A week has passed since the British Guardian newspaper ran its remarkable exposé of how CNN’s top leadership deliberately distorts the cable network’s coverage of Israel’s assault on Gaza — but so far, the rest of the U.S. mainstream media establishment has not said a single word about the scandal.
Nothing at all on MSNBC. Nothing in the New York Times. Nothing on National Public Radio. Nothing in the Washington Post. Nothing on the PBS News Hour. And of course nothing on CNN itself, not even an effort to refute the charges.
Astonishingly, the only U.S. publication to report anything was the New York Post, the tabloid that often stretches the definition of a “newspaper.” In fact, though, the Post’s report was a legitimate article, which accurately summarized many of the Guardian’s findings. The Post’s first sentence said clearly: “CNN is facing a backlash from some of its own staffers who allege there is a ‘systemic and institutional bias within the network toward Israel.’” The Post is a far right-wing paper, but it didn’t muzzle its reporters.
Let’s be clear; the Guardian is not a fringe, alternative newspaper. It is 203 years old, arguably Britain’s best mainstream publication, and in recent years it has expanded its coverage into the United States.
The U.S. mainstream silence is incomprehensible. Normally, when one paper or network breaks a major story, its rivals try to “match” it, ruefully admitting that their rival got there first, but vigorously pursuing their own leads to try and add to it.
Not here. Instead, a major new addition to the story happened right at this site, as Phil Weiss reported in detail that the very top man at CNN’s parent company is a committed and outspoken Zionist, a fact the Guardian did not include in its report. David Zaslov’s statements are on the public record, and there was no need to find internal memos or anonymous whistle-blowers. The Guardian report had pointed to CNN’s editor-in-chief, Mark Thompson, as a major culprit, but in fact some of the blame apparently goes even higher.
Let’s just repeat some the facts that the vast majority of Americans who don’t read the Guardian are being denied. The British paper — it has no paywall — used six inside sources and certain internal documents to point out that CNN warps its coverage in the same way authoritarian regimes manage the news:
“. . . daily news decisions are set by a flow of directives from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta that have set strict guidelines on coverage.”
“ They include tight restrictions on quoting Hamas and reporting other Palestinian perspectives while Israel government statements are taken at face value.”
And:
“In addition, every story on the conflict must be cleared by the Jerusalem bureau before broadcast or publication.”
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/cnn-biased-coverage-gaza-war
Americans have little trust in political or civic institutions for good reason. A press in a free country controlled by monied interests gets the stories less right than a press in a closed country that is motivated to tell the truth, but not in its own country. So you have CNN, NYT or Al-Jazeera. Al Jazeera is getting the story (Haaretz too) better than any western press, it’s not even close. A press that needs capitalism is controlled by money and advertisers. It’s quite apparent that it is not the best type of press to cover wars or international issues.
US media has long been biased. And in many ways on many issues, especially on Israel. In the 80’s most executive producers in news were biased.
Key reason to resist by influencing public opinion, building political bridges, and undermining established narratives. Paths with promise.
IMO, believers in armed resistance waylay the effort toward peaceful co-existence.