The March 17 antiwar protest received widespread coverage in the local and statewide media, although most of it was sensationalized and focused on the arrests rather than what was a successful action at the home of Representative Vern Ehlers (who was in his house at the time). The protestors delivered a pledge for Ehlers to sign stating that he supports an immediate end to the occupation of the Iraq and will vote to stop funding the war. However, despite these clear goals, the local news media focused on unprovoked arrests by the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD). In light of the news coverage, we encourage people to send letters to the local news media using the following links:

WZZM 13
WOOD TV 8
WXMI 17
The Grand Rapids Press

For a thorough analysis of the media coverage, read “Local News Coverage of Antiwar March Sensationalized and Biased” at mediamouse.org. The article also features links to the media coverage and deconstructions of each story.