Mick Hartley

HonestReporting have a communique on “The Over-Reporting of Israel” (via Allah Is In The House)

When was the last time your daily paper didn’t include an item on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

With over 900 articles on this conflict emerging on an average day from English-language media outlets, Israel ― a tiny nation the size of the state of New Jersey ― receives approximately 75 times more coverage than other areas of equal population. In comparison to other nations involved in armed conflict (where world media attention increases), Israel receives over 10 times more coverage by population. […]

The over-reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an important element of anti-Israel bias for two reasons:

● DISTORTION OF GEOGRAPHIC REALITY ― The prominence granted to Israeli power though massive news coverage distorts the geographic reality: Israel is a tiny nation surrounded by Arab states that, at best, coldly tolerate Israel’s existence. To the average news consumer, this key strategic reality is lost behind the barrage of Israel headlines that give one the impression Israel has a large physical presence in the Mideast.

In fact, one could jog from the West Bank to the Mediterranean Sea in little over an hour. Israeli leaders communicate this point to foreign diplomats by taking them on a helicopter ride from Tel Aviv, flying east toward the West Bank. After a few short minutes, they turn to guests and say: ‘I’ll let you know when we’ve crossed into the West Bank…We already did.’ This, to disabuse foreign guests of the notion that Israel is much larger than their regular news providers suggest.

● EXCESSIVE SCRUTINY OF ISRAEL ― Israel’s conscientious anti-terror effort is scrutinized by the world press in a manner no other nation is forced to confront.

For example, while tens of thousands have been massacred and gross human rights violations have struck African nations such as Congo and Sudan, the over-reporting of Israel focuses far more concern on alleged IDF insensitivity to Palestinians. As Harvard’s Zuckerman finds himself asking, ‘How many Congolese would need to be slaughtered to make the front page of the New York Times?’