Media Watchdog
Reporting on Gaza is about keeping the viewers at peace

Reporting on Gaza is about keeping the viewers at peace

57% of Americans feel Israel is justified in its actions against Gaza; only 1 in 4 say the attacks are unjustified.

Asif H Sheikh November 24, 2012

“Follow the money…just follow the money.”

The infamous dialogue said by Hal Holbrook playing ‘Deep Throat’ in the movie ‘All the President’s Men’ still holds a lot of wisdom today in understanding as to why the media behaves the way it does.

So when I saw the onslaught of memes on Facebook and angry tweets crying foul on the biased coverage by the Western media on the Gaza issue, it made me think of old Deep Throat.

News organisations worldwide claim to be bastions of objectivity, fairness, balance and accuracy; they have to.

After all, who would watch a news channel that doesn’t make such promises?

But what should be kept in mind is that the vast majority of news organisations worldwide are owned by parent companies whose sole objective is to make a profit. Global giants like News Corporation, Time Warner and NBC Universal treat their news gathering and broadcasting divisions as any business would treat a product.

To understand this further, let’s think of ‘news’ as a ‘product’.

Following basic business principles, for a product to be successful it has to appeal to a targeted consumer group, in this case the viewers. The news has to be such that it caters to the preferences of the biggest possible viewer group where the product is available ─ or news is broadcast.

In my opinion, the biased coverage of what’s happening in Gaza, and a lot of other issues, can be explained with this understanding.

According to a recent CNN/ORC poll, 57% of Americans feel that Israel is justified in taking military action in Gaza; with just one in four saying the attacks are unjustified. That means more than half of the potential viewers of CNN have a predisposed inclination of feeling sympathetic with stories highlighting the difficulty and hardship that the Israelis have to endure living with the threat of Hamas rocket strikes rather than of the dozens getting killed by Israel’s pounding of Gaza.

(Israeli children react during a Palestinian rocket attack in the southern strip of Ashkelon, neighbouring the Gaza strip. PHOTO: AFP)

The conclusion; CNN has to wrap its news in such a way that it resonates with the preference of the most number of viewers, that is what will boost it ratings allowing it to receive more advertisement and gain revenue.

Israel

(Israelis react as they run for cover while a siren wails during a rocket attack by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip in the southern city of Ashdod on November 20. PHOTO: AFP)

Now I know a lot of people would argue that things are the other way round, it is the news channels that shape viewer opinions and that is also true. The media as a whole, not just news, has a great potential to shape viewer opinions.

But in this particular instance, I am discussing the Gaza-Israel issue.

Israel is touted almost every day by American politicians and business leaders as United States’ greatest ally in the Middle East. The reason why Israel has such a unique status merits a blog post on its own. A lot of people in the United States genuinely do support Israel in almost all its endeavours, as a matter of fact, no national politician here can even dream of getting elected into office without showing overt support for Israel.

Panetta and Barak in Ashkelon - Reuters - August 1, 2012

Panetta and Barak in Ashkelon - Reuters - August 1, 2012

(US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak hold a joint news conference. PHOTO: REUTERS)

(Jihad Masharawi, a Palestinian employee of BBC carries the body of his 11-month-old son who was killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza. PHOTO: REUTER)

It’s not just the media in the United States; examples of news organisations shifting the direction of their coverage to accommodate public opinion is widespread.

In 2009, Tony Benn’s, accusing the BBC of falling under Israeli governmental pressure not to air Gaza aid appeal, video has become a YouTube sensation. But what must be remembered is that following public outcry, BBC and all other news outlets in the UK did broadcast the Gaza aid appeal.

Yes the BBC is not a for-profit organisation but it also values its ratings!

On the other side, we have the likes of Al Jazeera, which caters primarily to an Arab speaking audience around the world, especially in the Middle East where people are more inclined towards the Palestinian cause. It clearly shows biases on the other side of the fence. The news script used by its anchors and the time dedicated by it to showing the woes of the people of Gaza are self evident.

(A Palestinian man kisses the body of one of his children during their funeral in the northern Gaza Strip, November 18, 2012. PHOTO: REUTERS)

That is not to say that true journalism is dead.

All the aforementioned organisations have world-class journalists working for them who sometimes put their lives in danger to put the truth out. However, the technological changes in the way that the news is broadcast allow these organisations to package news in such a way that it focuses more on the side of the story they choose to promote. This varies from a dramatic close up picture of a relative of one of the five Israelis killed crying in mourning to the video clips of Palestinian youngsters waving AK-47’s in the air shouting slogans in an alien language...

Follow Asif on Twitter @asifhasansheikh

WRITTEN BY:
Asif H Sheikh A freelance journalist currently pursuing a Masters degree from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs specialising in International Political Economy. He tweets @asifhasansheikh (twitter.com/asifhasansheikh)

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (29)

aman | 11 years ago | Reply media doing there job they dont care how many peoples got killed all they care about is TRP .

Muneeb Qasim | 11 years ago | Reply Agree with the statement of FS . Actually Media is not perform their duties properly . As we all know we move easily where media can move us . That is the main problem like as the no of peoples dying daily posses no importance and the girl "MALALA" took a huge fame from media ....

VIEW MORE COMMENTS

little angel | 11 years ago | Reply I coulfnt agree with a few things the author mentioned. I condemn the attacks as much as everyone else but you need to keep in account the wconstant hostility shown by hammas as well. My heart cries for the kids falling victim to the Israeli attacks. But what happens to the attacks made on the Israelis by hammas?

Sami Wahab | 11 years ago | Reply @Mazna Abrar: There is a reason it's called mass media, it appeals to the masses, if you we are not prepared to hear all sides to the story, money making media won't show it.

M. Iqbal | 11 years ago | Reply @ G. Din. That is a new view point of view. May be we are missing on something here. Care to explain?

Afsheen | 11 years ago | Reply Also, the way pakistani media is so prompt on showing all the other things happening in the world.. Had we covered this the way it was supposed to be covered, alot of ppl would know the true facts about the war by now.

Afsheen | 11 years ago | Reply I wnt comment much on how the Israel Palestine situation was portrayed in the western media. What I wud like to point at is the fact tht the Pakistani media is not far behind in concealing the news. I wud say, giving a biased opinion is a type of terrorism in itself.

Mazna Abrar | 11 years ago | Reply @Sami Wahab: Well the truth is that people are being killed be it in Palestine aur Israel, projection of media may be negative but people have their brains even to analyse these things...taking Asif's marketing example further, you don't buy all the things that is advertised, do you? Like wise most of the sensationalism is not bought by the viewers even :) only a certain group/category of people do fall for it :)

Sami Wahab | 11 years ago | Reply @G. Din: What are you even talking about?

Sirena | 11 years ago | Reply Thank you for such an interesting read! I do believe in what you are saying but what a wonderful way to put it into words. Will definitely be on the lookout for more of your articles!

sirena | 11 years ago | Reply So, let me guess, u got this information from western-based news stations? Regardless, it would be useful for you to go read some history to learn that no war is as simple and one-sided as the war u've apparently just summed up in one paragraph. Make your opinion after you have properly examined each side of the war and the history behind the whole thing, and don't forget to take into account the face that is has been established (not by US media of course, but by the UN and intl law) that the presence of Israel is illegal. Be open-minded please. Thank you.

Saima | 11 years ago | Reply Ofcourse, just look at all the bollywood stuff on Pakistani channels...giving consumers what they want even if it hurts our own industry.

Sami Wahab | 11 years ago | Reply @Mazna Abrar: Thats why you will never know the whole truth.

RAA | 11 years ago | Reply Interesting read, look forward to your future articles.

Dr SKA | 11 years ago | Reply You would like to hope that 'true journalism', in your words, is not dead- that the average journalist still has the intention of presenting the 'truth' regardless of the views of those who choose to believe it.

Dr SKA | 11 years ago | Reply I appreciate that this article has not entered into the debate of the rights and wrongs of the conflict, or indeed the rights and wrongs of its presentation in the media- but rather has offered a unique persepctive of the way in which the conflict is presented in the media and the reasons for that.

Shoaib Sheikh | 11 years ago | Reply Great report, sometimes blogs are more reliable than news reports. News reports are very one-sided, they don't cover all aspects of what they are reporting to the public. The media has to stop thinking about money and the amount of viewers that they have, and start thinking about giving the public trustworthy information.

Shoaib | 11 years ago | Reply Great report, news is very biased nowadays, they only look at some aspects of a situation, not all of it. Although the media these organisations want to make money and attract more viewers, they need to look at what's important and what the public want. Blogs can sometimes be more reliable than news reports.

D | 11 years ago | Reply Very true words written here. The News is a business and it's hard to find non-biased media coverage. Important issues need a fair and balanced view to be portrayed in order for us to make an informed decision..

Abdul | 11 years ago | Reply In my opinion 99% of the media controlled on what they can show and say on tv

G. Din | 11 years ago | Reply Hamas wants nothing less than extermination of Israel and Jews. It is in their constitution. Do the Arab news outlets bring this forth in their reporting of this conflict? Israel has shown exemplary constraint after a 1000 rockets had hit them. Wars are not calibrated operations. People will die especially if those rocket batteries are located in civil quarters and mosques. Any side can bring out tearjerkers in their reporting. If you want objectivity in reporting, then show the way yourself. The fact that PLO has been sidelined by Hamas takes away any right to moan and wail from those who support Hamas. It is natural to expect that they would reap the consequences of Hamas' intransigence.

zohaib Faizi | 11 years ago | Reply The media is controlled, the missiles are controlled, the killings are planned and the terrorists are calling the innocent terrorists. This blog is an eye opener. Great work bro!

Mazna Abrar | 11 years ago | Reply Its really nice from the journalism point of view!! Only :) other wise im also 'the biased viewer'

Raj | 11 years ago | Reply Media is like a mirror of the society which reflect each and everything about the society to us. But one also can not overlook this fact that slowly commercialization is also coming in media. Media has a huge responsibility of conveying the truth and relevant information to the common man. But somewhere this seems to be taking a back seat for media people as they are focusing more on commercialization. Now a days, hot news which can help in increasing the TRP rates of the channel becomes the priority for them.

Aamir | 11 years ago | Reply Nice information......journalism without agenda is important.....

Bernadette Lacroix Bjornson | 11 years ago | Reply Looking at this very tragic situation -I think the only way that it could be solved would be the way the Romans and the Sabines were brought to peace was when the Sabine Women came between the two armys and held the children that they had from the Romans that had occupied them . The Jews and the Palestinians are not able to find piece-mostly as the Palestinians are paying the cost of the sins of Europe. This situation is very terrible and very unjust. It would be a help if the press and other medias were to educate the public about a way to bring peace - looking at the fact that the Palestinians have been living there forever- the way most media seems to rant-is that the Palestinians are terorists-well look back to WW2 -how else were the peoples under the thumb of the Germans - Partisans had to fight and die for the freedom that had to come. What is terrorism - it is about war-on both sides. USE YOUR POWER TO EDUCATE ! My great-grandfather died at the Battle of Belfort in France -in the war of 1870. That dying Lion symbolises the tragic end of good people who are sent to war and die there. To see that dying Lion of Belfort brings sadness and resolve- that we are all the same-and it is more than time to bring solutions.for seing the "OTHER" as the same-caught in history-with the manipulators at ease with the $$$$$$ that is made by this tragic situation. BERNADETTE LACROIX BJORNSON

A. | 11 years ago | Reply It's the money as well as the political influence affiliated with almost all the news channels these days. It's absolutely heartbreaking to see how they say that the media is completely independent . The sad part comes when despite the fact that independent journalists want to cover the inhumane attacks, they are suppressed either by political influences or by giving this genocide a mere slogan of self defence. A really good effort. Atleast I see one place where the Israelis are not being portrayed as the most bechaaray ppl on the planet.

Sami Wahab | 11 years ago | Reply Yes the media has to make money too. That's why I trust blogs more than mainstream news..and I hate those news talk shows. They all have some agenda behind them. Good work.

Fs | 11 years ago | Reply Very true....... Coverage is getting more and more one-sided Media needs to cover the whole story Not just bits and pieces........

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