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From: Your Name <you@example.com>
To: tgeraght@wzzm.gannett.com, leevanameyde@wzzm13.com
Subject: March 26 Story on Antiwar Arraignment Disappointing
I am writing to express my disappointment with the story that WZZM 13 ran on March 26, 2007 titled "Grand Valley Professor Arraigned after Anti-War Rally." The story, which is meant to provide an update on arrests at an antiwar rally held on March 17, 2007 in Grand Rapids, was biased against the protestors and contained little information of consequence.
The story is framed at the very beginning with biased language when Lee Van Ameyde states that Professor Hermann Kurthen was arrested "after an anti- war rally got out of hand." This is similar to the language used by your station in a March 17 story on the protest when WZZM 13 reported that "some police in West Michigan said this group went a little too far." The language immediately raises viewers' suspicions about the protest, despite the fact that had a protestor or event organizer been consulted, they likely would have provided a different perspective on this assertion. However, instead of seeking an alternative perspective, your information appears to be based exclusively on information from the Grand Rapids Police Department.
More frustrating than the language framing the protest as "out of hand" is the fact that proper context is not given for the protest. The only context given is the statement that Kurthen was arrested "on March 17th during an anti-war rally in Grand Rapids." The story fails to mention what happened at the protest, which was a well-targeted protest that went to the home of US Representative Vern Ehlers to ask him to sign a contract supporting an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq by cutting funding. Similarly, your story does not cite any of the organizers of the event, any protestors, or even Professor Kurthen who is the focus of the story. Instead, the story contains only the GRPD's version of events and uses a mug shot of Kurthen and footage from later in the protest, indicating that WZZM 13 was not at the arraignment or the protest when the arrests were made.
In the future, I ask that WZZM 13 do a better job covering antiwar protests. This was the second story on this topic since March 17 in which WZZM 13 emphasized the fact that the protest was "out of hand" without giving any reasons as to why the protest took place.
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
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To: tgeraght@wzzm.gannett.com, leevanameyde@wzzm13.com
Subject: March 26 Story on Antiwar Arraignment Disappointing
I am writing to express my disappointment with the story that WZZM 13 ran on March 26, 2007 titled "Grand Valley Professor Arraigned after Anti-War Rally." The story, which is meant to provide an update on arrests at an antiwar rally held on March 17, 2007 in Grand Rapids, was biased against the protestors and contained little information of consequence.
The story is framed at the very beginning with biased language when Lee Van Ameyde states that Professor Hermann Kurthen was arrested "after an anti- war rally got out of hand." This is similar to the language used by your station in a March 17 story on the protest when WZZM 13 reported that "some police in West Michigan said this group went a little too far." The language immediately raises viewers' suspicions about the protest, despite the fact that had a protestor or event organizer been consulted, they likely would have provided a different perspective on this assertion. However, instead of seeking an alternative perspective, your information appears to be based exclusively on information from the Grand Rapids Police Department.
More frustrating than the language framing the protest as "out of hand" is the fact that proper context is not given for the protest. The only context given is the statement that Kurthen was arrested "on March 17th during an anti-war rally in Grand Rapids." The story fails to mention what happened at the protest, which was a well-targeted protest that went to the home of US Representative Vern Ehlers to ask him to sign a contract supporting an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq by cutting funding. Similarly, your story does not cite any of the organizers of the event, any protestors, or even Professor Kurthen who is the focus of the story. Instead, the story contains only the GRPD's version of events and uses a mug shot of Kurthen and footage from later in the protest, indicating that WZZM 13 was not at the arraignment or the protest when the arrests were made.
In the future, I ask that WZZM 13 do a better job covering antiwar protests. This was the second story on this topic since March 17 in which WZZM 13 emphasized the fact that the protest was "out of hand" without giving any reasons as to why the protest took place.
Your Name
Your Organization
123 Your St.
Yousville, YO 12345
Phone: (123)456-7890
Fax: (123)456-7890x123
p.s.
Your Personal Statement
--
Delivered by CitizenSpeak!
Report abuse to abuse@citizenspeak.org [1033]
