Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Analysis:

The article is about a new effort locally called Farms Without Harm. The Press article states “That’s the philosophy behind a newly formed collection of community activists who formed Farms without Harm to educate other farmers and the public about the benefits of small-scale, local and organic farming.” The rest of the article talks with a couple of the group’s representatives about this effort and provides some statistics from the Organic Trade Association in reference to how organic farming has increased around the country.

What was missing from this story and what is somewhat misleading is that the Farms Without Harm coalition is primarily organizing around what are called CAFOs – Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. There is nothing in the Press article about CAFOs nor the conditions of these factory farms. The Press article leaves readers with the impression that this coalition of groups is only interested in organic farming not animal welfare and what impact the factory farm practices have on communities. Here is an example of how a journalist can use representatives from an organization as sources, and in this case the only sources, and still misrepresent what the organization is trying to accomplish.

Story:

Area group promotes benefits of organic farming

By Rob Kirkbride

The Grand Rapids Press

No farm should cause harm.

That’s the philosophy behind a newly formed collection of community activists who formed Farms without Harm to educate other farmers and the public about the benefits of small-scale, local and organic farming.

The group that includes West Michigan farmers, environmental specialists and animal rights advocates wants people to be aware of the food they eat, how it is produced and where it comes from.

“When you’re trying to grow 100,000 acres worth of tomatoes, you don’t have time to worry about things like the health of the soil,” said Jill Johnson, owner of Crane Dance Farm in Middleville.

Organizers say farming with the environment in mind not only helps the environment. It also adds to the bottom line.
Sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to an estimated $12.2 billion in 2005 and are projected to reach $14.5 billion in 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association.

Organic sales have grown between 20 percent and 24 percent each year since 1990.

Paul and Nancy Jones Keiser’s farm in Marne goes beyond just using organic farming principles — farming without chemicals or artificial fertilizers.

The couple believes farmers have a spiritual bond to the land.

“We want those people who are waking up to their nutritional needs to know there are possibilities out there to make some shifts and improve their quality of life,” Paul Keiser said.

West Michigan is beginning to ask questions about food and how it is produced, said Tom Cary, director of the Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council.

Visitors to Fulton Street Farmers Market now can find four or five vendors that grow organic food and have free-range chickens and pasture-raised beef.

“If you look back five to six years, you wouldn’t have found any of that,” he said.

“The goal is to raise awareness with the broader agricultural community and leaders in agricultural communities that there is significant community interest in finding alternatives to large-scale industrialized farming. These people are organized, informed and this issue isn’t going to go away.”

Analysis:

The story begins with an update on UAW workers and retirees wages and benefits, but the bulk of the story is what an auto analyst presents which is that GM needs to close some factories and reduce the number of employees. In other words, everything that this Auto Analyst says needs to happen is all put on the workforce, nothing is expressed about what changes the company needs to make internally.

It is important for TV news viewers to ask the question about who IRN Inc. is and what Erich Merkle’s background is. According to the IRN website “We provide our clients, primarily industrial companies and the financial firms that serve them, with management consulting to improve performance, market intelligence to support strategy, and technology that enhances the usability of information. Our mission is to improve the decision-making of our customers to strengthen their competitive position.” Does this sound like the auto analyst represents the public interest or that of the auto industry? Merkle himself has been with IRN since 1999, coming to them from Amway. Here is what the site says about what he does now “He analyzes industry trends / dynamics to determine their impact on IRN’s forecast offerings and works with IRN’s automotive supply client base to incorporate the forecast data and methodology into their business structures.” Does this sound like he represents the public or the auto industry? Listeners could ask themselves if any of this information was included in the story, would they think differently about who this auto analyst represents?

Lastly, it is important to point out that the video footage that they used in this story appears to be from the auto industry itself. Some of the footage is that of a Chevy truck commercial. So, the whole time that the Auto Analyst is talking this industry footage is running. At the very end when the mention that Erich Merkle has seen the new GM product line up, there is what appears to be trade show footage. The still photo included here is an example of what was used. Viewers could ask themselves if this story is more news or commercial.

Story:

WZZM 13 News reader – GM employees are learning the details tonight of the health care agreement worked out between the UAW and the company. Now if that deal is approved retirees will have to pay for health insurance while employees give up raises.

Reporter – It’s going to mean some sacrifices for everyone, but once more auto analysts are saying this is the beginning of cuts GM will have to make in order to stay financially stable.

The work continues at GM plants but the compensation is about to change. Employees and retirees are going to have to pay for health care to help General Motors save $1 billion dollars a year. Here is how it breaks down. Retirees will pay $370 a year for individual and $752 a year for families, while active employees will defer $1 an hour in pay raises due next year and 2 cents an hour in cost of living adjustments. The UAW issued this statement, “The tentative agreement asks every UAW-GM member, active & retired, to make sacrifices so that everyone can continue to receive excellent health care today and in the future.” But even with these concessions auto analysts say it won’t be enough to keep General Motors out of the red.

Auto Analyst – Quite honestly this is the easy stuff. It gets much more difficult after this, because what it is going to entail going forward is General Motors has to come up with a way in which they can reduce their capacity.

Reporter – General Motors is already hinting at selling off General Motors Acceptance Corp. to create more cash flow. Analysts say it’s the 2007 contract negotiations with the UAW that will offer them the biggest opportunity to cut costs.

Auto Analyst – That means closing some plants and that requires reducing their head count. And also the job banks, that is going to have to be a thing of the past Because I just don’t think that General Motors can support that long term.

Reporter – But there is a bright side. Eric Merkle with IRN got an early look at GMs new product.

Auto Analyst – I’ve seen some of the new product coming out in the future and it is quite stunning.

Reporter – But that is of course down the road. First, UAW workers must ratify the health care agreement for it to take effect. Right now there is no scheduled vote, both sides still need to work out the details.

Total Time: 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

Analysis:

This story of a format change at a local radio station made it into the evening news broadcasts of all three local TV stations. This particular piece from WOOD 8 was the longest piece with the most contextual information. The News 8 piece does include some useful information about the Grand Rapids Radio landscape, such as the number of local radio stations owned by particular companies. The piece also briefly describes the upcoming conversion to HD radio.

This information about the radio ownership and HD radio is presented without much context or background. The viewer is told that Clear Channel owns sixteen stations locally but not that Clear Channel is the largest radio conglomerate in the country owning nearly 1200 stations nationally. The news story frames the issue of the local radio personalities at WVTI being replaced by pre-recorded actors as simply one of a business decision based on listener share. Not addressed in the story are issues of homogenization and diminishment of localism” in radio. The story is framed as one of greater radio diversity, stating that the new format has a much larger play list. What is not told to the viewer is how will this station be different than other Clear Channel station of similar format in other parts of the country. While the song list may be longer, it could conceivably be the same song list and on-air voice heard around the entire country given the national footprint of Clear Channel corporation.

Another fact not reported with any context is that HD radio will allow current broadcasters to broadcast multiple simultaneous programs using the same amount of bandwidth that they currently use. This is framed in the piece as a move toward greater diversity of programming and a positive development for listeners. However media critics such as freepress.org have noted that this actually represents a move away from diversity in that the new bandwidths created by HD technology were essentially given away to existing radio companies without making them available to other entities, either commercial or community based.

Story:

Newsreader – Listeners got a surprise when they tuned in today. The former WVTI is now the first station in West Michigan to switch to a new everything but the kitchen sink type format. 24 hour news 8’s Joe LaFurgey is here with more on the changing technology of radio.

Reporter – Well Suzie, it is called MAX, close to two thousand songs are on the stations playlist , but it’s just the first in a number of changes headed to a radio near you. The format change began at noon, the local announce staff is gone. The former I-96 WVTI FM is maxed out of the market, literally, and replaced by 96.1 The MAX.

Skip Essick ( Clear Channel executive) – This station’s all about the music.
Reporter – It’s a new format, developed by a Canadian radio executive, that’s showing up in many radio markets across the U.S. They call it Jack in some markets; Dan, Bob, Ed and other names are used in other markets. The difference is an over 1,900-song play list. In one 96.1 segment Tuesday afternoon, listeners heard the rock band T-Rex’s “Bang the Gong” one minute, to Three Doors Down’s “Let Me Go” the next. There’s another difference – the voice behind the mike. While an engineer sits at the controls, the voice of MAX is an actor on tape. No more calling your favorite DJ with a request on MAX.

Essick – We have radio stations in our cluster that accomplish that. This is a radio station that is designed to musically have that kind of relationship.

Reporter – But will listeners hear more MAX type formats in West Michigan? Not likely say other local radio executives.

Phil Catlett (Regent executive) – It’s a format that’s worked really well in some markets. And in other places, such as New York, it’s not worked as well as its predecessor.

Reporter – But that doesn’t mean we won’t see other big changes. Local radio leaders say iPods, satellite radio and various other sources are driving changes in the way traditional radio is done. And the answer is more technology. Many stations are in the process of launching high definition stations. Like the TV counterpart, HD, radio gives stations more bands to send out their signal. So, one station can program more frequencies with music and other offerings not available in the market, beating the technology that’s hurting them now at their own game.

Catlett – Once HD radio takes over and people have purchased HD radios so they can listen, they’re going to have a very wide variety, and frankly, not have a reason to go to satellite or other options.

Reporter – Clear Channel’s Skip Essick says the former that WVTI usually made it into the top ten, but the station didn’t hold its audience hour to hour. He hopes a MAX play list keeps those listeners tuned in. Live from the newsroom, Joe LaFurgey, 24 hours news 8.

Newsreader – Alright Joe, thank you. Here are the players in West Michigan dozens of companies own radio stations all over Michigan, but only a few own a number in our fourteen county viewing area. In the Grand Rapids area, Clear Channel, Citadel and Regent own the most stations, they own sixteen, ten and five, respectively in all of West Michigan. Now in the Southern counties, Midwest Communications, Midwest Family Broadcasting, Fairfield and Cumulus own the most. Some of those stations have a couple of dial spots in other local cities as well. If you want to see who owns radio stations in your listening area, we found a great website. First of all go to woodtv.com and go to the news links tab for help.

Analysis:

Both channel 8 and 13 did multiple stories this day and their 11pm stories (posted here) were both over 2 minutes long. Both stations spoke with the same local law enforcement officer, who primarily provided an explanation of what happened to the girl. Viewers should ask themselves how that helps in understanding the story. Is it important to know that “The suspect grabbed her, attacked her…he uh, took her down to the ground and he sexually assaulted her.” (channel 13) Channel 8 did provide some safety tips, but all of these were targeted at the behavior of potential victims, such as “don’t take short cuts through the ally, don’t walk alone, stay on bright light streets,” that kind of thing. All these tips put the focus on the victims, not the perpetrators.

There is certainly nothing wrong with providing tips on how to stay safe, but at the same time what happens is that the attention is taken off the perpetrators. This means that the question why people commit sexual assault doesn’t come up, nor the question of why it is predominantly men committing acts of rape and sexual assault. If journalists explored these questions the public might also be better equipped to protect themselves if they understood the reasons why men commit sexual assault every 6 seconds in this country.

Also important to note is who the TV reporters spoke with besides law enforcement. Channel 13 spoke with 2 residents, not because they were witnesses, but because they just wanted a reaction and WOOD TV 8 spoke with a parent from the school. In both stories, the reaction on the street interviews provided no useful information for viewers and may have contributed to misinforming the public. In the channel 13 piece a resident says “I would never have imagine nothing like that,” referring to the rape. The reporter would have better served the public to speak with a rape crisis counselor or sex assault prevention educator.

Story:

WZZM 13 News reader – Grand Rapids police are looking for a man a 14 year old girl claims raped her on her way to school. The assault happened in an ally near Giddings and Hall Street just before eight o’clock in the morning.

Reporter – The 14 year old says she was using this ally as a short cut from her home on Fuller to Madison Middle School a few blocks away. She says the man grabbed her, knocked her to the ground, and raped her.

Male Resident – It’s kind of crazy. I would never have imagine nothing like that.

Female Resident – It destroys you no matter where you are at. You have to keep your eyes out.

Reporter – The ally where the 14 year old Middle School student says she was attacked says it look like a fairly safe short cut lined with houses and a few businesses nearby. But the businesses weren’t open yet and many of the houses are empty.

Male Resident – There are only 3 houses on this block. Nobody is in this house. This one is up for sale and there is another house there and I think there is only one person in that apartment.

GR Police – The suspect grabbed her, attacked her…he uh, took her down to the ground and he sexually assaulted her.

Reporter – So far police have not located anyone who witnessed the attack. The description provided by the girl could be many people, especially since she said he hid his face.

GR Police – …some type of a face mask that he pulled over his eyes and his nose.

Reporter – The girl was walking to Madison Middle School a few blocks from the ally. The school sent a letter home to parents making them aware of the report. After she says she was attacked the 14 year old continued to school.

GR Police – She went to school. She went directly to school and she did immediately report it to the school authorities.

Female Resident – It is just sad that a 14 year old has to worry about that type of thing. They have to worry about keeping an eye out all the time. I mean, she is walking to school and somebody takes advantage of that. I think it is very wrong.

Reporter – Police say they have picked up a few leads they are now investigating. After she was examined, evidence collected and treated, police say the girl went home to what they call a very supportive family.

Total Time: 2 minutes and 4 seconds

WOOD TV 8 News reader – A 14 year old girl was attacked this morning on her way to class at Madison Middle School. The rape happened near Giddings and Hall just before eight o’clock.

Reporter – Well, teachers, principals and school officials will be out in force tomorrow morning keeping an eye on the kids who walk to school. That’s because they want to make sure that what happened in this ally won’t happen again.

Katie Stotts loves the playground at Madison Middle School. She is oblivious to a four-legged friend when her dad trots by, but Kevin Stotts keeps an eye on his little girl. And he’ll keep his daughter on a short leash after what happen a few blocks away.

Father – And to find out that something like that happened so close to where we live, with so many kids being around is, it’s just awful.

Reporter – Police say a 14 year old walking to Madison Middle thought someone was following her. She ducked into this ally where the man jumped her and raped her.

GR Police – It is extremely rare and when…but it does happen.

Reporter – Police and safety experts say there are several things kids can do to make sure their walk to and from school is a safe one. Walk with someone else or in a group, there is safety in numbers. And be aware of the people around you and your surroundings. And stick to the streets where there is plenty of traffic and people can see you, even if it does cost you that short cut that might save you a few seconds.

GR Public School Safety Official – It’s really common sense stuff, but you’d be surprised how many of our kids don’t think about it. I think often we have to remind kids on the safety tips when an incident happens.

Reporter – Detectives scoured the neighborhood looking for clues and suspects. School officials sent a note to parents telling them to watch out for their kids.

GR Public School Safety Official – Sometimes we think that once they leave the house, that because they have gone to school, that they are safe. Unfortunately incidents like today tell us that is not always true.

Reporter – And while his daughter is too young for school Kevin Stotts will still take that warning to heart.

Father – You should always be acting like that so that when you have something like that happens so close to where you live, naturally you are going to take additional precautions.

Reporter – The girl describes her attacker as a Black man with a dark complexion. He stands 5’9”, is heavy set, he’s 25-30 years old and he wore a black hooded sweatshirt during the attack and had something covering his face. Now if you know anything you think might help detectives crack this case call the Grand Rapids Police Department or Silent Observer.

WOOD TV 8 News reader – Now police are using an online tool to help in their investigation – the Sex Offender registry. We went to the registry ourselves tonight as a matter of fact to find out how many register sex offenders live in the zip code near the intersection of Hall and Giddings, that’s 49506. There are 59 and 15 of those do fit the age and the description the girl gave the police. You can look at the Sex Offender Registry if you are so inclined by going to our webpage at wootv.com. Look for the news links tab at the top of the page.

Total Time: 2 minutes and 49 seconds

Analysis:

The only thing that viewers would have learned in this story was that 60-70 people turned out to ask questions to candidates about the “issues they care about.” You can see about a dozen candidates in the video footage provided but there is no information about the candidates, what their platforms are, what issues they addressed, not even their names.

The channel 8 story was only 27 seconds long and the last 10 seconds are spent with the news reader saying this, “we encourage you to stay with 24 hour news 8 on the air and online over the next several weeks to find out the issues and the candidates on the ballot in your community.” We checked the website and not only was this story not archived, but there was no information about the upcoming November 8 Election (as of this posting on October 19).

This type of election coverage is not new. It is indicative of what we have been documenting with local election coverage over the past 7 years. Local races are not reported on at all or they are reported on like this story, which essentially tells viewers nothing other than there is an election.

Story:

WOOD TV 8 News reader – In a little less than a month residents in Kalamazoo will be picking new city leaders. Seventeen people are on that ballot. Tonight they were part of a handful of public forums leading up to the November 8th election. About 60-70 residents showed up to ask candidates questions about the issues important to them in this election year. And we encourage you to stay with 24 hour news 8 on the air and online over the next several weeks to find out the issues and the candidates on the ballot in your community.

Total Time: 27 seconds

Analysis:

Besides only being 28 seconds long, this story basically just mentions that Mohammed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) won the Nobel Prize for their “work to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.” The only other “information” provided in the story was that U2 band member Bono didn’t win for his work on poverty relief.

There are 2 major omissions from the channel 13 coverage. First, there are no international perspectives provided, even though the award itself is international. Agence France Presse reported that several environmental groups were not happy with the award going to the IAEA. Greenpeace international claims that the agency promotes nuclear power, which in many cases leads to the development of nuclear weaponry. Also reported in the French Press was that a Japanese nuclear bomb survivor nominated for the peace prize, “accused the Nobel jury of passing over his group so as not to offend the United States.” The other major omission was that the IAEA was one of the international bodies that told the US government that Iraq had no credible WMD program prior to its invasion of Iraq. It seems reasonable to think that this would be mentioned in the course of reporting on the Nobel Prize, since the impact of US policy towards Iraq have ongoing and international implications.

Story:

WZZM News reader – The United Nations weapons inspector says winning the Nobel Peace Prize is a humbling experience. The Nobel Committee named Mohammed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency for that prize. They work to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. ElBaradei says the Prize’s recognition of their efforts and their continuing responsibility. Now rocker Bono, of the band U2 lost out on the award. He was nominated for his work to decrease poverty in Third World countries.

Total Time: 28 seconds

Analysis:

This particular article is from the Associated Press and in it, the reporter attempts to define Miers position on a variety of issues. The four issues addressed are guns, criminal justice, abortion, and gay rights. Due partly to the fact that Miers has never been a judge and therefore has no paper trail of legal decisions, much of the information presented in the article is speculative or circumstantial. For example, on the issue of gun rights, the only information the article provides is that Miers had at one time been given a revolver from her brother and that she was an awful shot.

One source of information the article does not look at in trying to determine her judicial philosophy is her record as head of Locke, Liddell & Sapp, a large corporate law firm. In fact, since she has never actually been a judge, her heading of this law firm has been advanced as one of her main qualifications. And yet, the fact that she worked in corporate law was only briefly mentioned in the original AP version of the article. The GR Press version of the article edited that part of the article out entirely. Regardless, no analysis is provided in either version of the article how Miers record at this firm might give clues as to where she stands on issues pertaining to corporate law and corporate rights as compared to individual or environmental rights.

Another source of background information ignored in this article is Miers record as head of the Texas Lottery commission. According to a article by journalist Joshua Frank, Miers, as head of the Lottery commission, made the controversial choice to maintain the services of Gtech, a firm that had been implicated in a bribery scandal, despite the fact that two other firms had submitted lower bids to provide the same services. This prompted the former Lottery head, Lawrence Littwin, to file a lawsuit, charging corruption in the rewarding of the contract, a suit which was later settled with Gtech paying a penalty of 300,000 dollars. This information about Miers’ tenure as head of the Texas lottery was not included in this particular article, nor in any other article that has appeared in the GR Press on Miers.

Story:

Clues in Miers’ record point to a moderate with anti-abortion tilt

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers’ footprints on contentious social issues suggest a moderate position on gay rights, an interest in advancing women and minorities and sympathy for anti-abortion efforts. Judging from the Smith & Wesson she once packed, she favors gun rights, too.

Miers’ years as a corporate lawyer and White House insider have produced a record so scant that court-watchers are picking through 16-year-old Dallas city council votes and the like to divine how she might come down on constitutional matters.

She is not a completely blank slate.

A decade before the 2001 terrorist attacks, Miers defended constitutional freedoms in a time of danger, with words that would hearten two groups of activists in the post-9/11 world of added police powers – civil libertarians and the gun lobby.

“The same liberties that ensure a free society make the innocent vulnerable to those who prevent rights and privileges and commit senseless and cruel acts,” she wrote in Texas Lawyer, when she was president of the state bar. “Those precious liberties include free speech, freedom to assemble … access to public places, the right to bear arms and freedom from constant surveillance.

“We are not willing to sacrifice these rights because of the acts of maniacs.”
Miers once owned a .45-caliber revolver, a gift from a brother who was worried about her safety when she lived alone in Dallas, says Judge Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court, who has known Miers for 30 years and has dated her.
“It’s a huge gun – he wanted to be sure she stopped the guy,” Hecht said in a telephone interview. The judge recalled one Sunday afternoon driving out to the country, setting up tin cans on a dirt road and trying to teach Miers how to shoot.

How was her aim?

“She was terrible,” said Hecht, who added that she kept the gun for a long time but said he was unsure if she ever fired it again.

In her writings, Miers has pitched a brand of criminal justice that borrowed from the right and the left. On one hand, she insisted, “Punishment of wrongdoers should be swift and sure,” and she appeared to have little patience for those who would excuse an act of violence by blaming society.

On the other hand, she pressed for more money to improve legal representation for indigent defendants and said root causes of crime – poverty, lack of mental and other health care, inadequate education and family dysfunction – must be addressed.

On the issue that commands the most attention for court nominees, Miers pressed unsuccessfully to have the American Bar Association put its policy in favor of abortion rights to a vote of the membership, showing a sensitivity, at least, to the anti-abortion movement, if not outright support of it.

Hecht said she has attended an evangelical church in Dallas, the Valley View Christian Church, for 25 years and “their position is pro-life and I’m sure her views are compatible with theirs.”

Miers bought a $150 ticket to a Texas anti-abortion group’s fundraising dinner in 1989, the year she won a term on the Dallas city council, the group’s president said. Kyleen Wright of the Texans for Life Coalition, then called Texans United for Life, said the dinner drew about 30 other officeholders or candidates as “bronze patrons,” the lowest level of financial support.

“One would have to assume she is at least moderately pro-life, but how far that commitment goes, I really don’t know,” Wright said. “No one I know in the pro-life or pro-family movement knows her, locally or around the state.”
In 1992, Miers said presidents have no business asking court nominees to toe their line on abortion.

“Nominees are clearly prohibited from making such a commitment and presidents are prohibited from asking for it,” she said. People who think such inquiries are proper show “a misunderstanding of the separation of powers by proposing that judicial nominees should mirror a president’s views.”

In her current job as White House counsel, however, it is certain Bush already knows her opinion on a variety of issues.

In one of the few head-on expositions of her views on public policy, a short gay-rights survey she filled out during her city council campaign in 1989, Miers backed equal civil rights for homosexuals and spending on AIDS education while defending a Texas law – since overturned by the Supreme Court – that made gay sex a crime.

Despite that paradox, a leading gay-rights group credited her Tuesday with an open mind.

“It’s only a small window into her thinking,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, “but it certainly, for me, raises the possibility that she’s more fair-minded than our opponents are hoping.”

The question on civil rights on the old survey did not pin respondents down on any of the issues typically associated with gay equality today, such as domestic partner benefits or same-sex unions. Kelly Shackelford, president of the socially conservative Free Market Foundation, played down the significance of Miers’ answer, saying he, too, could have answered yes to it.

Shackelford credited her with “basic Texas down home values.”

Solmonese said the fact Miers even came to a meeting of a Dallas gay and lesbian group to answer its questions suggested a wish to reach out.

“She’s pro-family but not condemnatory,” Hecht said.

Miers asserted during her city council campaign that “employers should be able to pick the best qualified person for any position, to be filled considering all relevant factors,” a position that does not seem in support of mandatory affirmative action.

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

In her own legal career, she broke a glass ceiling and led the way for others.

In 1972, Miers was the first woman hired by the Dallas law firm of Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, when Texas was far from friendly terrain for women attorneys.

Linda Eads, a law professor at Southern Methodist University who was deputy attorney general in Texas, recalls inappropriate questions during job interviews as well as male attorneys who couldn’t imagine a high-powered woman at their firm.

The questions ranged “from what I was doing about birth control to how could you possibly think union leaders would want to talk to a girl,” Eads said.

At Locke Purnell, Miers worked to ensure that more women joined the firm.

Tom Connop, a partner at the firm – now known as Locke Liddell & Sapp – said Miers was an advocate of employing not only women but minorities, reflected in the more than a dozen female associates in 1984.
In 1996, Miers became the firm’s first female president.

“Every woman lawyer in Dallas, Texas, owes a debt to Harriet Miers,” said Robin P. Hartmann, a partner with the Dallas law firm of Haynes and Boone who argued cases with and against Miers.

Analysis:

This article is about a new breed of soybean bean developed by Monsanto, the largest supplier of agricultural supplies in the world. The local angle of this story is that Zeeland Farm Industries, a local company, has been contracted by Monsanto to process this new soybean breed. One important piece of information mentioned in the article is that this new bread of soy bean was developed from a genetically modified soy bean. The article notes this fact and then states that “While environmental groups question the safety of genetically engineered crops, Cook (Monsanto representative) said most soybeans in the United States are genetically engineered and Vistive is approved by federal regulators.” These claims by environmental groups are not elaborated in the article, nor is the rebuttal from Monsanto verified with any independent voices or information. This lack of context on genetically modified foods is unfortunate but not atypical. The issue of potential negative impacts on the environment on health and the environment has not been a story the commercial press has readily addressed. According to the media watchdog group Project Censored, this issue was on the top ten underreported news stories for 2001. Other Project Censored reports show that since 2001, this issue has continued to be either mis-reported or under-reported.

Story:

ZFS, Monsanto team up to grow healthier soybeans
Tuesday, September 27, 2005By Ron Cammel
The Grand Rapids Press
ZEELAND — A new food labeling law is leading to new business for Zeeland Farm Services Inc.

The farm supplier and food processor contracted with agricultural giant Monsanto Co. to process a newly developed soybean that does not require hydrogenation.

Hydrogenation is a process which increases shelf life and flavor stability in fried foods, baked goods, snack products and other processed foods. The process also creates trans fatty acid, which is blamed for coronary heart disease.

Starting Jan. 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will require nutrition labels to specify content of trans fatty acid, also called trans fat.

Food manufacturers want to prevent trans fat from turning away consumers and have looked for alternatives to hydrogenation, said Chris Cook of Monsanto.

Over the past 10 years, Monsanto developed a soybean, Vistive, with low linolenic acid, reducing the need for hydrogenation, he said.

The 150-employee Zeeland Farm Services will contract with several growers in Michigan to grow the beans in 2006 and return the crop to Zeeland Farm Services for processing into oil and feed.

Zeeland Farm Services already supplies food makers with a low-linolenic soybean oil from a bean developed by Ohio State University, company spokesperson Norma Knoll said.

Monsanto’s bean, however, also includes the genetically engineered Roundup Ready trait, which reduces weeds in fields.
While environmental groups question the safety of genetically engineered crops, Cook said most soybeans in the United States are genetically engineered and Vistive is approved by federal regulators.

The Ohio State bean is helping ZFS satisfy manufacturers’ demand for nonhydrogenated products before the Jan. 1 deadline, but Visitive should be a more cost-effective solution, Knoll said.

Monsanto spent “millions of dollars” to develop the low-linolenic trait in Vistive through conventional breeding, starting with genetically engineered crops, Cook said.

ZFS, which could have the soybean growing on 25,000 acres next year, is the only Michigan company to contract for the product. Monsanto expects 500,000 acres of Vistive to be grown in 2006 nationally, after a limited trial this year.

Analysis:

Both these stories about the sentencing of a US soldier for her role in the torture of Iraqi prisoners were short running only 24 on WOOD TV 8 and 26 seconds on WXMI Fox 17. In both cases they mention that Private England claimed that she was only doing what her soldier boyfriend asked her to do. Both stories mentioned that she received a 3 year sentence, but only Fox 17 ran some of the photos from the Abu Ghraib prison where the abuses took place, one of which is included here.

Several things are missing in the coverage of this crime case. First, while Fox 17 did show two of the now known photos from Abu Ghraib, the coverage didn’t provide any specifics about the torture. Second, both news stories cite Private England’s response in the courtroom, but neither of them provide commentary from the court on why she was found guilty of 6 of the 7 charges. Third, 3 days before the sentencing Human Rights Watch published a new report on the widespread Iraqi prisoner abuse at a US military base near Fallujah in 2003 & 2004. The report says “U.S. Army troops subjected Iraqi detainees to severe beatings and other torture at a base in central Iraq from 2003 through 2004, often under orders or with the approval of superior officers.” This information is quite relevant in that it provides a larger context to the issue of US military use of torture in Iraq and how widespread it is. Lastly, there was no coverage in the local news of a US judge’s decision to have the government release all “87 photographs and four videotapes as part of an October 2003 lawsuit demanding information on the treatment of detainees in US custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture,” according to an AP story on September 29. Readers could ask themselves to what degree is the media obligated to report on human rights abuses committed by its own government?

Story:

WOOD TV 8 News reader – Well she said she was only trying to please her soldier boyfriend when she took part in prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. Well now Lynndie England will serve three years for her crimes. England’s sentencing wrapped up the last of nine court martials of lower level soldiers charged in that abuse scandal. England, the most recognizable reservist charged after graphic abuse photos became public. Lynndie was convicted yesterday on 6 of the 7 counts against her.

Total Time: 26 seconds

WXMI 17 News reader – A US soldier is sentenced tonight for abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. A military just decided Army Private First Class, Lynndie England will spend three years behind bars for her role. England said she posed in the notorious abuse photos at the urging of her soldier boy friend, whom she trusted. England’s sentencing wraps up the last of nine court martials of low level soldiers charged in the abuse scandal.

Total Time: 24 seconds

Analysis:

To see how news stories are generated read the Media Release from the National Retail Federation to see how much effort channel 8 put into this story.

Story:

WOOD TV 8 News reader – Believe it or not, Christmas is just 3 months away and this year retailers expect sales to slightly grow. The National Retail Federation predicts a 5% increase in total sales compared to last year. If that turns out to be true, that would put spending for the shopping season at $435 billion. Several factors will affect sales this Christmas, including the hurricanes, energy prices, and consumer confidence.

Total Time: 24 seconds