Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Analysis:

This story is an interesting example of a reporter appearing to be engaged in journalism, but in reality uncovering nothing. In the two minutes of this story, the reporter fails to get a single statement from the crime suspect she is posing questions to. Each question that the reporter asks is followed by a voice over that makes the question seem more dramatic than it was. For example, after the reporter shoves a microphone in the lawyer’s face and the lawyer pushes it away, the voice over describes the lawyer as “aggressive.” Ironically, the reporter ends the story by noting that the lawyer said that “the media has over sensationalized the story.”

Story:

Anchor #1 – Police say all the evidence points to Tim Dawson, The Sparta man has not been charged with murdering his wife, but police say it will happen soon. In the meantime, Dawson is a free man, and WZZM’s Kathy Reynolds caught up with him in court—Kathy?

Reporter – Well, Lee, Timothy Dawson has always avoided our questions. When his wife disappeared, he refused to talk to us; when she was found dead, he said nothing. But today he had to show up in court, and we were determined to get his side of the story.

Reporter(in Hallway outside the courtroom) – Tim Dawson, did you murder your wife?

Lawyer – Don’t be ridiculous. (Grabs microphone away from Dawson’s face)

Reporter – What…wha…don’t touch me, ma’am!

Reporter (voiceover) – He was silent, she was aggressive. Dawson’s lawyer didn’t want to answer questions, but so many had to be asked.

Reporter (Walking down hallway) – Why did you try to commit suicide?

Reporter (voiceover) – Police say Dawson tried to kill himself after he was named the number one and only suspect in the murder of his wife Julia last year.

Reporter(Walking down hallway) – How did you feel about Julia? How’s it feel to be the police’s only suspect? They say they’re getting close to arresting you, how do you feel about that?

Lawyer (Grabbing the microphone) – They said that seven and a half weeks ago and they haven’t done a damn thing about it.

Reporter (voiceover) – Into a closed courtroom they went, where Dawson was supposed to fight for the custody of his two children from a previous marriage, a marriage to this woman, Amy Hinkley. Hinkley’s lawyer had planned to call on forensics expert Anton Tolemanto testify.

Lawyer #2 – He was going to basically support our position that, given all of the stressors in Mr. Dawson’s life at this time, which are many, that we should be concerned about the safety of the children.

Reporter – But Toleman never took the stand. Dawson disappeared, telling his lawyer he’s relinquishing the rights to his kids a shock to Amy Hinkley and Julie Dawson’s family. They’d come to give Amy support…to get some answers. Tim Dawson’s lawyer finally gave some.

Reporter (Walking down hallway) – Excuse me, did Tim murder his wife?

Lawyer – No.

Reporter – Then tell us, why do you think police suspect him then?

Lawyer – I have no idea, they won’t tell me…they wouldn’t answer any of my questions on cross-examination.

Reporter – Dawson’s lawyer is accusing the Sparta police of harassing her client. She also says the media has over sensationalized the story. Live in the newsroom, I’m Kathy Reynolds, WZZM 13 News.

Total time: 2 minutes, 6 seconds

Analysis:

This crime story is reported on in much the same way that most crime stories are, with little relevance to the community. The first part of the story reads as a police report, which is probably what channel 13 relied on – where and when the shooting occurred, how many gun shots fired and what neighbors heard.

The rest of the story is pretty much devoted to comments from friends and family. Here viewers are provided with emotional commentary, with one family members crying more than talking. Viewers should ask why are these scenes run? What value does it have for members of the community to see the pain of the victim’s family right after the shooting occurred? What might be more useful to the community would be information on resources available for family members of victims, violence prevention resources, support group information and neighborhood watch contacts. Instead viewers are left with the raw emotion of loss. The story ends with more police provided information and a teaser to get people to keep the channel there, “Again this shooting is not believed to be connected to the others this week, but there is one coincidence between 2 of them. We’ll explain at 6.”

Story:

WZZM 13 News reader – Three shootings in a week have left 2 people dead. It all happened on the southeast side of Grand Rapids. The latest last night on Alto Street. WZZM 13’s Kathy Reynolds is in the newsroom with details.

Reporter – Well Lee police say that none of the cases are related. Each one was individually targeted. Still the family of this latest victim is questioning who would want to hurt Derrick Davis. The 30 year old father of 4 was living with his sister at the time of the shooting. Police say that a 2:30 this morning Davis was inside the home on Alto street standing at the door. Neighbors heard 6 gunshots, Davis’s sister found him dead. Police say that bullets had gone through the door.

Family member of the victim #1 – Who ever did this to my son…Oh I wish they would catch them…..he is a father of many. Oh my God he is going to be missed.

Family member of the victim #2 – Derrick is not into gangs, see he is too old to be in a gang, you know. So, he is not in a gang, he’s just been working, you know trying to reconnect with his family.

Friend – If he could hear us now we’d just want to say we still love you ….we want to make sure they catch whoever did it.

Reporter – Police have no suspects, no motive in this case, but there has been a history of violence in that house, including 2 previous shootings. Anyone with information is asked to call Grand Rapids Police. Again this shooting is not believed to be connected to the others this week, but there is one coincidence between 2 of them. We’ll explain at 6.

Total Time – 1 minute and 40 seconds

Analysis:

Here is another example of gratuitous violence passing off as a news story. It doesn’t matter that the news anchor warns viewers before they run the footage, because this story has no relevance to the West Michigan Community. The video footage is from a home video and viewers should ask themselves how a TV station in Los Angeles got it and then how it wound up on WZZM 13. In addition it should be mentioned that channel 13 shows viewers the clip of someone getting run over by a car 2 times.

Story:

WZZM 13 News reader – A man survived having a car run over him in a California yard. A warning the following video may be disturbing to some, but the man is OK. Police say a drunk driver ran into another car in Los Angeles. He gunned his engine and then turned into a yard running over a man who was just standing there. Amazingly, as we said, the guy run over only had a few bumps and bruises. He said he avoided serious injury by rolling with the car that passed over him. Police arrested the driver for driving under the influence.

Total Time – 29 seconds

Analysis:

Here is a story that WOOD TV 8 decided to hype, even though they admit the risk is almost non-existent. Someone near Sparta may have recently seen a bear, so channel 8 decides to look at the possibility of West Michigan residents encountering a bear. Viewers get to hear from the Sheriff’s department, the DNR, they are even treated to map graphics of the range of female and male black bears. Channel 8 even uses what appears to be home video footage of bears near campsites, but the footage is never sourced. Over 2 minutes is devoted to this story, even tips for avoiding bears are provided, but the story itself is a contradiction. Early in the story, the WOOD TV 8 reporter admits “Let’s face it the odds of running into a bear out here are remote, in fact you probably got a better chance of winning the lottery.” So it is reasonable to ask, why spend so much time on a story about an issue that really doesn’t concern viewers? Was the story was hyped just to keep viewer’s attention?

Story:

WOOD TV 8 News reader – One of Michigan’s great natural treasures is its abundance of wildlife, creatures that most of us would prefer to stay in the wild. As Rick Albin reports occasionally those animals better known for inhabiting the woods do venture into more populated areas.

Reporter – Let’s start with the facts, yes there are black bears in Kent, Muskegon and other counties. Not many, but some.

DNR – In this particular area it’s not a large population, but it is one that we have seen growing in recent years.

Reporter – A recent citing of a bear near Sparta on M-37 between ten and 13 mile road was not verified but it would be nothing new.

Sheriff’s Dept. – There has been bears in Kent County off and on for many, many years.

Reporter – Local citings of bear are probably local animals roaming from their home area to the North.

DNR – They do cover a fairly large area. Females can typically go up to – if you had to put a figure on it – a 20-25 square mile area. Sometimes the males will roam even much larger areas, sometimes even 100 square miles.

Reporter – Let’s face it the odds of running into a bear out here are remote, in fact you probably got a better chance of winning the lottery, but in the off chance you did encounter a bear it doesn’t necessarily impose an unreasonable danger. In the unlikely circumstance that you do encounter a bear, a few common sense, but important things will reduce the possibility of that encounter turning dangerous. Do not feed the bear, it makes them reliant on people and creates nuisance bears that ultimately have to be removed or destroyed. Don’t try to approach a bear and don’t try to chase an animal or tree it. Generally the animals will leave an area when humans are present. The Sheriff’s Department and the DNR deal with relatively few sittings in the immediate area and virtually no problem with bears interacting with people. In Kent County, I’m 24 hour News 8.

WOOD TV 8 News reader – The DNR would like to know if you have a verifiable citing of a bear so that the DNR can keep track of the population as it moves about. Tips on how to keep bears from becoming a nuisance at camp grounds or for that matter in your back yard. All that information can be found on the DNR’s website and you can find a link to that at WOODTV.com.

Total Time – 2 minutes and 8 seconds

Analysis:

In many ways this article is written as journalistic stenography – the recoding of events without asking the important questions that journalism should ask. There is no indication if the GR Press reporter was able to ask questions, but even if they couldn’t they could at least look at the comments of Colin Powell and verify them with the public record. Powell is a man who has served in several administrations in numerous capacities. The GR Press article provides no background or contextual information on a man who has a military/foreign policy history that some might consider criminal.
The article has Powell telling stories of how generous America is, but the Press writer does not verify such statements. Powell even says “America needs to do more around the world to win hearts and minds.” Unfortunately, the Press does not attempt to clarify what that means. The Pew Research Center published in January of 2005 a lengthy report on the growing global anti-American sentiment.
Lastly, there is no mention of who was at the Grand Rapids Economic Club annual dinner, nor whom the Economic Club represents. A look at their website shows that their members are made up of area power brokers from finance, government, corporate and media. Two of the area TV station managers are on the board of directors and the Program Committee.

Story:

Powell: America still good friend By Steven Harmon The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS — As hostile as the world seems to the United States, it longs for America’s friendship and leadership. And all this country has to do is act on its best instincts.

That was former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s message Wednesday at the Grand Rapids Economic Club’s 18th annual dinner at DeVos Place, which quickly is becoming the host to major national political figures. Less than two weeks ago, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuiliani spoke at the downtown convention center’s ballroom.

“It’s important for America to get back to showing that image of an open, welcome nation,” Powell said. “When they come into our communities, they get a different impression of us than by watching a Michael Moore film or the news bulletins on TV.”

Honored at the dinner were George, John and Tom Jackoboice, of Monarch Hydraulics Inc., as Business Persons of the Year for 2005, and Peter Wege as winner of the Slykhouse Lifetime Achievement Award. In an hour-long speech, Powell, a retired four-star general, regaled a crowd of about 1,000 with stories of diplomatic triumphs.

He joked about taking apart a toilet in his family’s home as a first act of retirement. He boasted about his upcoming assignment of driving the pace car — a Corvette convertible — at Sunday’s Indy 500. And he gave a report card on the world’s hot spots.

He told the story of a dozen Brazilian students visiting Chicago who ordered a big meal at a fast-food restaurant before realizing they did not have the money to pay for it. The manager told them the meal was on him — the kind of act that can go a long way toward showing America’s true spirit, Powell said. “He said ‘he’s so happy you’re in America, that you’re in Chicago, that you came to his restaurant, consider this a gift from him,” Powell said. “The one thing they’ll never forget is the open arms and generosity. We can do that all day long all over America because that really is what America is all about. “If we want to change the anti-American attitude, we know how to do it — just be open and welcome.”

But he also warned that America needs to do more around the world to win hearts and minds. He noted the State Department’s budget for developing countries had doubled from $10 billion a year to $22 billion in his tenure as Secretary of State, but it still was far shy of what’s needed to combat HIV/AIDS and poverty and to promote development, clean water and good governance.

“America can do more and better, but no one can tell you we’re giving too much to developing countries,” he said. “We’ve got to do more if we want other countries to move in the direction of democracy and freedom.” Powell appeared unburdened by the freedom of retirement, though he told no kiss-and-tell stories on his four years in the Bush administration.

As National Security Adviser to President Reagan in the 1980s, Powell said he had a tough time letting go of the Soviet Union as a mortal enemy, even as its former president, Mikhail Gorbachev, was in the beginning stages of lowering the iron curtain.

At one point, as Gorbachev was complaining the United States was not paying attention to reforms under way, Powell said Gorbachev pounded on the table, leaned into him and said, “Oh, general, general, I’m so very sorry, but you’ll have to find a new enemy.” Powell, in his self-effacing way, said he thought to himself, “but I don’t want to! Slow down. Why do I have to change?”

But, as he said later, speaking of globalism that connects everyone, “we’re rapidly moving to a transactional world.”
“It means we have to be imaginative and creative — invest more in education so we don’t get left behind,” he said. “And I don’t think we’ll get left behind.”

Analysis:

This was a brief article that made its way onto the front page of the Grand Rapids Press. It is a report on a study released on May 26th by the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit, nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington, D.C. In it, they named the top individual campaign contributors for both parties during the 2004 elections.

The article was taken from the Associated Press edited to about half its original size. Though it is news worthy of its front page slot, the edits subtly changed the tone of the story. Off the wire it read as an investigation into campaign finance reform. After edits it read more like “cheers” to the DeVos family for giving more money than anyone else. It even left out quotes from state Democratic and GOP party spokespersons, plus no where not in the original AP version or the GR Press version do they provide voices other than Democrat or Republican. Ask yourself if an independent, non-partisan voice from Michigan would be useful to voters.

Readers could also ask themselves is why is a story about campaign contributions from 2004 running midway through 2005? Could information like this have made an impact on elections locally and nationally? The data is required by candidates, most of which is part of the public record prior to Election Day. Late donations can be submitted after the Election, but the majority of the data is available to the public and journalists prior to the Election.

Story:

DeVos name tops political donors
By KEN THOMAS
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans Dick and Betsy DeVos of Michigan were the nation’s largest individual campaign donors during the 2004 election cycle, according to a study released Thursday.

A report by the Center for Public Integrity said the couple, of Ada, contributed more than $2.3 million in 2003 and 2004, including more than $1.8 million to party committees registered in Michigan.

Jay Van Andel, who died in December 2004, was ranked third overall in individual contributions, giving $2 million of his personal fortune, including $1 million to Michigan GOP groups.

Second nationally was Arizona real-estate developer James Pederson, with $2.2 million to the Arizona GOP.
The DeVos and Van Andel families, who founded Amway Corp. in 1959, have been leading financial supporters of the Republican party. Alticor Inc., one of the world’s largest direct marketing companies, is Amway’s parent company and is privately held by the two families.

Dick DeVos is considering a campaign to seek the GOP nomination to face Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Betsy DeVos recently stepped down as chairwoman of the state Republican party.

• Dick DeVos’ parents, Richard and Helen DeVos, of Ada, donated $185,000 to Michigan political committees during the period.

The study puts Alticor, Amway and DeVos family interests among the nation’s top-five organizational donors, contributing more than $4.7 million in 2003 and 2004.

The donations ranked them just behind two major unions — the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

By comparison, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America gave $2.6 million, the AFL-CIO contributed $2.35 million, and the United Auto Workers provided $1.66 million.

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

The Washington-based watchdog group’s study shows the DeVos family’s considerable political clout.
DeVos Sr. is the owner of the NBA’s Orlando Magic.

Other top donors include:
• C. Michael Kojaian, a Bloomfield Hills businessman, who gave $120,000 to Republicans during the cycle. He has been a leading financial contributor to President Bush’s campaigns.

The study also showcases the highly competitive environment between the state Democratic and Republican parties in a state with divided government: a Democratic governor, Republican control of the Legislature and a significant GOP edge in Michigan’s congressional delegation.

The Michigan Republican State Committee raised $14.3 million during the period, compared to $13.5 million by the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee. The Democratic organization outspent its GOP counterpart by more than $780,000.

Nate Bailey, a state GOP spokesman, said the report showed “how effectively using and spending money can really make the difference between winning and losing.”

Jason Moon, a state Democratic party spokesman, said it provided evidence that the DeVos’ are “kings of corporate and special interests. They spend their money to promote their right-wing ideals.”

Messages were left Wednesday for Dick and Betsy DeVos.

Nationally, the study found overall fund-raising for state political parties in the 2004 election cycle declined to $735 million, a decrease of $65 million compared to the 2000 election cycle and $85 million less raised in the 2002 midterm elections.

The nonpartisan organization attributed the drop to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms, which barred unlimited “soft money” contributions to federal candidates or federal party organizations.

Analysis:

This story is framed as a meeting between the US President and Afghani President Karzai to “iron out problems.” The story does mention the issue of prisoner abuse at US military bases, but provides no context to the “accusations.” According to Human Rights Watch the prisoner abuses at US bases in Afghan pre-date those at Abu Ghraib.

What is omitted from this story was the real reason for Afghan President Karzai’s visit to the White House, to sign a long term deal with the Bush administration to keep US military bases there. Another major issue not discussed in this news article is over the fact that Afghanistan has become the world leader in Heroin production since the US invasion and defeat of the Taliban in 2001-2002.

Story:

WZZM 13 News reader – President Bush is trying to iron out problems with Afghanistan’s leader, Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited the White House today. He and President Bush discussed accusations of prisoner abuse at an American base in Afghanistan. Karzai says he blames the people responsible for the abuses, but not their country.

Afghan President – These things happen everywhere. As we are sad, we recognize that the American people, kind as they are to Afghanistan, have nothing to do with that.

WZZM 13 News reader – In an earlier appearance this weekend Karzai said he wanted the Americans who miss treated prisoners to be brought to justice.

Total time – 38 seconds

Analysis:

This is basically a minute and a half of self-promotion. While websites often can be a useful source of additional information, this story is more about increasing the stations online traffic rather than providing news. As with the news broadcast itself, the website derives its revenue from advertisements, so increased web site visits mean increased profits.

Story:

Newsreader#1: Well, we’ve done some remodeling online and WZZM13.com has a new look that we think is easier for everyone to use.

Newsreader #2: And Lee and I put together this explainer of all the new features.

Newsreader #1: Let’s start up here at the top. Our weather ball is still here in the left-hand corner and so is one easy way to find what you want on the site, and that’s the search box.

Newsreader #2: Now moving over to the right is one of our newest, and I think the coolest, features; our tab weather section starts with the latest X-Rad image. But slide your cursor over and look what happens—the box changes!

Newsreader #1: Now choices include the current temperatures, the forecast, and a place to login or sign-up for “My 13 On Target Personal Forecast.”

Newsreader #2: Here in the middle are still today’s top local news stories and our most current videos.

Newsreader #1: Now back over on the left side navigation bar are the main sections of our website and our most popular sections like Take-5 and all our contests.

Newsreader #2: Now, keep moving the page with us and you’ll find another new feature. These nine boxes feature our top partnerships, station projects and more all in a very clear, easy to understand format. Click on the icons to get more information.

Newsreader #1: Now there is a lot to remember, and let’s say we didn’t show your favorite section of WZZM13.com. You’ll find everything right here at the bottom in our table of contents.

Newsreader #2: From Super-Savers and Try-Its to our recipes and 13 Friends For Life information, you will find what you’re looking for right down here.

Newsreader #1: If you already haven’t seen it on the new WZZM13.com.

Total time – 1 minute, 24 seconds

Analysis:

In some ways the story is very informative. It reveals to readers that video gamers are teaming up with corporations to increase the amount of product placement in video games such as a Jeep brand vehicle in Tony Hawk’s game Underground 2, or Ericsson cell phones in Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. The article boldly states “games can do what no other medium can – force players to interact with an ad.” The story also states that Nielson Entertainment plans to track the player response to ads in games.

The only perspective readers get in the AP story is that of someone from Nielson Entertainment, the gaming industry and one of the companies currently advertising in video games. So, in a sense the article, while providing some useful content on this trend, is a promotional piece for ads in video games. We should also ask why there was no perspective provided from groups which monitor the social impact of video games or hyper-commercialism in media, particularly as it relates to younger audiences. Some good sources on video games and youth, particularly the hyper-commercialism can be found online at Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Story:

Ads invade fast-growing video game market
by Gary Gentile

As a member of the Elite Operations Division in the video game “True Crime: Streets of LA,” the character Nick Kang must find his way to a truck heist at the flagship Puma sportswear store.

Lucky for him, he has a Motorola handset with built-in global positioning system technology.

In the online game Everquest II, players don’t need to leave their fantasy world to satisfy hunger pangs. They can click an icon and have food delivered from the nearest Pizza Hut – within 30 minutes.

The product placement – benign, interactive and sometimes aggressive – belongs to a growing push by advertisers to reach big-spending males from 18 to 34 who log long hours playing video games.

Analysts say in-game advertising could generate as much as $1 billion in new revenue for the fast-growing industry by the end of the decade because it almost assures advertisers quality time with an audience they crave: Young men.

Research by Nielsen Entertainment has found that prime-time television is losing younger male viewers, while Sony Computer Entertainment America notes that several million people are glued to their PlayStation 2 consoles playing online games during prime-time TV viewing hours.

The strategy of insinuating ads into video games was a hot topic at this week’s E3 video games trade show, where Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft unveiled their next-generation game consoles.

“Game publishers have to recognize that there are millions, if not billions, of dollars in advertising money coming their way in the next few years,” said Justin Townsend, chief executive of IGA Partners Europe, an agency that places in-game ads for clients.

Until very recently, advertisers weren’t rushing to place products in video games. They spent only $34 million in 2004 on in-game ads _ a far cry from the billions spent on television advertising.

But that amount is expected to explode to $562 million by 2009, according to The Yankee Group research firm. Including “advergames” _ games built solely to promote a product _ game advertising will approach $1 billion by the end of the decade, the firm predicts.

Advertisers were wary in the past, partially because there wasn’t a way to measure the effectiveness of the ads. Now, Nielsen Entertainment, which measures TV ratings for advertisers, is testing a system to gauge the impact of in-game ads.

“We kind of have a pretty good idea of how people are watching TV,” said Michael Dowling, a Nielsen executive. “With a video game, because of its nonlinear nature, we have no idea how people are navigating their way through the game.”

Nielsen already has paper diaries in the homes of some gamers to document their game-playing. Now, in conjunction with Activision and Jeep, Nielsen has embedded an electronic marker in each Jeep image included in “Tony Hawk’s Underground 2.”

Each time a Jeep vehicle is used or appears on the game screen, the electronic tag sends a signal over the Internet to Nielsen, which tracks the hits.

Much of the advertising in the works for games mirrors reality. A virtual recreation of Times Square, for instance, would include billboards for products. A NASCAR game might include actual car models decorated with real ads.

And games can do what no other medium can _ force players to interact with an ad.

In “Underground 2,” players have to perform tricky skateboard stunts involving a Jeep. In the Ubisoft game “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell,” players must use a Sony Ericsson cell phone to deal with some challenges.

The interaction is likely to produce stronger product recognition and sales than traditional ads, said Jeff Bell, vice president of marketing communications at Daimler Chrysler, the maker of Jeeps.

“We have plenty of chances to put 30-second advertisements on television and not know whether people really watch them or not,” Bell said during an E3 workshop.

The tactics have emerged as the industry wrestles with increasing costs. Developing a top-level video game with sophisticated graphics can now cost as much as $15 million _ a price tag that could triple in the next few years to keep up with the capabilities of the latest consoles.

Game makers are balking but say they will likely have to raise prices to cover some increasing costs. The hikes are risky because many customers are teenagers who can’t afford steep increases.

That has made revenue from in-game advertising even more important.

“It’s not a ‘nice to have,’ it’s a must have,” said Yankee analyst Mike Goodman.

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

The increased spending is another sign of the booming popularity of video games. In 2004, $7.3 billion worth of video and PC games were sold in the United States. By comparison, the domestic movie industry saw ticket sales of $9.4 billion.

On the first day it hit stores last November, the hugely popular game “Halo 2” generated $125 million in sales, while the Pixar animated film “The Incredibles” reeled in $70 million in ticket sales over the same weekend.

Some companies have found another way to reach young male gamers _ market their own games.

Chrysler said the simple sports and puzzle games it has distributed in magazines, CDs and Web sites have led to sales. The games require players to register and provide data that can then be matched to subsequent purchases.

Of 3.5 million people who registered and downloaded games in the past 18 months, 10,000 eventually bought Chrysler vehicles, Bell said.

“That was a wake-up call for us,” he said.

Analysis:

This story is basically a public relations move by the US Army to put a good spin on some embarrassing recruitment tactics that have been exposed lately. The video footage used by channel 13 is exclusively of military recruitment offices or soldiers setting up tables in public places for recruiting purposes. The story mentions that the Army is failing to meet their recruitment quotas and then says “Some blame the war in Iraq.” Viewers should ask themselves what kind of a source is “Some?” Who is saying that the war in Iraq is contributing to a decrease in people signing up for the military?

The story does mention one instance where an Army recruiter used a questionable tactic, but doesn’t provide any details, nor does it explore the larger questions around military recruiting tactics, such as on college campuses or in high schools. There is also only one perspective provided, that of the US military. Viewers should ask themselves why no other perspective was provided particularly that of groups doing counter-recruitment work.

Story:

WZZM 13 News reader – The Army has ordered its recruiters to stand down today for retraining. 8,000 soldiers spent the day watching videos on Pentagon recruiting policies. The service has not met its recruitment quotas. Some blame the war in Iraq. The Pentagon also punished some recruiters for violating military policy in seeking new recruits. One soldier threatened to arrest a teenage if he didn’t sign up with the Army.

Army Recruitment Commander – We are a very dispersed command and as a result we rely on the personal integrity and the adherence to Army values of every single recruiter in order to live up to the standards of those values.

WZZM 13 News reader – Well the goal for this year is 80,000 new soldiers, but the recruiting so far is about 15% its year to date goal.

Total Time – 49 seconds