Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Analysis:

The story is about what the Senate voted on just prior to the Christmas break, which included the Defense spending bill, a deficit reduction bill and the USA Patriot Act. Each of these bills would require their own story, but channel 17 tries to summarize all three in the same story. The story has one line about the Defense Spending bill, a bit more about the USA Patriot Act and most of the time was devoted to the deficit reduction bill. The FOX 17 reporter presents the information like a sports commentator. Ask yourself after reading the excerpted comments from elected officials, mixed in with the reporter’s commentary whether or not you understand what is going on?

None of the comments from any of the elected officials is verified and no other perspectives outside of the Democrats or Republicans is provided on any of the issues being voted on, particularly the USA Patriot Act and the deficit reduction bill. Viewers should ask themselves if only providing these congressional excerpts helps them to understand what was being voted on?

Story:

WXMI Newsreader – US senators trying to wrap up the nations business before they head home for the holidays. Since this morning they passed a deficit reduction plan and they’ve come close to signing off on more money for the defense department. So far though, no extension of the Patriot Act. FOX 17’s Grant Rampy is live on Capital Hill tonight with the very latest on the senate voting, Grant?

Reporter – Good Evening Christian, and actually just in the last little while there has been a big development up here, we understand senators have agreed to extend the Patriot act, or at least key provisions of it that were set to expire, for another six months. Major news in the meantime they are trying to get home for the holiday break and they have gotten a lot done all day long.

Reporter – Selling it as a package to cut the deficit by 40 billion dollars, Republican leaders finally got their way, but only after Dick Cheney jumped in at the last minute.

Cheney – The Senate, being equally divided; the Vice President votes in the affirmative.

Reporter – In pushing the plan GOP lawmakers say there goals been to reduce the rate of the federal government’s growth.

Rick Santorum (Senator) – To make sure that the moneys wisely spent, effectively spent.

Reporter – But Democrats counter the poor are getting squeezed so the rich can get a windfall.

Harry Reid (Senator) – How can it be that we are about to cut student loans, cut Medicare and Medicaid, and then turn around and provide even more tax breaks to special interests and multi-millionaires.

Reporter – Score one for Democrats, they’ve long fought to prevent drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Republicans stuck a provision clearing the way for oil exploration there into a defense spending bill which also includes billions more for Katrina victims. Both sides argued….

Unidentified Senator – We should show respect for our men and women in uniform.

Reporter – And argued some more…

Ted Stevens (Senator) – I hope the good lord will help me hold my temper.

Reporter – It appears the defense bill will pass with ANWR getting the axe, but what about the Patriot Act?

Unidentified Senator – Our goal is to mend it, extend it, not end it.

Bush – The terrorist threat is not going to expire at the end of this year. This obstruction is inexcusable.

Reporter – Again we understand, breaking news, the Senate has agreed to extend key provisions of the Patriot Act another six months. No official vote just yet but this should give critics time to find more safeguards for civil liberties. Live, in Washington, Grant Rampy, Fox 17 News at Ten.

Total Time: 2 minutes and 9 seconds

Analysis:

This article is a good example of how the Grand Rapids Press substantially edits news stories to fit within the print edition of the paper. The original AP version of this article is roughly 800 words long, the GR Press version is only about 170 words. The original article gives a fair amount of information about Morales and the situation in Bolivia, the edited version in the GR Press is focused solely on coca production. From the GR Press version, the reader would learn that Morales, Bolivia’s soon to be president, is a coca farmer and has opposed U.S. “war on drugs” coca eradication efforts in Bolivia. There is no other concrete information about Morales in the GR Press version. In the full length original version, much more contextual information is provided. The reader is told about the role of coca as a traditional medicine in Andean culture as opposed to its use in cocaine production and how Morales supports growing coca for its traditional uses but not as an ingredient in narcotics trafficking.

Also mentioned in the Full version but not in the shortened piece is the fact that Morales has risen to power on more than just the coca issue. In it, it says “The battle against coca eradication that “Morales” led helped mobilize Indian organizations already angered by continuing poverty and political domination by a rich elite, feeding a broader political movement.” Unfortunately, there is not much elaboration on this point in the full length article. Over the last four years Bolivia has seen much political upheaval, with two presidents resigning in the face of large scale public opposition. Much of this was due to World Bank inspired economic programs, particularly the failed government attempt to privatize water in Bolivia. These economic issues, as well as the coca issue, played a large part in creating the social movement which has lead Morales to power.

Story:

Bolivian leader invites U.S. to parley on coca

LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bolivia’s soon-to-be president, Evo Morales, a coca farmer under pressure to crack down on cocaine, pledged Tuesday to keep controls on coca but said he will study expanding the area where it can be legally grown.

Morales also called on the United States to work with him to develop better ways of ending drug trafficking while preserving the traditional market for coca in his Andean nation, where people have chewed the plant to stave off hunger and used it as a medicine for thousands of years.

“There won’t be free cultivation of the coca leaf,” said Morales, who still has his own coca plot and came to prominence leading fellow growers – “cocaleros” – in fighting U.S.-backed efforts to eradicate coca in Bolivia, the No. 3 supplier of cocaine to the United States after Colombia and Peru.

With half the ballot from Sunday’s election, Morales appeared increasingly likely to win the presidency outright, since he led the eight-candidate field with more than 50 percent of the vote.

Text from the original article ommitted from the Grand Rapids Press version:

Morales’ apparently wide victory margin in Sunday’s election virtually assures that Congress will declare him president in January even if he falls shy of the majority needed to win outright in the eight-man race. And a majority win appears increasingly likely, since Morales already had slightly more than 50 percent Tuesday with half the vote – including much of his rural support – still uncounted, according to official results. His opponents have conceded and the outgoing administration said it was preparing to hand over power to him.
A leftist Aymara Indian who grew up in poverty, herding llamas and raising potatoes in Bolivia’s arid highlands, Morales migrated to the coca-growing region of Chapare, where many otherwise impoverished farmers depend on small plots of the crop.

The U.S.-led war on drugs inadvertently helped bring Morales to power. The battle against coca eradication that he led helped mobilize Indian organizations already angered by continuing poverty and political domination by a rich elite, feeding a broader political movement.

Indians are a majority of Bolivia’s 8.5 million people, but never in its 180-year history has the country had an Indian president.

Acting increasingly like the president-elect, Morales said Tuesday that his government would study whether acreage limits should be increased to satisfy legal consumption.

Current laws permit coca cultivation in 29,000 acres of the Yungas valley and a legally dubious accord struck by President Carlos Mesa in a compromise with protesting farmers alloweed 7,900 acres to be cultivated in the Chapare.

But past Bolivian administrations and the U.S. government are convinced that an increasing amount of the crop is being turned into drugs. Bolivia, the world’s No. 3 coca grower, may have produced up to 118 tons of cocaine last year, up 35 percent from 2003, according to the latest U.N. World Drug Report.

U.S. officials so far have taken a cautious approach to the man who had described himself as their “nightmare.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told CNN on Monday that relations with Bolivia will be determined by the “behavior” of the new government in La Paz.

“We have good relations with people across the political spectrum in Latin America,” Rice said. She did not mention two of Morales’ allies, Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, with whom the United States has had increasingly tense dealings.

Myles Frechette, a former U.S. ambassador to Colombia, said that while Bolivia may produce “more coca for local consumption,” Morales may also cooperate “in his own way, so as not to hurt not just the United States, but the rest of the world.”

Morales has described his policy as “zero cocaine and zero drug trafficking, but not zero coca or zero cocaleros,” and says he is ready, in principle, to work with U.S. officials.

A former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Robert Gelbard, said Morales’ real challenge will be using force to follow through on his pledge to curb drug trafficking.

“It’s very, very likely there’s going to be a move by trafficking cartels to try to increase their capabilities” in Bolivia.

“The expectations clearly will be that there will be much more room for maneuver on the part not just of the coca farmers, but on the part of trafficking organizations,” Gelbard said.

But Morales and supporters insist that the coca leaves they sell in local marketplaces go for legitimate ends.

People in the Andean highlands have chewed coca leaf to suppress appetite and work up energy, used it in religious ceremonies and boiled it into medicinal tea. It is sold legally in supermarkets throughout Bolivia and Peru, and is served as tea in cafes.

Julio Atto, a 56-year-old worker at La Paz’s coca market, said that his meager income from coca allowed him to put his children through college.

“The poor don’t have money, the drug traffickers have dollars,” Atto said as Indian women in bowler hats, stooping under 25-kilogram bags of coca, stood in line before scales saying “Made in the U.S.A.”

Analysis:

This story was about how Representatives Vern Ehlers and Pete Hoekstra voted against a bill that passed by a margin of 308-106 in the House. The headline read “Ehlers, Hoekstra critical of defense budget,” and the opening line reads as “U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra said he was sending a message when he broke Republican ranks and voted against a record $453 billion defense bill early Monday.” Clearly the article is framing the story in such a way as to paint the area Congressman as opposed to this defense bill. The article claims that Rep. Ehlers voted against the bill because it included drilling for oil in Alaska. The only claim provided for why Hoekstra voted against this bill was because he was unable to find out until after the vote where money for intelligence was going.

There are several omissions worth mentioning here. First, the Press reporter Ken Kolker did not question the claims made by either Congressman, which he could have done by asking follow up questions. One question could have been “did both of you vote against this bill because you live in districts that are uncontested?” A second omission in this article is that it doesn’t provide any other perspectives on the Defense Spending bill, which is pretty major since it is $453 billion, the largest in US history, nor does it provide any details about the bill other than 2 local defense companies that are beneficiaries of contracts. The Last major omission is that the article does investigate further Rep. Ehlers claim that hiding the ANWAR oil drilling in the Defense Budget was “dirty pool.” Much has been written about the practice of hiding the oil drilling in the Defense bill. Senator Levin calls it a “violation of Senate Rule 28”, which doesn’t allow for provisions to be added in the manner it was. Readers should ask themselves if providing more information on what the $453 billion bill was about and perspectives other than the 2 Congressman would better serve the public?

Story:

Ehlers, Hoekstra critical of defense budget
By Ken Kolker
The Grand Rapids Press

U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra said he was sending a message when he broke Republican ranks and voted against a record $453 billion defense bill early Monday.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee should know how much is spent on gathering intelligence — especially post 9/11, he said.

“There’s more than just a little frustration,” he said.

Hoekstra, of Holland, and U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers, of Grand Rapids, were among 16 Republicans who voted against the defense bill, which passed 308-106. For Ehlers, it was mostly a matter of energy policy. A provision to drill for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which he opposes, was tied to the bill.

Hoekstra and Ehlers said they were not voting against the troops in Iraq.

Hoekstra said he was unable to learn, until after the vote, where the money was going for intelligence.

“I believe on a point of principle that the authorizing committees ought to have full exposure and access to how the appropriators spend money,” Hoekstra said.

Despite his no vote, his office issued press releases touting $5 million in defense spending on two West Michigan projects:
• $2.8 million for military aircraft transportation equipment made by a Cadillac company, AAR Mobility Systems.
• $2.1 million for a computer network being developed by Mercy General Health Partners of Muskegon that allows hospitals to share information on patients. It will serve as a prototype for the military.

While he supports both, he couldn’t let $5 million in local projects sway his vote on more than $400 billion in defense spending, Ehlers said, explaining the Arctic drilling provision was “something we should have voted on separately. I thought that was dirty pool.”

The drilling poses an environmental threat and keeps the United States in the wrong direction on energy, he said. The nation, he said, should spend more on alternative sources.

“We’re going to develop bigger appetites for oil. Ten years from now, when ANWR’s gone, we’re going to be in even worse shape than we’re in now.”

He also said he didn’t have time enough to study the defense bill.

“I thought this was extreme — a huge bill with that many expenditures,” he said. He feared he would “read in the paper” about some “silly little things” — pork barrel projects — that were included.

Analysis:

This story from WZZM 13 is a very clear example of unbalanced reporting. Only two voices are presented in this piece, White House spokesperson Scott McClellan and republican US representative Peter Hoekstra. Considering that this story is about alleged wrong-doing by the White House, it would make sense from a journalist standpoint to feature voices not affiliated with the White House. Rather, this piece offers not critical viewpoints. Nor does WZZM challenge anything said by either McClellan or Hoekstra. While the footage of McClellan is from a national news source, the footage of Hoekstra is not, being from an interview conducted by a WZZM 13 reporter. It would have been very easy for WZZM to ask Hoekstra follow-up questions to his statements.

Both McClellan and Hoekstra make the claim that the exposure of this wiretapping program has weakened the security of the US. Neither provides any concrete evidence to back this claim up and WZZM 13 does not ask for any verification. McClellan and Hoekstra also both make the claim “that congress members were briefed about the secret program in the past.” According to an article from the New York Times, “no more than 14 members of Congress have been briefed orally of the program since it began, but that no aides and note-taking were allowed during the meetings” and that “lawmakers who attended the briefings have provided starkly different versions of what they were told at the sessions.” Rather than challenge the claims made by Hoekstra, WZZM frames the story entirely within the notion advanced by Hoekstra that the exposure of this wiretapping program has made Americans less safe, going so far as to ask the viewing public to call in on whether they thought “media exposure of the wiretapping program is a serious blow to US security.”

Story:

WZZM Newsreader – The Bush administration is defending the way it dealt with congress on its domestic wire tapping program. Three Democratic and two Republican senators want an immediate inquiry into President Bush’s authorization of the secret program. Press secretary Scott McClellan says lawmakers were briefed more than a dozen times since the program began in 2001. The white house also criticized the media exposure of the program which the New York Times made public last week.

Scott McClellan – The disclosure of this program has damaged our national security and put us at greater risk because the enemy wants to know what we are doing, and by talking about this program. It gives the enemy a sense of what we are doing to try to disrupt plots and prevent attacks.

Newsreader – Critics say congress never authorized intercepting domestic phone calls and emails without a court order. President Bush plans to re-authorize the program when it comes up for renewal. Now tonight we spoke with US representative Pete Hoekstra, and he confirmed that congress members were briefed about the secret program in the past. The Holland republican is chairman of the house intelligence committee. Congressman Hoekstra says the New York Times, breaking the wire tapping story, has significantly weakened our ability to protect ourselves.

Representative Hoekstra – The more important phone call is the one from an Al Qaeda operative, in Afghanistan or Pakistan calling in to the United States. That’s a phone call that we need to be listening to, that we need to understand. We know what the threats are from Al Qaeda. This was a very tightly monitored program. We’ve now lost that capability or exposed that capability to Al Qaeda.

Newsreader – Representative Hoekstra said we lost a great insight into a terrorist network which was used for years and he says the New York Times is to blame. Well do you think media exposure of the wiretapping program is a serious blow to US security? You can go to our website to vote now on our poll 13. Log on to WZZM 13.com to tell us what you think and we will have the results right after tonight’s sports.

Total Time: 2 minutes, five seconds

Analysis:

This Press article ran as a follow up story to a December 14 Associated Press piece, and ran on the front page, trying to put a local angle on how this issue of pollution impacts West Michigan. The Press followed good journalistic practices by running the follow up story and by putting it on the front page, despite the fact that the story exposes an injustice, which often doesn’t make the front page.

The follow up story talks to some local experts in both the environmental and health fields, plus two residents in neighborhoods that are identified as having higher levels of pollutants. Where the story falls short is that it only identifies one factory that has high pollutant levels, a Lacks Enterprise factory. Readers would be better served if more companies were identified, instead the Press included a map that vaguely showed high level pollution areas. If readers wanted to further investigate the issue they would have to do so on their own, since the Press does not provide specific enough information on companies or causes of the pollution. Additionally, the Press did not follow the environmental racism angle enough. They spoke with expert in the area of health and environment, but did not make the links between class and race sufficiently, even though that data is available. Even in the area of health problems no real details are provided to readers about the health risks involved. Neighborhood organizers were not quoted, nor organizations who work on racial justice.

Story:

‘Legacy of problems’ plagues city air
By Ted Roelofs

A lifelong resident of Grand Rapids, Kathy Schmuck always assumed the air around here is good enough to breathe.

The fact that she lives in a census tract ranked as among the worst in Kent County for industrial air pollution did not come as good news. That she works in a nearby Grand Rapids hair salon in a neighborhood ranked as the very worst in the county gave her pause, as she snipped away at a customer’s hair. “If we’re the worst area, then that’s not a good thing,” said Schmuck, 45, owner of the Coit Avenue Hair Salon in Northeast Grand Rapids.
It remains unclear what are the precise health risks to those who live and work in neighborhoods exposed to the most industrial air pollution. But given research findings, environmentalists and clean air advocates say residents have legitimate cause for concern.

“We take it very seriously,” said Tom Leonard, executive director of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council.
“We are not surprised to see significant air pollution in old industrial sections and old inner-city neighborhoods. It’s a legacy of problems that we badly need to address.”

According to an Associated Press analysis of Environmental Protection Agency and 2000 Census data, 26 census tracts in Kent County rank among the top 5 percent of tracts nationally with the highest health-risk scores from industrial air pollution. The scores were compiled using plant emissions combined with models of projected air flow.

The EPA uses a similar index to create a score ranking industries for emissions. The highest scoring plant on that list in Kent County, Plastic-Plate/Monroe, a Lacks Enterprises plastic component plating &assembly facility at 1648 Monroe Ave. NW, is in the census tract with the highest health-risk score in Kent County.

Outside of Kent and Muskegon counties, no other census tracts in the Grand Rapids area were among the worst 5 percent for health-risk scores in the nation.

In Kent County, the neighborhoods that rank highest on the health risk index are clustered predominantly in Grand Rapids and Wyoming — with one in Sparta — and are not far from industrial plants.

Many are near the U.S. 131 freeway, which carries more than 100,000 cars a day through downtown Grand Rapids.
In many cases, they are populated by mostly black or Hispanic residents, which parallels national findings by AP that minorities are more likely than whites to be exposed to industrial pollution. Residents in these neighborhoods also tend to be poorer and less educated, it found.

Karen Meyerson, manager of the Asthma Network of West Michigan, said the location of these tracts simply confirms those findings.

“It makes perfect sense to me. What we see in general is that minorities bear a disproportionate burden” for pollution, she said.

According to Meyerson, numerous studies have found links between industrial air pollution and health, including infant mortality, lung growth and in rates of asthma. Meyerson said there also are other causes of asthma, including smoking in the home, the presence of pets, cockroaches and dust mites.

She noted that a 2005 report by the Michigan Department of Community Health found asthma hospitalization rates for Southeast Side Grand Rapids ZIP code 49507 were at least twice that for a pair of suburban ZIP codes.

The study found that the rate for the Grand Rapids neighborhood was 21.7 hospitalizations per 10,000, compared to 10.8 in East Grand Rapids-Cascade Township ZIP code 49506 and 5 in Kentwood-Cascade Township ZIP code 49546.
Overall, according to the Pediatric &Adult Asthma Network of West Michigan, asthma hospitalization rates are more than twice as high among blacks than whites in Kent and Muskegon counties.

Standing in an apartment doorway in the Campau Commons housing project in Southeast Grand Rapids, Karen Jones said black residents like herself have come to expect housing options that are less than ideal.

Jones, 22, has lived for three years in this neighborhood at Franklin Street and South Division Avenue that also ranks among the worst for industrial air pollution. “They really don’t have a say-so,” Jones said of the neighborhood’s residents.

She noted the heavy traffic on U.S. 131, not to mention the busy streets that intersect at this aging housing complex slated to be torn down next year. She pointed across the street: “That’s a factory right there.”

Leonard of WMEAC acknowledges that West Michigan’s air quality has improved in the past years as factories scaled back or shut down in a faltering manufacturing economy. Air pollution numbers from the EPA found Kent County factories pumped out 2.6 million pounds of toxic air releases in 1999 compared to 540,000 pounds in 2003. In Ottawa County, where coal-fired power plants create the area’s most air pollution, toxic air releases fell from 9 million pounds in 1999 to 5.8 million pounds in 2003, a 36 percent decline.

Analysis:

This piece is basically free advertising for the amusement park industry. the footage for thsi story was obviously not obtained locally and is most likely provided by an amusement park industry PR effort.

Story:

WOOD 8 Newsreader – Those planning a vacation to Florida may want to add a little more to there amusement park budget. Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are hiking prices for 2006. A one day admission to Sea World is going up by more than two dollars to sixty one dollars and 95 cents for adults. Busch Gardens is hiking prices by two dollars, that brings that admission to fifty-seven ninety-five. Disney world and Universal Studios have so far kept prices the same as last year, each running just shy of sixty dollars per adult ticket. As for parks closer to home, Michigan’s Adventure is charging twenty four dollars for admission in 2006 and that is up one dollar from last year and the good news is that Cedar Point has lowered ticket prices by five dollars. This year you get in the gate for thirty-nine ninety-five instead of the forty-five dollars they charged just last year.

Total time: 51 seconds

Analysis:

WOOD 8 was the only station to report on this story. This is most likely due in part to the fact that this story was first reported by NBC news, which is the parent affiliate of WOOD 8. The story is a little over a minute long and in many ways is a commercial for the 6:30 NBC nightly news broadcast. The story consists of an introductory sentence from the local newsreader and then cuts to an NBC senior investigative reporter in a studio giving a very cursory description of the story and urging viewers to watch the 6:30 news for more information.

In the piece, the NBC reporter says that the Pentagon has been monitoring anti-war and peace groups around the country and in some cases labeling these groups in their database as a “threat.” Then the reporter proceeds to tell the viewer that the Pentagon has released a statement that they “have begun a thorough revue of their entire domestic intelligence program” and that their intelligence officers will be required to take “refresher classes on how to properly collect and store intelligence to protect the privacy rights of use citizens.” No other information is included, such as the specific organizations that were monitored nor were any voices from these groups included. Nor was their any questioning of the Pentagons statements or any information provided about the results or effectiveness of previous Pentagon internal investigations. This reporting of government positions without any critical analysis or alternative voices in quite common on the local TV news, which tends to rely on government sources of information often exclusively, without asking critical questions.

Story:

WOOD 8 Newsreader – As NBC news first reported, the Pentagon has been collecting intelligence on anti-war activists inside the US. NBC News senior investigative reporter Lisa Myers has more on this investigation.

Reporter – As we’ve been reporting, NBC News obtained a secret Pentagon database showing that the military has been monitoring anti-war groups across the country, in some cases labeling their peaceful activities a threat. Now the Pentagon initially declined to comment about all this, but today Pentagon officials reversed course, admitting that some of the information on peaceful anti-war activists should not have been in the data base. The Pentagon also announced today that they have begun a thorough revue of their entire domestic intelligence program, which is designed to amass information on real threats to military personnel and bases inside the US. And the Pentagon is now ordering all military intelligence officials to take refresher classes on how to properly collect and store intelligence to protect the privacy rights of use citizens. We’ll have much more on this story tonight on the NBC nightly news with Brian Williams.

Total time: 1 minute, 11 seconds

Analysis:

These two pieces were both about an economic report by the Upjohn Institute on job growth in West Michigan. The WXMI segment ran during their Business download feature and was rather short, being about 45 seconds. In the piece, the newsreader states that Michigan is lagging behind the rest of the nation in job growth and that job growth in the state has been less than projected. The story then cuts to report author and economist from the Upjohn Institute George Erickcek who says “It’s good news and I think the Grand Rapids Muskegon Holland area is growing. I think that’s positive. The challenge is, is that we are still an area that makes things.” the economist is not given any more air-time to explain why being an area that “makes things” is a challenge. Rather, the piece ends with the newsreader stating that productivity advances are hurting manufacturing companies and that most job growth is expected in the service sector.

The WZZM 13 piece was much longer, being about two and half minutes long and it framed the issue as one of education. In the story the reporter says that , according to this new report “Your job prospects improve a lot in our state and else where if you have a college degree.” The Reporter goes on to interview students at Grand Valley as well as show a clip of Governor Grandholm and report author George Erickcek. While both stories state that the slow job growth in Michigan is a factor of losing manufacturing jobs, the only reason given for the loss of manufacturing jobs in Michigan is an increase in productivity, meaning companies require fewer workers to produce the same amount of stuff. No mention is made of outsourcing of jobs to lower cost labor markets. In the WZZM 13 piece this is obliquely referred to when one of the Grand Valley students interviewed says “The way it’s going it’s turning into a global economy so we’re just going to have to look at it in that light now.” This is rather typical of the local news which usually frame the outsourcing of jobs as a natural and unavoidable phenomenon. Almost never in the local media is the outsourcing of jobs discussed withing the framework of the international financial institutions, policies and treaties, such as CAFTA, the IMF or World Bank that have had an active role in creating what the student refers to as the “Global Economy.”

Story:

WXMI Newsreader – The latest predictions for the West Michigan economy unveiled today, that tops our business download. Folks from Six West Michigan counties were on hand to hear the results of the annual report produced by Right Place Inc. It showed that Michigan is dragging behind the national average when it comes to employment growth and while it’s up from last year, it’s only half as much as economists were hoping for.

George Erickcek (Upjohn Institute)– It’s good news and I think the Grand Rapids Muskegon Holland area is growing. I think that’s positive. The challenge is, is that we are still an area that makes things.

Newsreader – The study shows that productivity advances are hurting manufacturing companies, they simply don’t need as many people. Most job growth in 2006 is expected to occur in the service sector.

Total time: 45 seconds

———————

WZZM 13 Newsreader #1 – A new economic forecast for West Michigan estimates we’ll show, we’ll see some slight job growth next year about point six percent.

WZZM 13 Newsreader #2 – And the man who wrote the forecast says things do look good for some people, as Peter Ross reports.

Reporter – Your job prospects improve a lot in our state and else where if you have a college degree. The big house holds over one hundred thousand people. The people who have lost their jobs in Michigan in the past five years would fill Michigan’s stadium nearly three times. But, as some Grand Valley students took their final exams…

Student #1 – I’m not really concerned, I know there is a lot of engineering jobs around here.

Reporter – Some look forward to working for one of Michigan’s car companies.

Student #2 – I believe that the manufacturing will go overseas but if we can keep thinking and you know designing here, I really believe in that.

Reporter – These are the students the Governor spoke about when she celebrated the expansion of Grand Valley’s engineering school. People she said will help transform Michigan’s economy.

Governor Granholm – You are so smart, smart for choosing the career that you have chosen, smart for the state of Michigan too.

George Erickcek (Upjohn Institute) – If you look at the future and you say what kind of jobs do you want to go for, the only jobs not to are those that do not require education.

Reporter – Economist George Erickcek wonders if we can handle what he calls the double edged sword of productivity.

Erickcek – The problem is we’re making these increases due to productivity gains and we just don’t need workers. So we’re expecting employment in manufacturing in Grand Rapids to stay flat in 2006 and 2007.

Reporter – There are other factors.

Student #1 – The way it’s going it’s turning into a global economy so we’re just going to have to look at it in that light now.

Reporter – It’s a big test for Michigan’s economy, and just by being here, these kids will have a better chance of succeeding in it.

Student #1 – That’s the bottom line, you need an education.

Reporter – Economists Erickcek forecast for last year, a bit too optimistic. He predicted point seven percent job growth for the Grand Rapids area. He said today that actual growth was only point four percent due to bigger than expected decline in factory jobs.

Total Time: 2 minutes 30 seconds

Analysis:

These two pieces are obvious video news releases. Essentially, WXMI and WOOD are giving Coca-cola a free comercial by running these stories. Considering the hundreds of millions of dollars that Coke spends on advertising, it is hard to see how the stations are serving the public interest by reporting on new Coke slogans.

Story:

WXMI 17 Newsreader – Not getting wired enough from guzzling Coca-Cola? How about mixing it with coffee, that’s what coke plans to do with its new drink Coca-Cola Black. The Atlanta based soft drink company is on the verge of a marketing blitz just barely selling more pop than Pepsi, if you’re wondering that’s about 100 billion dollars annually, they’re also changing their slogan to “Welcome to the coke side of life.”

Total Time: 21 seconds

WOOD 8 Newsreader – Coca-Cola is changing it’s slogan again, the company is replacing it’s catch phrase “Real” with “Welcome to the Coke side of life.” Coke has had about fifty slogans over the years but “The real thing” launched in 1969 may be the best known. By comparison Pepsi has had about 40 different slogans over the years.

Total Time: 20 seconds