US of AIPAC moron bends over for Zionists.

Jonsa · Aug 25, 2011

snakestretcher said: ↑

Little wonder right-wing Americans are thought of as the village idiots of the world.
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"right" on.

Jonsa · Aug 25, 2011

zulu1 said: ↑

Media bias is an issue that ought not to be underestimated. Professional journalists reporting from the Middle East ought to be discomfited by the publication of More Bad News From Israel, an updated study by Greg Philo and Mike Berry of the Glasgow University Media Group (Pluto Press, 2011; first edition published as Bad News From Israel in 2004).

The book examines media coverage of the conflict in Israel and Palestine, and the impact of this reporting on public opinion. In the largest study of its kind ever undertaken, the authors illustrate major biases in the way Palestinians and Israelis are represented in the media, including how casualties, and the motives and rationale of the different parties involved, are depicted. In follow-up interviews with viewers and listeners, the book also reveals the extraordinary differences in levels of public knowledge and understanding of the conflict. It is significant that gaps in public understanding often reflect the propaganda generated by Israel and its supporters in the West. Indeed, the book exposes the 'success of the Israelis in establishing key elements of their perspective and the effect of these being relayed uncritically in media accounts'.

In a powerful new chapter, Philo and Berry present an in-depth analysis of BBC and ITV news coverage of the 2008-2009 Israeli attack on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead. On 27 December 2008, Israel launched a massive series of assaults on the densely-populated strip of land with F-16 fighter jets, Apache helicopters and unmanned drones. Attacks with tanks and ground troops followed. 22 days later, the total number of Palestinian dead was estimated by B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights group, as 1,389. The death toll included 318 children. Ten Israeli soldiers were also killed, four of them in 'friendly fire' incidents. During the attacks, Israeli forces repeatedly bombed schools, medical centres, hospitals, ambulances, UN buildings, power plants, sewage plants, roads, bridges and civilian homes.

The researchers recorded, transcribed and analysed over 4000 lines of broadcast news text from both the BBC and ITV (it is not stated explicitly, but one assumes these 4000 lines were shared approximately equally between the two broadcasters).

'The most striking feature of the news texts', write Philo and Berry, 'is the dominance of the Israeli perspective, in relation to the causes of the conflict.'

Specifically, they note that the Israeli themes of 'ending the rockets' (fired from Gaza by Hamas into Israel), the 'need for [Israel's] security' and to 'stop the smuggling of weapons' (by Hamas into Gaza) received a total of 316.5 lines of text from the BBC. Other Israeli propaganda messages, such as the need to 'hit Hamas' and that 'Hamas and terrorists are to blame', received 62 lines on BBC News. The total for Israeli explanatory statements on the BBC was 421.25. This compared with a much lower total for Hamas/Palestinian explanations of just 126.25. In ITV News coverage, there were over 302 lines relating to Israeli explanatory statements but just 78 for Hamas/Palestinian.

But even these 126.25 BBC and 78 ITV lines of 'explanations' of the Palestinian perspective lacked substance: 'the bulk of the Palestinian accounts do not explain their case beyond saying that they will resist.' What was almost non-existent were crucial facts about 'how the continuing existence of the blockade affects the rationale for Palestinian action and how they see their struggle against Israel and its continuing military occupation.'

For the Palestinians, then, the military occupation of their lands and the crushing blockade of Gaza are utterly central to the 'conflict'. But on BBC News there were just 14.25 lines referring to the occupation and only 10.5 on the ending of the siege/blockade. ITV News had 12.25 lines on ending the siege/blockade and a single line about the occupation. The bias is glaring.

Instead of adequately explaining the Palestinian viewpoint, BBC and ITV news heavily reflected Israeli propaganda:

'The dominant explanation for the attack [Operation Cast Lead] was that it was to stop the firing of rockets by Hamas. The offer that Hamas was said to have made, to halt this in exchange for lifting the blockade (which Israel had rejected), was almost completely absent from the coverage.'

In short, news coverage of the brutal assault was skewed by the Israeli perspective, perpetuating 'a one-sided view of the causes of the conflict by highlighting the issue of the rockets without reporting the Hamas offer', and by burying rational views on the purpose of the attack: namely the Israeli desire to inflict collective punishment on the Palestinian people.

In classic academic understatement, Philo and Berry conclude:

"It is difficult in the face of this to see how the BBC can sustain a claim to be offering balanced reporting."

This is consistent with Chomsky and Herman's seminal "propaganda model" that is equally applicable to US media. The biases are institutionally entrenched. We can take some comfort in the knowledge that the Murdoch empire is likely to crumble. The key issue is who will fill the vaccum?
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I'm not aware of any media that doesn't display some form of editorial bias.
Fox suborned "Fair and Balanced" and the irony is a ton of people actually believe it.

There also isn't any question of the bias in western reporting wrt the Israeli/palestinian conflict.

I can only speak to north american media, but its pretty clear that they are on the side of Israel. And for the most part so are the people.

I understand that in Europe the people have a pretty negative opinion of Israel, although the reports comments on UK media seem to buck that popular opinion. Is it the same for other EU media?

Iolo · Aug 26, 2011

'This message has been deleted by daisydotell. Reason: Personal attack and response.'

Remarkable, in a message in which no person was mentioned!

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US of AIPAC moron bends over for Zionists.

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