LAWRENCE: Congregation hears ‘Why Media Gets It Wrong’

By LEa Kahn
   Early in the morning of May 30, 2010, Israeli navy personnel boarded civilian ships — known as the Gaza Freedom Flotilla — that sought to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian aid.
   The New York Times reported the flotilla was made up of peace activists, said Hillel Zaremba, the co-director of Islamist Watch. It is a project of the Middle East Forum, which seeks to encourage moderate Muslims to speak out on their own behalf.
   The Israeli navy ordered the flotilla to stop. When its leaders ignored the order, Israeli commandos boarded one of the ships. A fight ensued, which resulted in the deaths of several civilians and injuries to several commandos.
   Although newspaper accounts characterized the flotilla as being made up of peace activists, a videotape of the clash released by Israeli officials shows the civilians attacking the commandos with metal pipes and chairs as they began rappelling onto the ship from a helicopter, Mr. Zaremba said.
   ”Who do you believe? The New York Times or your lying eyes,” he asked the audience at Adath Israel Congregation last week. The May 15 presentation was titled “Why the Media Gets It Wrong About Israel.”
   And that’s the point. All too often, the press gets the story wrong, said Mr. Zaremba, who is also the former curriculum coordinator for Eyes on Israel. It is an educational project of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA).
   Why does that happen? It’s simple — a combination of ignorance, economics, pack journalism, fear and the fixer factor, Mr. Zaremba said.
   ”The first factor is ignorance,” he said. “If you go to a dentist who has never filled a cavity, you would not be in a big rush to go to him. But in the media, ignorance is not seen as a short-coming.”
   Reporters are frequently “parachuted” into an area to ask questions and write an article, he said. They are sent to the Middle East with no real understanding of the field. They ask questions, read press releases and are required to write an article, he said.
   When the reporter is pushed by the editor to get out a story by 6 p.m., “corners get cut,” Mr. Zaremba said.
   Economics also plays a role, he said. The days of the newspaper or network foreign bureau — with reporters and editors who are familiar with the territory — are over. There is no money for foreign bureaus, so reporters are sent to this country one day and another country the next day. They are expected to produce articles or film clips.
   ”The problem with left-wing and right-wing news media — the New York Times or Fox News — is economics,” he said. “They have to get a product out and get it into people’s hands. If you look at all the factors, the biggest problem is ignorance. Reporters don’t get a lot of background.”
   Pack journalism is another factor, he said. Reporters tend to report what other reporters report, he said. Reporters “go along” with whatever the editor says, he added. The point is, if a reporter tries to break out of the mold of pack journalism, it does not come easily, he said.
   The fourth factor is the fear factor, Mr. Zaremba said. Journalist Thomas Friedman recounted his experience as the New York Times bureau chief in Lebanon. He received a message from Yasser Arafat regarding a planned meeting, but the tone of it made him fearful that he would be killed[bwo: ?? who would be killed? Killed if Friedman went to the meeting?: ]. That’s why articles often take a soft approach to Middle East topics, he said.
   ”Can you imagine any American journalist taking a subservient tone? I don’t think it would happen (in the United States),” Mr. Zaremba said.
   Finally, there is the “fixer factor,” he said. When reporters arrive in East Jerusalem, for example, they need to find a translator. The translator serves two purposes — the obvious one, which is to act as a translator for a reporter who does not speak Arabic or Hebrew. The translator also arranges to take the reporter to various locations.
   ”When a reporter comes to Israel, depending on the number of Israelis who speak Arabic (and their availability), you may need an Arab,” he said. “When you are being led around by someone with a clear agenda, the reporting may not be as well rounded or objective as you would like.”
   Mr. Zaremba said Israelis also play the “fixer” game. “I would take their word a little more strongly because the Palestinians have a track record on misstatements of fact, (but) I would still not totally accept the Israelis’ word,” he said.
   Mr. Zaremba also pointed out that in the past, many reporters “learned on the job.” Most of them were not college-educated. But most reporters now go to college and many attend journalism school, he said, quickly adding that he was not trying to cast aspersions on journalism schools.
   ”But what are they being taught at the university? Is it more of an advocacy (as a journalist) to ‘right’ wrongs? Who determines the right ‘wrong,’” he said.