I watch and read a lot of news, and this past week in Israel that was particularly difficult. Horrid tales of inhumanity, from innocent civilians, babies, and seniors butchered by terrorists, and indiscriminate bombing of non-combatants trapped in Gaza. CNN on all day long, Jake Tapper, Erin Burnett, and Anderson Cooper narrating the worst random killing since the Holocaust. Then the more succinct, but equally chilling network newscasts with outstanding work by MarthaRaqddatz and Panell on ABC, Richard Engell at NBC, and Holly Williams and Charlie D’Ageta at CBS.
The anchors brought viewers close to the pain and heartache of the families of hostages with on-the-scene reporting. The New York Times and Washington Post delivered powerful storytelling from the ground but made major mistakes in covering the tragic hospital bombing that killed hundreds and served as a propaganda weapon for Hamas. Both jumped to the conclusion that Israel was responsible for hitting the hospital with an aircraft-delivered missile.
Much of the media took a Hamas written press release as damning evidence that the IDF was responsible. Only to find out days later, after the damage was done, that video from an Arab outlet, Al Jazeera, actually showed the errant rocket came from the other direction, from an area controlled by terrorists. Later reporting even showed the rocket, didn’t hit the hospital, but the parking lot in front. And the crater from the hit was smaller than the damage done by Israeli jet-fired missiles.
It was errant reporting that led to immediate protests across the Arab world. And no matter how much backtracking is done, will make it difficult to change the minds of Israel’s enemies looking for a reason to wipe Jews from the region. Since journalists are aware that initial reports in war are often wrong, The New York Times‘ prominent headline attributing the blast to Israelis was irresponsible and could lead to a wider war.
In fact, days after the hospital tragedy, the Times was forced to apologize, writing “the early coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert, and social media channels— relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an inccorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.” The Times says it is reviewing policy in an effort to do better.
CNN and other mainstream media were guilty of the same rush to blame, rather than cautious fact-checking, especially when the information was coming from Hamas, a terrorist organization. Does the IDF spin and hide the facts, yes and their reports should be viewed with skepticism as well.
Israel is an American ally, and the initial victims here were Israeli, so the tendency is to tell the story from its viewpoint. Reporters are allowed to travel to Tel Aviv and elsewhere in relative safety. So reporting the Israeli view is much easier. Reporting from Gaza is not easy, it’s dangerous and logistically impossible. There are very few Western reporters on the ground in Gaza, so reporting the Palestinian story is tricky. Clarissa Ward of CNN was in southern Gaza watching the first aid trucks waiting to pass through the Egyptian border, and heard directly from Gazans deeply skeptical of Western media.
They yelled that CNN and others from the West were not giving equal weight to the civilian deaths happening among Palestinian people. It’s a complaint editors in the United States should hear.
Finally, this week, I want to remind readers of a national treasure of journalism. After a week of watching death and destruction in real-time, it was a pleasure to watch CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley. Holly Williams and Lee Cowan brought thoughtful accounts of the week’s events in the Middle East, but more importantly, brought context to the story. And a balanced commentary at the end of the program reminded us that the terrorist attack in Israel is inexcusable, but there are peace-loving Palestinians suffering as well.
Plus, Sunday Morning took us away from the war for a few minutes with the Arts that replenish the soul. Pieces on Henry Mancini and Buddy Guy and in politics a well-done report on Mitt Romney. None of it erased the pain we are all suffering because of the tragic events in Israel, but hopefully reminds us why the news media can bring us peace as well as war.
Jim Avila previously served as a weekly columnist for Barrett News Media. An Award-winning journalist with four decades of reporting and anchoring experience, Jim worked as Senior National Correspondent, 20/20 Correspondent, and White House Correspondent for ABC News. Prior to his time with ABC, he spent a decade with NBC News, and worked locally in Los Angeles and Chicago for KNBC, and WBBM. He can be found on Twitter @JimAvilaABC.
