Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

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

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