates have until the middle of May to file for the August 8th Primary. We’ve tried to reach Governor Granholm’s campaign office for comment, but have not yet received a response.

Total Time: 23 seconds

Analysis:

This channel 13 story just repeats what candidate Bowen said at his press conference. The state early in the story that “The Democrat says if elected he will better protect children from predators, those on the street and over the internet and he says he’ll fight identity theft. Bowen says the incumbent, Republican Micheal Cox, failed voters during last year’s gas scare.” However, there is no verification of the claims made against current Attorney General Mike Cox, nor a clarification or follow up on how this candidate will “better protect children from predators.” Bowen, as mentioned in the story is a former Grand Rapids City Commissioner and Wyoming District jusdge, therefore he has a voting record and record on legal decisions. Ask yourself if channel 13 had provided you with information on Bowen’s previous record as an elected official or more details on his platform would be useful to voters?

Story:

WZZM 13 Newsreader – A former Grand Rapids City Commissioner and local judge is now seeking to become the state’s top prosecutor. M. Scott Bowen announced his candidacy for State Attorney General this morning. The Democrat says if elected he will better protect children from predators, those on the street and over the internet and he says he’ll fight identity theft. Bowen says the incumbent, Republican Micheal Cox, failed voters during last year’s gas scare.

Candidate Bowen – When asked to investigate gas gougers in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina he said it was too hard to prove. Now mind you, anybody who bought gas after Katrina, could prove that they were getting gouged.

WZZM 13 Newsreader – Bowen is the second Democrat who has officially announced a run for Attorney General. State lawmaker Alexander Lipsey of Kalamazoo is also in the running. Detroit lawyers Jeffrey Feiger and Amos Williams said they are considering running. Attorney General Cox says it’s too soon to think about Bowen or any other candidate.

Attorney General Mike Cox – It doesn’t really matter to me. At the end of the day people are gonna look at what has he done on consumer protection, drug costs, protecting seniors, and quite frankly I won’t know until
August who gets the nomination is. There are four people out there, we’ll see who the Democrats pick.

WZZM 13 Newsreader – Bowen has had some private conversations, he says, with Governor Jennifer Granholm, who once held the Attorney General’s office, but Governor Granholm will not comment on whether or not she will formally endorse Bowen.

Total Time: 1 minute and 31 seconds

Analysis:

No real details are provided in terms of the legislative language and what impact this might have on Michigan’s citizens or the environment. There is also no reporting on why this legislation has been introduced. Channel 17 does use some video footage of a Nestle bottling plant in Michigan, but does not present any information to show that water privatization and water diversion from companies like Nestle is what prompted this legislation to begin with.

Story:

WXMI 17 Newsreader – The Michigan legislature is sending a new package of bills for the Governor aimed at protecting our water supply. It creates new standards for using and diverting water to avoid negative impacts on the environment that includes streams as well as lakes. Eventually you will be able to go on line and click on a map to figure out the impact of water use in an area. It also creates a new permit for bottling water, to make sure it won’t deplete natural resources. The Governor is expected to sign the bill.

Total time: 28 seconds

Analysis:

Ask yourself, why did the GR Press use the term “attacks” in the headline? Does this language set readers up to view electoral politics as negative? It is true that candidate Bowen did make a comment about Cox’s extramarital issue, but are journalists required to report on such “attacks?” Bowen did claim that Cox has not responded to 500 complaints, but the Press article does not verify Bowen’s claim nor clarify what the state’s item-pricing law is.

Story:

Democratic challenger Scott Bowen has gone on the offensive against Attorney General Mike Cox. The former judge said Cox is “breaking his oath” by failing to respond to 500 complaints about stores ignoring the state’s item-pricing law. Bowen also injected Cox’s extramarital affair into the campaign. “Maybe his personal problems are affecting his ability to concentrate” on his job, Bowen said. Republicans called the attacks “Fieger-like,” a reference to attorney Geoffrey Fieger. “It’s curious to see him on the attack this early in that manner,” Republican spokesman Nate Bailey said of Bowen.

Analysis:

This is a very short story that gives the viewer little beyond just the amounts of money that the candidates have raised. This information is of little use to viewers without providing information as to where the candidates have gotten the money they have raised from. Nor is the information of much use without also providing information on voting records to see if the candidate has voted or supported policies that favor the interests of their political donors.

Story:

WZZN 13 Newreader – The candidates for governor of Michigan plan on spending a lot of money over the next few months. Both sides say their fundraising efforts are off to a good start. Governor Granholm’s campaign said it’s started the year with more than five million dollars cash in hand. Her likely Republican challenger Dick DeVos has so far raised about 1.8 million dollars.

Total Time: 19 seconds