Whose Flag Flies Over the Burlington Free Press:
Conflicts of Interest and the U.S. military.

Vermont Independent Media
By Joshua Lambert

There is something elusive about living in a town that has only one source of printed daily news. This one available source then trumps any other, because it is the only one. And of course the fact that there are usually no disputes regarding the correctness of how information is presented, no checks and balances, is concerning. There is lack of diversity and perspective that leads one to assume that the information must be, correct, the word of God: the top stories have been carved into stone and Moses the paper boy has hurled them into our daily lives. However you put it, there is going to be an apparent sway or bias of perspective in the news. Whether a bias is based on the fact that news is inherently biased, or that information has been controlled to present information through a certain lens, news is written to voice some while silencing others.

The thought of more than one daily newspaper in any given area is a luxury for most. It is more of a side thought than a critique of the sources of printed media that are available to most consumers. The stability of a nation relies on unity within news and to be able to show few perspectives that most importantly represents the economic prosperity of the nation as a whole. What is important to some may not be to others. Voices and perspectives of discontent are not heard as loudly because they do not offer economic progress, they ask for answers and some offer solutions. On the other hand, when it comes down to it, the most prevalent reason for ever having more than one newspaper would almost ultimately be decided through the economic means of, in Burlington's case, a fairly affluent city.

One story recently published on January 29, 2008 by the Burlington Free Press caught my attention more than the usual political jargon. The story titled, "Vermont to be part of test region for new Army recruiting incentive," discussed a new recruitment incentive plan to lure potential recruits in Vermont. (1) The article states that Vermont has one of the lowest recruitment rates in the country, and out of a need to boost the lackluster recruitment, this army incentive hopes to gather more recruits. Out of the whole article, only one sentence touched upon the counter-recruitment that local high schools have been organizing. The article also did not mention the counter-recruitment efforts that veterans including, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) members had been and are working towards.

The counter-recruitment work that many high school students, IVAW members, local activists, and relatives of veterans, both living and deceased, were not important enough to illustrate in this article. Why were the voices of people who have been closely related to military recruitment silenced? A well-written article would provide a balanced perspective, however, this article did not. How is this article supposed to be perceived? Should it be read as an advertisement for new army incentives, or simply news about the army?

Is the Burlington Free Press somehow affiliated with the U.S. military? Looking into the ownership of the Burlington Free Press would be the best way to see if they are affiliated. The owner of the Burlington Free Press is Gannett Co. Inc. Their mission statement reads: To successfully transform Gannett to the new environment. We will provide must-have news and information on demand across all media, ever mindful of our journalistic responsibilities. Their mission statement is very broad and can be read in a variety of ways. The broadness and looseness of Gannett's mission statement lacks concreteness and definition, so to be able to know their exact mission is almost impossible.

The list of newspapers and television stations that they own is impressive. Their arsenal includes 85 daily newspapers in the U.S., nearly 1,000 non-daily newspapers, 23 television stations and others ventures including web design and on-line marketing solutions. Gannett is the largest newspaper publisher in the United States, and second largest in the U.K. Gannett's publications reach over 23 million people within the U.S.(2)

Gannett also owns the Army Times Publishing Company, which publishes the Army Times, Navy Times, Marine Corps Times, Air Force Times, Federal Times, Defense News, Armed Forces Journal, C4ISR Journal, and Training and Simulation Journal. The Army Publishing Co. reaches over 360,000 people.(3)

What does this all mean? If a company, which prints pro-military publications, owns the Burlington Free Press, then is the Burlington Free Press pro-military, or is it merely coincidence?

Gannet has a financial interest in not representing the points of view of the counter-recruiters. Clearly Gannet has and will have a conflict of interest with reporting fair and accurate news as long as they have a contract with the U.S. military.

What choices are we left with when the one daily newspaper in Burlington publishes certain perspectives over others? Gannett's flag is flying high over the Burlington Free Press, and possibly through the discovery of a newspapers ownership, there may be a way to understand the reasons why some news is presented in a certain way. Whether or not the Burlington Free Press’s relationship with the U.S. military does bias their news is a question that readers have to decide.

Contact Joshua Lambert with any questions or comments regarding this article at: jlambert (at) justice.com

Sources and Links:

1) Burlington Free Press Article:
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article

2) Gannett Corporation:
www.gannett.com/about/company_profile.htm

3) Army Times Publishing Co:
www.gannett.com/about/map/armytimes.htm