Palestine and the Media [View All]

[bluesoul]

By JUDITH BROWN

After years of military occupation, Palestinians have many demands on their limited resources. Managing the media gets a low priority when faced with humanitarian demands from a population that needs amongst other things health care, education and replacement housing. Yet managing the media is an important way of getting your message across to a Western public that sympathises when Israelis are killed by Palestinian suicide bombers, while Palestinians are portrayed as a barbaric people who hate Israel and do not want peace.

In a conflict there are always two opposing viewpoints. The Palestinians want to present their side but are poorly resourced compared with Israel's efficient and effective media machine.

There are undoubtedly structural problems that make it easier for journalists to see the Israeli view--each Western journalist registers with the Israeli authorities, they have a handler and carry a beeper provided by Israel which keeps them up to date with news stories. They live and work in Jerusalem, where they are subject to the same fears of suicide bombs that helps them identify with Israelis. By comparison, currently only the Israeli award-winning journalist Amira Hass lives in the Palestinian territories. Access to the areas where Palestinians live is difficult. At times when there is an important news story, journalists are more likely to be denied access. Media offices are in Jerusalem, but Palestinian journalists no longer have press cards and most cannot travel into the city, which limits the chances of them working for foreign media agencies.

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Source: http://www.counterpunch.org/brown02042004.html