Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Analysis:

This article appeared in the business section of the Grand Rapids Press on Wednesday November 16. The article is a brief description of a speech given locally by an executive from the Altria Corporation on business ethics. Altria is the new name for Philip Morris, the largest producer of cigarettes in the United States. In the article the ethics “expert”, as the article labels him, is said to have discussed processes, policies and practices to make Altria “ship-shape”. The article does mention that Altria has been alleged to have deceived the public about the health risks of smoking. This claim is followed with a quote from the speaker who says that “I do not believe there were evil people in the company (a decade ago), but I think we were out of touch. We didn’t see how people perceived us.” He then goes on to say in the article that the company had worked to change its image and to promote an ethical culture with top-down commitment to “do the right thing.” The article ends with the speaker saying “We created the job thinking that we need to focus not just on our product, but on our broader responsibility.” Considering Philip Morris’s

Story:

Companies should promote ethics, expert says

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

By Matt Vande Bunte

The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — For the first few months in his new position, David Greenberg had a hard time describing exactly what a “chief compliance officer” did all day. Then, the Enron Corp. fiasco made headlines.

“Once Enron broke, I didn’t have to explain anymore,” said Greenberg, senior vice president and chief compliance officer for Altria Group, Inc., the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA.

“Enron and all the scandals helped people understand why this is important.”

Greenberg brought his corporate lessons to the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan on Tuesday at Aquinas College, talking about “Marlboros, Oreos and Integrity: Global Responsibility in a $100 Billion Multinational Corporation.”

He detailed some of the processes, policies and practices that Altria implemented to make sure things are in ship-shape among its 160,000-plus employees in more than 100 countries.

Altria has been at the fore of state and federal lawsuits alleging a cigarette industry conspiracy to deceive the public about the health risks of smoking and the addictive nature of nicotine.

“I do not believe there were evil people in the company (a decade ago), but I think we were out of touch,” Greenberg said. “We didn’t see how people perceived us.”

So the company worked to change its image inside and out, he said. Greenberg was hired in 2001 to create a new compliance and integrity program.

Because Altria cannot employ a corporate police force to monitor its employees, Greenberg said the company has tried to promote an ethical culture with top-down commitment to “do the right thing.” The alternative is to let the government intervene, he said.

The company held focus groups to write a code of conduct and created ethical training for employees.

“We created the job thinking that we need to focus not just on our product, but on our broader responsibility,” Greenberg said. “Over the long haul, that’s a recruiting tool, a marketing tool and a brand-builder.

“You ignore that stuff at your peril. Both businesses and reputations will be broken.”

Analysis:

The channel 17 story is framed just as an attempt by the Writers Guild of America to also make money off of the use of product placement in TV shows and films. The newsreader says “Actors and writers in Hollywood say they are forced to pitch products all the time on TV and in movies and now they want to be paid for it,” or later in the story it says “So at a Press Conference yesterday they said they want a piece of the pie.” This is completely misleading as to the intent of the Press Conference.

According to other news stories from that day, whether it was Yahoo news or the Guardian they all quoted someone from the Writers Guild of America. Here is what appeared in the Guardian “Major advertisers like Home Depot, Pepsi and Procter & Gamble are out of control,” said the WGA. “They’ll stop at nothing to insert their brand names into every TV plotline. These diabolical advertising fiends are turning our favorite TV shows into cheesy infomercials.” If you go to their website, you can read the entire Media Release, which is very clear as to their demand to have the FCC create a Code of Conduct around the use of product placement in TV programming and films. They are advocating for 4 basic principles: 1. Full and clear disclosure for both the visual and aural disclosure of product integration deals at the beginning of each program so the program’s audience knows ahead of time that it will be subject to hidden or stealth advertising; 2. Strict limits on the usage of product integration in children’s programming; 3. A voice for storytellers, actors, and directors, arrived at through collective bargaining, about how a product or brand is to be integrated into content; 4. Extension of all regulation of product integration to cable television, where some of the most egregious abuse is found. To top it all off they even issued a 9 page White paper on the problem of Product Placement called “Are you Selling Me?” Clearly the channel 17 story was completely devoid of what the Writers Guild of America actually said.

Story:

WXMI 17 News reader – Actors and writers in Hollywood say they are forced to pitch products all the time on TV and in movies and now they want to be paid for it. You’ve seen it, product integration and no apparently writers are being coached to write a specific brand of chips or soda into their scripts. So at a Press Conference yesterday they said they want a piece of the pie. The actors want a say in the products they’re hawking. TV companies are especially doing it to offset the impact of DVRs, which let viewers skip over all those big dollar commercials.

Analysis:

The story was about state legislation that would provide millions of dollars in tax incentives to businesses in Michigan or those seeking to relocate to Michigan. It is primarily framed as a partisan battle between Republicans and Democrats, with each side making claims about the business tax plans. The story provides no verification of either party’s claims, and only provides actual details of the tax proposal at the end of the article.

You can read at the very end of the story the information about the breakdown of where the tax incentive money would go, such as tourism, filmmakers who film in Michigan and the marketing of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Then there are details that were left out of the Press version of the AP story which said that “At least $90 million of it must go to the life sciences corridor program over the next two years,” which seems relevant to people in Grand Rapids considering what is happening on Michigan Street hill. Another thing that is missing is the name and number of the actual bill that the House passed. If readers and tax payers wanted to find further information on this legislation they could not find it in the Press article. We checked the Michigan Legislative website and could not find the bill after 10 minutes of searching. Here is how journalists can help citizens, by providing not only a summary of what is happening with state politics, but information that makes it easier for the public to participate in the political process, like actual legislation language or the bill numbers.

Story:

State House OKs business tax relief, Granholm veto possible

AMY F. BAILEY

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Legislation that would provide tax relief to businesses and invest in up-and-coming industries won state House approval early Thursday morning, but it may not make it past Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s desk.
The legislation does not continue the state’s main business tax beyond its scheduled end on Dec. 31, 2009, which the Democratic governor has said is a requirement for her signature. She said Republicans had agreed to continue it at a reduced rate during recent negotiations.

“It is not good policy to eliminate all business taxes in 2009 and shift the burden to individuals,” Granholm said Wednesday as she pointed to a Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the economic improvement plan that referred to continuing the single business tax after its scheduled sunset.

A veto, however, would prevent all the bills in the package from becoming law because those that would change the tax code are tied to others that would set up a $1 billion investment fund, said Matt Resch, spokesman for House Speaker Craig DeRoche, R-Novi.

The House vote came 12 hours after lawmakers began session on Wednesday afternoon. They spent much of that time waiting for the legislation to be written.

DeRoche has said the issue of the single business tax sunset did not come up when the deal was hammered out late last week. He said he has always wanted to see the single business tax end and would not have signed off on an agreement that would continue it after four years.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming, questioned whether the governor would veto legislation that would provide what the Senate Fiscal Agency estimates to be nearly $670 million in net tax relief to businesses over the next six years.

“We’re going to call her bluff,” Sikkema spokesman Ari Adler said. “The package she’s going to get will be good for the economy. She’s vetoing tangible relief in favor of a concept.” The Senate was expected to take up the bills later Thursday.

The legislation would set up a $1 billion investment fund to provide loans and grants to new businesses and cutting-edge companies to encourage them to locate in Michigan.

Most of the tax relief and incentives in the package would be directed toward manufacturers. They would see a 15 percent personal property tax credit starting on Jan. 1 as well as a 100 percent credit in 2006 and 2007 if they bring jobs or equipment into Michigan.

House Democrats failed to tack on amendments to bills in the package that would close loopholes in the tax structure. They wanted to remove the scheduled 2009 sunset and increase the minimum wage. When those amendments were voted down, Democrats voted against the tax loophole bills but voted for legislation that would cut taxes and provide incentives to new businesses.

“We’re not going to participate in the tax increases without a full deal,” said House Minority Leader Dianne Byrum, D-Onondaga.

The legislation would drop the single business tax from 1.9 percent to 1.85 percent on Jan. 1, 2009, phase out the tax businesses pay on employer-provided health care benefits over five years and reduce the taxes small businesses pay under the single business tax.

The state would sell some of its future tobacco settlement to put $400 million toward the overall $1 billion investment fund. It also would use $75 million a year from the settlement as that money comes in over the next eight years.

About $100 million of that fund would go toward a variety of economic development initiatives, including $2 million to encourage filmmakers to make movies in Michigan, $15 million for more tourism advertising and up to $36 million for administration and marketing of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the Senate Fiscal Agency said.

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

The fund’s remaining $300 million would go to loan guarantees, small business capital access programs and a number of investments, including private equity and venture capital. At least $90 million of it must go to the life sciences corridor program over the next two years.

Selling off some of the state’s future tobacco settlements and using a portion of the annual payments would mean designating $1.4 billion of the state budget for economic development after 20 years, the Senate Fiscal Agency said. That would mean less to spend on other areas, such as corrections and higher education.

Analysis:

This is a brief story about a number of local factories that had outsourced jobs to Mexico and it included two different perspectives. One is of a local worker who is on unemployment after being laid off by a local furniture manufacturer. This man is shown making a number of statements on-air, in which he is lamenting his lost job. The reporter than notes that he will most likely have to find work in a different field as a lower wage. The other person shown speaking in the story is Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan who is reported as saying that outsourcing has helped keep inflation in check and that this has resulted in a “cycle of low prices and solid growth”. No more clarification or verification is made of Greenspans comments. Given the loss of jobs in Michigan, it would seem reasonable for a reporter to ask in response to Greenspans comments, solid growth for whom, and whether outsourcing jobs is a fair trade off for keeping inflation down. Another interesting point in the piece is a brief mantion that NAFTA, the North American Trade Agreement, is supposed to provide funds for retraining of workers whose jobs are outsourced. Not reported in the story is that fact that NAFTA was also responsible for making it easier for these jobs to be outsourced in the first place.

Story:

WZZM 13 Reporter – You’ve probably never heard of Gemtron. But you probably touch it’s product everyday. This company makes the glass spill proof shelves found inside nearly every refrigerator. And now, forty Holland Gemtron jobs will be cut. Sent to Mexico at the insistence of large customers like Electrolux and Amana. Because these jobs are going to Mexico, as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement the workers who will lose their jobs will receive money so they can go back to school or learn new skills.

Dirk DeYoung – I’m on extended unemployment now.

Reporter – Dirk DeYoung crafted wood furnature for twenty-five years.

DeYoung – I had a solid job all along, then boom.

Reporter – Many of those years at Sligh until the company said last winter the work could be done more cheaply outside the USA.

DeYoung – Just one day its, you know, you’re done.

Reporter – DeYoung spoke to us on the same day Alan Greenspan made his final presentation to congress where he said that outsourcing has helped keep inflation in check.

Greenspan – The result has been a (inaudible) cycle of low prices and solid growth.

Reporter – The state has helped Dirk DeYoung look for work at the same facility that Gemtron workers will likely come to know well. But after nine months DeYoung has yet to find a new job. DeYoungs job councilor says he may need to find work in a new field, one that likely will pay less. In the news room Peter Ross WZZM 13 news.

Analysis:

This election story is based on a very important issue for local voters, the economy and the City budget. The reporter provides adequate space for both Second Ward City candidates to respond. Do the candidates actually respond to the questions put forth by the reporter? Do you as a voter think that the responses provide you with adequate information to make an informed vote? Could the reporter have pursued other angles or questioning?
One question viewers could ask themselves about this story has to do with verification or investigation of claims made by candidates. Candidate Bliss make comments about State Revenue Sharing, yet no contextual information on Revenue Sharing is provided. Second, there is no verification or investigation made of the main claim from candidate Johnston, where she refers to a Milwaukee city government economic plan. Again, the reporter doesn’t verify the claim, nor provide information about what this market-based philosophy would mean.

Story:

WOOD TV 8 News reader – Just two weeks from now when Grand Rapids voters head to the polls, they’ll elect a new commissioner in the city’s Second
Ward. That new commissioner will face some major challenges, from dealing with the effects of a shrinking budget to possibly deciding whether your taxes should increase.

Reporter – City budgets all over West Michigan are suffering, and Grand Rapids is no different. There have been some $12 million in cuts this year alone. Over 300 jobs have been eliminated, and city officials don ‘t expect things to get any better. So far, public safety, like the city’s police and fire forces, and quality of life programs like pools and other leisure services, have taken the brunt of the cuts. Attention will soon turn to next year’s budget. Our question to the candidates how do they plan to address budget problems. We start with Second Ward candidate Shaula Johnston.

Candidate Johnston – I think that one of the things we need to look at is bringing in a market based philosophy to city government.

Reporter – Johnston studied Milwaukee, a city that’s adopted that market based philosophy. Her research found success when the city bureaucracy began treating each department like a business.

Candidate Johnston – Say you have an in-house contract for printing. You bid it out, and the low bid gets the job. And if that’s giving it out, if that’s outsourcing, that’s fine.

Johnston says the approach not only cuts costs for a city, it also improves customer service. In this case, the customer being the taxpayer. The other challenger in the Second Ward is Rosalynn Bliss.

Candidate Bliss – I really don’t think there is any one solution that is going to take care of the budget solution.

Bliss says Lansing holds the key to part of the budget solution. In recent years, legislators have cut millions in revenue sharing tax dollars collected by the state and shared with local communities. Despite the efforts of local officials, including rallies at the capital to preserve and regain those funds, Bliss says she’ll rally residents to send a message to Lansing.

Candidate Bliss – There’s power in numbers, and it has to come not only from representatives. It has to come from people. We have to get people informed and educated about the issue, and they also have to contact legislators. It’s one thing to get a call from a lobbyist. It has a much greater impact when it’s coming from a person that voted you into office.

Reporter – Despite a number of job eliminations and consolidations at the department head level, both candidates say the next round of job cuts should come from upper level management. Bliss and Johnston also favor public-private partnerships to reopen city pools and restore other parks and recreation programs. Voters will decide who has a better plan on November 8.

Total Time: 2 minutes and 40 seconds

Analysis:

This article addresses three different topics all pertaining to Iraq. The first topic is about the 2000th US soldier killed in Iraq. This issue is presented entirely through the perspective of the US Military. The Newsreader reads a quote from a US military spokesman who says “the number is an artificial mark on the wall set by people with ulterior motives”. These “people with ulterior motives” are not identified in the story, or are their perspectives put forward.

The next part of this story is about a West Michigan soldier killed in Iraq. This is reported in a straight forward manner, with only the barest details provided.

The third segment is again reporting the US military’s perspective, stating that the military is expecting more violence. Also reported is that the constitution was approved by a narrow margin. Not reported in this piece, or in any other WZZM news broadcast up to the airing of this story, is the fact that there were numerous reported irregularities with the Iraq referendum vote.

Story:

Newsreader #1 – The Chief spokesperson for the US led coalition in Iraq is urging reporters not to make too much out of the latest death toll. It now has reached 2000. An army sergeant wounded by a roadside bomb last week has died in Texas over the weekend. Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boyland says the number is an artificial mark on the wall set by people with ulterior motives. He says the two-thousandth death is as important as every other person that gave their lives.

Newsreader #2 – Another West Michigan soldier is now listed among the dead in Iraq. The Department of Defense today announced staff sergeant Vincent Summers of South Haven was killed on October 15th when a terrorist bomb blew up near his combat vehicle. Four others also died in that attack. The soldiers were assigned out of Fort Benning Georgia. He is the sixty-second Michigan soldier to die in Iraq.

The US military in Iraq is bracing itself for increased terrorist attacks like this one yesterday in Baghdad. They say now that officials have declared the country’s new constitution ratified violence will likely increase. National elections will take place in about two months. The constitution was approved by a narrow margin with the Sunni population nearly able to defeat it. Sunni’s are mostly in support of the insurgency and many were loyal to Saddam Hussein.

Total Time: 1 minute 15 seconds

Analysis:

This election story is based on a very important issue for local voters, taxes and the City budget. The reporter provides adequate space for both candidates to respond. Do the candidates actually respond to the questions put forth by the reporter? Do you as a voter think that the responses provide you with adequate information to make an informed vote? Could the reporter have pursued other angles or questioning?

One question that could have been useful here is to look at the incumbent’s record over the past 8 years as it relates to tax issues. He has a voting record and that would be of benefit to viewers to see if he voted for what he said he stood for, but more importantly it provides viewers with a way to measure whose interests an incumbent has represented based on the voting record. There is an online record of Grand Rapids City Commission voting records, which can be a good resource for journalists to use.

Viewers could also ask themselves why the question about taxes was only related to raising resident tax, but not business taxes. This story does end with channel 8 telling viewers that there is streamed footage of interviews with the candidates. Viewers should ask themselves, why not include more of the interview in the on air story? By only having it online it limits who can have easy access to voter information.

Story:

WOOD TV 8 News reader – Last night we told you about the budgetary challenges facing those running for Grand Rapids City Commission. Of course raising taxes is one way around that challenge, but are candidates ready to commit to a tax increase? In part 2 of our election preview 24 hour news eight’s Joe LaFurgy puts that question to the candidates in the first ward.

Reporter – Could a tax hike funding, possibly the so-called quality of life programs lik the pools, playgrounds and other parks and recreation programs be one answer to the City’s budget woes? Mayor George Heartwell floated the idea after a tough budget fight earlier this year. One which resulted in $12 million in cuts. Our question to the candidates, would you vote to raise taxes? We start with First Ward Incumbent James Jendrasiak. He said it would take drastic cuts with certain services not just being reduced but cut altogether before he would support a tax increase.

Candidate Jendrasiak – The citizens need to be able to have that choice of saying whether or not they believe a tax increase is necessary.

Reporter – Dave Shaffer, Jendrasiak’s First Ward opponent won’t say no to the idea of new taxes…

Candidate Shaffer – …but I think that the citizens first need to know we’re actually approving budgets that have looked at everything that it can look at. I think there is currently more that we can look at to cut.

Reporter – But what if the tax is regional. One of the suggestions from the Mayor work with Kent County officials on a county wide recreation millage proposal, a plan that both Shaffer and Jendrasiak say could make the idea of a tax hike an easier pill to swallow.

Candidate Shaffer – Because I know that a lot of the folks in the surrounding areas do enjoy the parks and do actually work and live, excuse me, do work in the City and use a lot of the services.

Candidate Jendrasiak – Partnering regionally might be an option that we will seriously consider. It could prove to be of benefit for the entire county.

Reporter – Still both candidates say they would only support such a tax hike if it were offered to voters by way of referendum. Voters will decide the two candidates fate on November 8.

WOOD TV 8 News reader – If you want to hear more from the candidates we have streamed portions of their interviews on our website at woodtv.com

Total Time: 2 minutes and 9 seconds

Analysis:

The news reader basically told viewers that profits rose in the last quarter for two of the larger oil companies, Conoco/Phillips and Hess. The story was framed with this statement “After Hurricane Katrina, oil companies raised their prices and we all pay for it at the pump. Now we know how much of that money went to their bottom line.” Beyond that the only other information in the story was that Republican leaders were calling upon the oil companies to use their profits to build more pipelines.

There is no verification of the claim that the money went to the oil company’s bottom line, just the assumption that since profits are up the increased gas costs from Hurricane Katrina are unwarranted. Providing actual documentation about price gauging would have been valuable information for viewers, but that was not provided. What was missing is interesting. The channel 13 story said that the Republicans were encouraging oil companies to use profits for more pipelines, but the New York Times reported that Republican Senator Bill Frist said “If there are those who abuse the free enterprise system to advantage themselves and their businesses at the expense of all Americans they ought to be exposed and they ought to be ashamed.” This is different than saying that Republicans were calling for profits to be used for new oil pipelines. Another omission that would serve viewers well would be to look at which elected officials have received money from oil companies and if that has influenced government policy on energy regulation. In 2004 The Center for Public Integrity published a study looking at the amount of money oil companies gave politicians and found that from 1998 through 2004, a total of $440 million was given to politicians by oil companies. Ask yourself if any of this contextual information was provided if that would have changed this story significantly?

Story:

WZZM 13 News reader – After Hurricane Katrina, oil companies raised their prices and we all pay for it at the pump. Now we know how much of that money went to their bottom line. New tonight, Conoco/Phillips, the third largest oil producer said its net income jumped 89% in the last quarter for a record $3.8 billion dollars in earnings. Hess, the fifth largest oil company, saw its profits rose $272 million and that is just an increase of 53%. Republican leaders are calling on the oil industry to use its wealth to build new refineries and pipe lines.

Total Time: 34 seconds

Analysis:

This election story is based on a very important issue for local voters, the economy and the City budget. The reporter provides adequate space for both candidates to respond. Do the candidates actually respond to the questions put forth by the reporter? Do you as a voter think that the responses provide you with adequate information to make an informed vote? Could the reporter have pursued other angles or questioning?

One question that could have been useful here is to look at the incumbent’s record over the past 8 years as it relates to economic/budgetary issues. He has a voting record and that would be of benefit to viewers to see if he voted for what he said he stood for, but more importantly it provides viewers with a way to measure whose interests an incumbent has represented based on the voting record. There is an online record of Grand Rapids City Commission voting records at the City Clerk’s office, so there is a written record for journalists to use. This story does end with channel 8 telling viewers that there is streamed footage of interviews with the candidates. Viewers should ask themselves, why not include more of the interview in the on air story? By only having it online it limits who can have easy access to voter information.

Story:

WOOD TV 8 News reader – Grand Rapids voters head to the polls in 2 weeks to elect commissioners in two of Grand Rapids three wards. Tonight, 24-hour news 8 Joe LaFurgy takes a look at those issues and the issues that those candidates will be talking about and their first ward stand.

Reporter – It has been a tough year at Grand Rapids City Hall and it is not expected to get any better next year. Millions of dollars have been cut from the budget, over 300 positions have been cut from the payroll. Many of those positions were from public safety, the police and fire departments. Our question to the candidates, how would you fix the budget? We start with incumbent James Jendrasiak, who says he is seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

Candidate Jendrasiak – We are going to have to play it day by day and see if our economy is going to rebound and start to grow…

Reporter – As for cuts Jendrasiak says police, fire and other service level departments have already taken enough hits. He is aiming for executive and department head offices in the next round. City Manager Kurt Kimbal says department heads and mid-level management have seen their fair share of cuts. Some managers are running two departments, but Jendrasiak says he wants to take a little more off the top.

Candidate Jendrasiak – When you look at having four assistant City Managers and an assistant to the City Manager…I think we have more department heads than what we need, those are the areas we are looking at.

Reporter – Jendrasiak’s opponent is political newcomer Dave Shaffer. He too wants to see more management level cuts at City Hall.

Candidate Shaffer – You probably don’t need as much management for that service delivery as currently is there.

Reporter – Shaffer also wants to work on a problem that has hit both government and business…sky rocketing health care costs. Shaffer’s plan…

Candidate Shaffer – As those costs keep rising, um is to look at maybe instead of going forward we can look at a new plan in place or renegotiate contracts. I don’t know if…I think that is something I would like to bring to the table.

Reporter – In fact the City has already reduced those costs by $4 million, but officials say they would like to see more cuts in that area. Both candidates say they support public/private partnerships, like the one that will fund ice skating this winter at Rosa Park circle or help restore other programs like swimming at the City’s six swimming pools next summer. Both also favor use of tax incentive programs to keep and grow business, but would favor more stringent policies to hold companies to the terms of those agreements in the area of job creation and retention. Voters will decide which candidate will get to carry out his promise on November 8.

WOOD TV 8 News reader – And if you would like to learn more from the candidates we have streamed portions of their interviews on our website at woodtv.com.

Total Time: 2 minutes and 38 seconds