William Solomon
(©Monthly Review, May
2000)
More Form than Substance: Press Coverage of the WTO Protests in Seattle
by William S. Solomon
The mainstream U.S. news media have been shifting rightward for at least
two decades, as their corporate owners enforce tighter ideological
conformity. Oliver North and Pat Buchanan, for example, are now regular
commentators on television talk shows. And all of the media now refer to
people as "consumers," cogs in a capitalist machine. But still, news is
less
than half as profitable as entertainment, and media firms are intensifying
pressures on their "news properties" for higher profits, which means the
pursuit of upscale demographics. Owners are removing journalism's
much-vaunted separation of newsroom practices and business decisions,
blurring the line between news and entertainment, and forming partnerships
with one another to offer online news services. As William Glaberson said
in the New York Times in July 1995, "It is now common for publishing
executives to press journalists to cooperate with their newspapers'
`business side,' breaching separations that were said in the past to be
essential for journalistic integrity." Thus, in October 1996, the Wall
Street
Journal reported on a personal feud between Rupert Murdoch and Ted
Turner: "The combatants quietly concede that they have become far too
interdependent to let the fight escalate into global warfare."
The result is increasingly slick, shallow, sensationalist, and upbeat news
that lacks any capacity—and avoids any attempt—to engage the public in
critical thinking on basic issues. This is especially so with business
and
economics: Felicity Barringer reported in the New York Times in April
1998 that,"[M]ore than 250 Pulitzers in journalism have been awarded
since 1978. Business figures prominently in about 10." The news media's
role, as exemplified by the New York Times, is that of an "organ of
reassurance," to use Doug Henwood's phrase. A case in point is the
coverage of the protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) in
Seattle, which took place concurrent with the WTO ministerial meetings
of
November 29 through December 4, 1999. The coverage documents the
corporate media's worldview, as they impose on the events and
participants what Todd Gitlin, writing in the Socialist Review in 1979,
called "standardized assumptions."
This essay studies the twenty-two reports and editorials in the Los
Angeles Timesand the thirty-five in the New York Times, from November
21 through December 21, 1999. These two papers are arguably the most
influential daily newspapers in the United States, and among the largest.
The Wall Street Journal, which has the second largest circulation in the
United States, is not a general circulation newspaper; it aims primarily
at
financial elites, "middle management . . . startups and Internet-based
companies," says Anne Stuart in CIO Magazine (December 15,
1999-January 1, 2000). And the jingoistic, tabloid-style USA Today's
news reports are so brief as not to sustain lengthy scrutiny.
The Los Angeles Times is owned by the Times-Mirror Company;
theNew York Times, a family-owned business since the late nineteenth
century, announced in mid-March that it will be acquired by the Tribune
Company in the near future. So probusiness coverage is the norm, not
because of secret calculations in a top editor's office but for structural
reasons. "Every publication is used to further its own interests from time
to
time," said a lawyer for media baron Rupert Murdoch, quoted in a piece
by Elizabeth Jensen and Eben Shapiro in the Wall Street Journal in
October 1996. Murdoch "does it no more often than anyone else." Ben
Bagdikian, in the Guild Reporter (April 1982), notes:
The new owning corporations of our media generally insist that they do
not
interfere in the editorial product. All they do is appoint the publisher,
the
editor, the business manager and determine the budget.
If I wanted control of public information, that is all I would want. I
would
not want to decide on every story every day or say "yes" or "no" to every
manuscript that came over the transom.
I would rather appoint leaders who understand clearly who hired them and
who can fire them, who pays their salaries and decides on their stock
options. I would then leave it to them.
The coverage of the Seattle protests in the New York Times and theLos
Angeles Times shows a common theme: Only zealots hold radical
critiques of the WTO, which actually represents the best hope for the
world's future. This theme is developed in many ways. First, radical
critiques are attributed solely to marginal figures who hold unconventional,
impractical, and possibly unwise views. "Who on earth were they," the Los
Angeles Times wondered, "and what were they so mad about?"
(December 3, p. A1). Such people represent "an array of special-interest
groups" (LAT, December 3, p. A1), unlike the WTO delegates, who
presumably represent virtually all of the world's peoples. Worse, some
of
the protesters are anarchists: aNew York Times headline read, "Dark
Parallels With Anarchist Outbreaks in Oregon" (December 3, p. A12).
The protesters "warn of a sinister, netherworld economy where children
are exploited in Dickensian factories . . . [and] greedy corporations run
roughshod over traditional ways of life" (LAT, November 28, p. A1). For
them, the WTO is "a handmaiden of corporate interests" (NYT, December
1, p. A1), "the tyrannical symbol of a global economy that has shoved
social priorities aside in a relentless quest for profits" (LAT, December
3,
p. A1). The WTO meeting "has drawn" (LAT, December 1, p. A1) many
delegates, but the protesters "descended" on Seattle (NYT, December 1,
p. A1), which rather suggests a plague of locusts. Editorials were less
subtle: The protesters are "a Noah's ark of flat-earth advocates" (NYT,
December 1, p. A23). Their "vitriol no doubt plays well with certain
audiences. . . . But many average Americans may instantly realize . . .
[that] the idea of increasing corporate profits . . . is a goal you share
with
management" (LAT, December 5, p. C1).
Yet the coverage did not simply denigrate the protesters. Quite the
contrary, it granted a degree of legitimacy to the many "peaceful" ones,
as
distinct from a "small knot" (NYT, December 1, p. A14) of "more militant
elements" who used the police's behavior "as a cue to go on a rampage"
(NYT, December 2, p. A1). This legitimacy came at a price: It
oversimplified the array of views among the protesters. In so doing, it
echoed Clinton's stance of siding "with the cause of many of the peaceful
demonstrators"—as though they all shared one view—"even as he
denounced those who engaged in violence" (NYT, December 2, p. A1).
Further, it misrepresented the protesters' views: For many, Seattle was
a
venue for raising a more basic issue than the WTO or the World Bank—a
strong critique of capitalism itself. This was abundantly clear to people
in
the streets of Seattle. Richard Smith, a participant, noted: "The
anti-market, anti-corporate feeling, although strong, was still fairly
inchoate. But most people . . . definitely were for . . . democratization
of
the economy. . . . Such demands are of course ultimately anti-capitalist
because they can't be realized under capitalist property relations." For
the
New York Times, though, "the basic point the demonstrators sought to
make" was "the need to reform the WTO's procedures and values"
(editorial, December 2, p. A34).
Such misrepresentations supported the implication that the protesters'
criticisms were not so dissimilar to those of many WTO delegates
themselves. From the meeting's start, the WTO's "image . . . was . . .
[that]
of an institution under siege from within—among warring countries—and
from without by unruly protesters" (LAT, December 2, p. A1). This
scenario lent itself to a parallel theme: If only the protesters would
understand "free trade" properly, then they would support the WTO.
Quoting delegates to this effect was common: "These people don't
understand the benefits of free trade to developing nations," said a German
delegate (NYT, December 1, p. A14). Estonia's trade ambassador told
some protesters, "I'm a socialist. You people are nuts" (LAT, December
1, p. A1). Swaziland's delegate said of Seattle: "International trade built
this city, but people just don't get it" (NYT, December 2, p. A17). And
China's chief trade negotiator stated: "Globalization is not a thing that
everyone naturally understands" (NYT, December 2, p. A17).
Thus, it was the WTO's failure to explain its case well, rather than its
policies, that the papers portrayed as a key cause of the demonstrations.
"We need to do a better job in explaining to the general public what we
do," said Mexico's trade ambassador (LAT, December 18, p. A1). "It's
terribly sad to me that we have let people tell so many lies," said a delegate
from El Salvador (NYT, December 2, p. A17). "Expansion of trade and
investment . . . promotes the general welfare," said a former deputy U.S.
trade representative. "Why they [critics] don't see that, I don't understand"
(LAT, November 28, p. A1).
Language is perhaps the most basic indicator of the corporate media's
views. Such terms as "free trade" and "liberalization" were not defined;
their meaning was assumed to be so clear as to require no explanation.
Thus "globalization" is simply a fact of life, rather like gravity; certainly
it is
not a continuation of colonialism and imperialism. Quite the contrary,
the
WTO was depicted simply as a means to render the essentially benign
process of "globalization" as rational and equitable as possible. To "its
most militant critics, globalization amounts to an assault . . . on
deep-seated cultural values" and on the environment (LAT, November 28,
p. A1). But "only recently has anyone dreamed of connecting such
assorted grievances to trade policy" (LAT, November 28, p. A1). WTO
proponents always "said," whereas WTO critics "argued" and
"complained." In case this was too subtle, the appropriate perspective
was
made clear: "Economists regard free trade as just about as controversial
as
motherhood" (LAT, November 28, 1999, p. A1).
The protests themselves elicited the news media's longstanding aversion
to
social disorder—journalists are, according to Herbert Gans, the author
of
Deciding What's News, "as much concerned with the restoration of order
by public officials as with the occurrence of disorder." Seattle "was
engulfed in demonstrations that threw the opening of global trade talks
into
turmoil" (NYT, December 1, p. A1). A "daylong spasm of protest . . .
paralyzed downtown Seattle . . . plunging parts of the city into chaos;"
by
day's end, "skirmishes continued between weary police and a remaining
group of hard-core protesters" (LAT, December 1, p. A1). Thus
"violence" was defined solely as social unrest and damage to private
property, not as environmental damage and human suffering. Although
police and protest groups had discussed the protest plans in advance, the
police may have been misled by "extreme dissenters" (LAT, December 2,
p. A1). Perhaps, the Los Angeles Times reported, the Seattle police
should have been more proactive in learning the demonstrators' true
intentions; in Washington, DC, the paper said, police "even use informants
and undercover officers."
Reports on the protests were followed by reports commending delegates
who "struggled . . . to salvage" the meeting (LAT, December 2, p. A1).
Clinton's efforts "collapsed . . . after a rebellion by developing countries
and deadlock among America's biggest trading partners" (NYT, December
5, p. A1). Just as Hanoi "fell" to the National Liberation Front, so the
WTO talks were called the "Collapse in Seattle" (NYT, December 6, p.
A30). Furthermore, despite the massive demonstrations, the WTO's
impasse in Seattle was reported as solely a consequence of internal
divisions. Follow-up reports noted the U.S. delegation's contention that
"progress" was made, although "other countries reject the U.S.
administration's thinking" (LAT, December 18, p. A1).
Overall, the Los Angeles Times had more thorough coverage of the
demonstrations, including the protesters' use of the Internet and of cellular
telephones. The protesters "are astonishingly sophisticated in their
understanding of the most important issues facing the world's population"
(December 6, p. C6). When police chased demonstrators through streets
outside downtown, "onlookers shouted from balconies and rooftops, a
chorus of `Let them go!'" (December 2, p. A1). The best quotation in all
of the coverage was that of a young man yelling at police who were
handcuffing dozens of demonstrators: `"You'll have to arrest the entire
population of the world if you want to get us all!"' (December 2, p. A1).
The New York Times offered a broader context for viewing the protests.
One report noted various international views: "In some countries,
commentators could barely contain their glee at what they saw as a
humiliating blow to American domination of the world trade agenda. . .
.
Brazil and other Latin American countries view the demonstrators as
supporters of their own position—that the international economic order
is
unfair to developing countries" (December 2, p. A17). More pointed was
a report that WTO officials "ducked significant action" on the "veil of
secrecy surrounding its proceedings. . . . `In England, it was called the
Star
Chamber,'" said a Sierra Club official. Said Ralph Nader: "The first thing
a
dictator wants is for no one to know what he's doing" (December 4, p.
A6). This was as close as either newspaper came to explaining either the
WTO's workings or its history. Similarly omitted was the background of
WTO Director Mike Moore who, as a member of New Zealand's
cabinet, aided in the "massive sell-off of public assets to international
big
business"—although his administration "had no mandate for privatization"
(Guardian/Observer, letter to the editor, November 27).
The New York Times' and the Los Angeles Times' coverage was in sharp
contrast to that in Britain's daily Guardian and SundayObserver, which
ran sixty-seven stories and editorials on the Seattle protests between
November 21 and December 21, 1999. Its self-styled radical voice, made
possible by the Guardian's Scott Trust, is the "single exception" to
Britain's concentration of media ownership and the consequence that
"proprietors and their resources set clear parameters within which the
creative activity of journalism must be conducted" (as Bob Franklin
pointed out in Newszak and News Media in 1997). The parameters of
the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times become clearer when
their coverage is contrasted to that in the Guardian/Observer. Only the
latter noted the international nature of the protests. First, the Seattle
demonstrators came from various parts of the globe. Second,
"simultaneously [with the Seattle talks] . . . nearly 1,200 non-governmental
organizations in 87 countries will be calling for wholesale reform of the
WTO" (November 25). A regular reader of theGuardian/Observer
would not have been surprised by the WTO's impasse in Seattle, as there
were a number of advance reports to the effect that "divisions between
the
world's main trading blocs . . . scuppered attempts to determine an agenda
for a new round ahead of next week's meeting" (November 24).
In Seattle, the Guardian/Observer's staff filed a number of reports on
the
demonstrators' preparations: "There is a heady whiff in the air of
anti-Vietnam protests" (November 30). Both U.S. newspapers estimated
the protesters' numbers at thirty thousand; the Guardian/Observer said
one hundred thousand. Similarly, the latter newspaper was far more willing
to criticize the U.S. delegation's behavior: In the hotels, "`the U.S.
is doing
a bit of heavy arm-twisting to get some of the developing countries to
sign
up to their position, but it seems to have backfired,'" said a European
Union official (December 1). U.S. officials "left it far too late to invite
prime ministers and presidents who—once it was clear that the
negotiations could become a PR disaster—found that their diaries were
too busy to spend a couple of days in Seattle" (December 2). Most
amusing was the report of a Guardian/Observer correspondent who was
mistakenly given a delegate's credentials and thus was able to attend
closed-door meetings: Many delegates seemed to doze, and "the only sign
of life is a Latin American delegation where the minister could well be
in
love with his adviser. . . . In the far distance, one delegate is blowing
bubblegum. One by one the developing countries say their bit, but it looks
as if the gap is far too wide to be bridged" (December 3).
Only the Guardian/Observer reported that "African, Caribbean and Latin
American nations" were "furious at heavy-handed attempts by the U.S." to
pressure them to agree to a deal. The Organization for African Unity said
"that it was prepared to block agreement in protest at the way it was
excluded from behind-the-scenes discussions" (December 4). An Indian
ecologist said that the WTO "is being rejected around the world as people
recognize the face of unacceptable governance and undemocratic
law-making" (December 4). The social unrest in Seattle was summed up
by New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani: "`It indicates the remaining
damage that Marxism has done to the thinking of people'" (December 4).
When an issue is important to the state and the corporate sector, they
shape its coverage in the mainstream U.S. news media. (This point is made
more extensively by Bagdikian in The Media Monopoly and W. Lance
Bennett in his essay on press-state relations in the United States in the
Journal of Communication, Spring 1990.) For these media, a basic
critique—much less a total rejection—of the WTO is simply unthinkable.
As exemplified by the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times,
these media tended to trivialize and misrepresent the demonstrators'
perspectives, thus devaluing them and rendering them more compatible
with corporate values. This coverage is not explicable in terms of the
media's use of new technologies (e.g., laptop computers, cellular
telephones, and computerized databases). Nor is it explained by
journalists' claims to "objectivity," or by scholars' assertions that the
news
is an idiosyncratic assortment of symbols and tropes. Rather, the
mainstream U.S. news media's political economy is a far more reliable
guide to their content.
(*)WILLIAM S. SOLOMON teaches journalism
and media studies at Rutgers University. He wishes to thank Richard Smith
for his insightful critique of an earlier version of this essay.