War and Peace Final Project

What really happened?

I found several videos that include images of police attacking peaceful protesters as they chanted “no violence.” Military tanks were on the city streets of Seattle and police tear gassed, beat, and shot rubber bullets at the protesters. It wasn’t until much later in the demonstrations, and years after that the media acknowledged the police brutality. The acknowledgment of the violation of constitutional rights by the media was a good thing, but in my opinion it came too late. More importantly, the focus on violence has created what our text called the amnesia affect.

Significant Findings

What I found most significant was the media coverage during the protests. The New York Times printed a flawed article accusing demonstrators of being extremely violent. A retraction was printed two days later, but the damage was done. Other news networks followed the initial coverage of The Times and focused on “violent protesters,” instead of police brutality and the message behind the demonstration.

The mayor of Seattle declared a civil emergency and called in The National Guard Troops. Protestors were portrayed as violent anarchist. A large portion of the early media coverage focused on the destruction of public property by a small group of those protesting against the WTO. A small group of individuals who used violence to relay a message became the media’s focus and this was used to justify the brutality against all demonstrators, even the majority who were there to protest peacefully.

Battle In Seattle (Background)

In 1999, The World Trade Organization convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington to introduce and launch a new millennial round of trade negotiations. It is estimated that more than 40,000 people gathered to protest the controversial labor standards, fair trade standards, and environmental protection, under The WTO’s negotiations. The protest was also to speak out against the overall negative effects globalization has on poor nations. Some of the organizations that were targeted include but are not limited to, Banana Republic, Old Navy, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Warner Bros.
Prior to the “Battle in Seattle,” media coverage was mixed. Some international coverage sided with the growing conscription against globalization. A London newspaper accused the WTO of being, “More concerned with increasing private profit than with all other considerations, including the well-being and quality of life of the mass of the world's people,"

Objective:

There was an underlying theme this semester as we debated the possibility and importance of peace journalism in our society. As a class we agreed that, in theory, peace journalism could create the framework needed to understand other cultures, break down communication barriers on an international level, and eliminate the fear and hate of “other.” For my final project I analyzed media coverage of two similar protests in hopes of demonstrating the power the media has in terms of shaping public opinion and the construction of public memory. Further more, I aim to demonstrate the ways in which the media reinforces the idea of what it means to belong to “the nation,” through journalistic practices that allow political agenda to shape our news.