Posted on 08/09/2006 2:45:18 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
As a veteran journalist who has been in countless war zones around the world (especially the Middle East) as an NBC network correspondent, it pains me to see what passes for accurate coverage in the early stages of a conflict like the one between Israel and Hezbollah.
Because almost none of the American television networks have a vast stable of experienced reporters any longer who understand the region, they employ the old "parachute them in" philosophy, i.e. dispatching perfectly good -- and frequently very young -- journalists, few of whom have any experience in covering this story and don’t stand a snowball's chance in Gaza of getting it right initially. They engage in what I call "nerve end journalism." reporting what they think they see in one of the most confusing places on earth, with very little context. Their movements are also very restricted by both sides.
In the case of Beirut and other parts of Lebanon under the control of terrorists, Hezbollah usually runs daily press tours, making sure reporters and photographers see the worse that Israel has inflicted -- killing civilians, etc. -- in order to slate the coverage, but never reveals that Hezbollah uses private homes, mosques, schools, hospitals and other public buildings for their headquarters or to launch their lethal missiles.
Then there's the danger factor if a reporter angers his terrorist tour guides. Christopher Albritton, a freelance contributor for Time magazine, wrote in his blog a couple of weeks ago, "To the south, Hezbollah is launching Katyushas, but I'm loathe to say too much about them. The Party of God has a copy of every journalists' passport and they've already hassled a number of us and threatened one." They also take pictures of all journalists, warning they better follow the ground rules or else. Terrorists in that part of the world have been doing this for years.
"Hezbollah has a very sophisticated and slick media operation in suburban Beirut," says CNN’s Nic Robertson, one of the few seasoned TV reporters out there. "They deny journalists access." He adds that the terrorist group, "designated the places that we went to and we certainly didn't have time to go into houses or lift up the rubble to see what is underneath. They realize this is a good way for them to get their message out." So what you see back home is precisely what Hezbollah dictates.
On the Israeli side where there tends to be more experienced reporters like NBC's Martin Fletcher who has covered the region for three decades, journalists are rarely permitted access to fighting, but they are relatively free to cover civilian targets and casualties. But because these pictures are usually not as dramatic as those coming from Lebanon, network producers tend to lead with them while pushing Israel’s explanation for its actions further down the show to a position that casual viewers might never see.
Best advice. Reporting has been so inconsistent, if you really want to know what is going on, check out all the networks -- broadcast and cable -- as well as print sources and the Internet. Otherwise, you will never know if you are getting the straight scoop on the confusing Israeli-Hezbolla imbroglio.
Captain's Quarters comments:
NBC Newsman Says Don't Believe War Reporting
August 09, 2006
*****************AN EXCERPT *************************
Many of us in the blogosphere have argued that the coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict has shown bias, and in the case of Reuters, outright fraud. The media has not defended itself much in the wake of the wire-service scandal, and now a veteran correspondent from NBC tells Florida residents that the media has indeed stopped providing rational coverage:
See Above........
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As Ike Seamans explains, the bald propaganda efforts hardly provide the worst-case scenario with Hezbollah. The terrorists keep copis of the passports of all journalists in the area, making them very nervous about reporting anything remotely critical of Hezbollah. Michael Totten had the same problem during a period of relative peace in Beirut, and one can deduce that Hezbollah takes message discipline much more seriously lately.
Seamans points out a problem that has afflicted news organizations for decades: turnover and financial performance. Seamans, who has the experience and context necessary to even hope for an objective assessment on the ground, sits in Florida. Meanwhile, brave but inexperienced journalists get thrown into a conflict that they do not understand well enough to report correctly, and have too little context to read between the lines Hezbollah hands them -- even if they want to defy the terrorists to report honestly from Lebanon.
Meanwhile, news services increasingly rely on stringers for their reports, and usually this means publishing pictures or reports from people who may have other loyalties. As the meltdown of Reuters shows, when media outlets rely on people like Adnan Hajj with little or no editorial control, they turn themselves into propaganda providers, not news organizations. One would think that an editor would understand the pitfalls of relying on locals in a war for objective reporting, but not only do they fail to consider it, the editors pass along their product without any serious review.
This results in a distorted and dangerously biased view of the situation. In one day, we heard that an Israeli strike killed 40 civilians, which then got corrected to one. The editors love sensational headlines, and the Hezbollah terrorists and their apologists deliver them in spades. Reporters in Israel get less handling and have freedom of movement in the civilian centers of Israel, but the more accurate reporting originating in Israel's north doesn't have the "grab" of Fuad Saniora's sobs.
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See CQ for much more........
CNN confessed that they knew of abuse and torture under Saddam but they remained quiet to maintain their Baghdad bureau.
Odd that the media will never hold their tongue when reporting bad news about the US.
What's more, they are quick to run any suspicions as "truth" which only enflames the region.
No one is saying "don't investigate and prosecute" the troops. Abu Ghraib was already being addressed when the media exploited it to try to turn support for the war and Bush. It was one of the men under investigation who leaked the images; with the aid of Ramsey Clark.
So start with a general left-bias, add in a dose of raw fear of their arab hosts, and you get what you get.
Let's see how the MSM slants the fact that Iranian soldiers were killed in fighting in Lebanon today?
My memory is getting sketchy, but the sound of that name ranks right up there with the Iranian named Goatsbody during the idiot Carter's hostage crisis, to me!!!
I mean, heck, we couldn't possibly do as much harm as the MSM has already done. Anything we might do would surely be anti-climactic, right???
The TV stations and newspapers need to make this clear in all their articles. 'Passed Hez-Ebola Censorship'.
That paragraph is exactly the reason I thought it might be useful to post this !
Berri .... maybe?
Not that I can help any but lots of folks on here with a long memory!
A lot of folks here are in the know, know people in the know, have people being deployed, or are returning from deployment etc.
Seemingly innocent revelations can have profound impact and importance for someone else.
Better safe than sorry.
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.
also Keywords 2006israelwar or WOT [War on Terror]
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The MSM may vary well be a 5th column, but we won't be.
There can be NO comparison, let alone some sort of equivalence... not in a million years! They hate their own nation's superpower status and we seek to expand our worldwide exceptionalism!!!
Well, there's always that .56%; newbies, or seasoned FR veteran's in the heat of a discussion, that might let something slip. It's just a friendly reminder. A reminder that I'd like to think we'd heed, even while the MSM totally disregards it.
Did you hear about the latest from the NY Slimes?
As I understand it ( from Foxnews) The supposed body pulled from the rubble , in South Lebanon, is now alive and walking around,...he was helping with the rescue of others when he was pulled from debri and an eager photographer got the picture.....
One must add into this the general anti-Israel antipathy that seems to go hand-in-hand with left-bias....
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