Media Gets Dirty Down Under – Part 2
April 30, 2012 11:34 by GuestPostAnd this brings me to the Age Foreign News Editor, Maher Mugrabi. Following the release of Gilad Shalit, the Age published an Op-Ed from Mugrabi entitled “Prisoner swap unequal to task”. After reading that piece (and others like it by Mugrabi), I’m puzzled by the Fairfax Media claim of providing balanced news from the region and wonder if this explains the body of what should be important news stories from the region that never see the light of day in the Age.
A recurring theme that demonstrates the bias of Fairfax Media journalists over the years has been the “footnote gambit”. In their writing, they will sometimes proffer a disclaimer, usually in the form of a footnote to a story; presumably to give it some context. It might be to the effect that Israel is illegally blockading Gaza to explain to the dear gullible reader why the so called “militants” are firing missiles at Israeli civilian targets (as if this somehow justifies the commission of war crimes).
No disclaimer is apparently necessary to advise the same readership that these “militants” are guided by a formal charter that calls for the destruction of Israel and genocide against all Jews and that these “militants” routinely fire their missiles from heavily populated civilian areas therefore putting innocents including their own children in the line of fire themselves or that this itself is a crime against humanity.
The events stemming from the “Arab Spring” have highlighted the poor judgment of those in the media who turned a blind eye to the tyranny, the corruption and the lies of Arab dictators who treated their own people with contempt. Assad continues to murder his own in Syria and many consumers of the news from this region are only now coming to understand that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are equally corrupt and dishonest. Yet there are those in the media who continue to provide cover for thugs who stand in the way of peace between Israel and the Palestinians and in doing so they are treating their readership with contempt.
In the case of this media organization, its readership is dwindling and profits are falling so allow me to offer my footnote.
Fairfax Media treats its readership as fools and routinely fails to live up to the words of Chairman Roger Corbett who says his newspapers are supposed to bring a “balanced point of view” to the table.
Emily Gian is the Israel Advocacy Analyst for the Zionist Council of Victoria in Australia and is a PhD Candidate in Israeli Literature.
Image: CC BY-SA HonestReporting.com, flickr/puuikibeach, flickr/Rennett Stowe.
Michael Burd
3:05 am
May 01, 2012
As someone that actively follows the ant-Israel media and anti- Israel Academia Emily Gian is spot on.
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald part of the very left wing Fairfax group which act as franchises for the UK al’ Guardian and NY Times have the same obsession with Israel.
For example there are not many main stream Newspapers that have a full time Palestinian activist who runs the foreign desk at al’ Age { when Maher Mugrabi is not acting as Foreign desk editor at Australia’s most anti Zionist Newspaper he opens Arab film festivals and is on the speaking Pro- Palestinian tour at Universities and other forums promoting the Palestinian cause and the deligitimization of Israel]
Unfortunately this same Palestinian activist is also a regular guest speaker and promoted amongst other Palestinian activists at our Largest Jewish Study Department In Melbourne. Academics at this Jewish Study department even go as far as participating in Palestinian lobby anti- Israel events. Unfortunately this Jewish study department is funded by a a few of our wealthiest Jewish Families who ignore the complaints about this departments Pro- Palestinian stance by the majority of main stream Jewish community and Main stream Jewish Zionist Organizations.In fact our largest Jewish study department may as well merge with the Arab & Islamic Study Departments .
Similar to Canada and US our government funded broadcasting networks are headed by leftists who follow the usual Leftist Arabist doctrine of obsessively demonizing Israel , hatred of US and acting as advocates for the Arab and Muslim communities.One of these 2 Government TV networks include a Muslim and Arab on a a very small board, is it any wonder this network not only has formed a relationship with AL Jazeera and takes all their feed in Australia it acts as an advocacy outlet for the Palestinians in Australia .
The left wing media In Australia have two standards one under freedom of speech where they should be allowed to incite hatred against Israeli Jews and Zionists , yet they do not use the same Freedom of speech card to ever criticize the Palestinians, Arabs or Muslims for obvious fear of repercussions . The most aggrieved Jewish supporters of Israel may ever do is write a letter to the Editor { which would be unlikely to be published]
Thank heavens we have the Murdoch press here that treats both sides equally.
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Peter Cohen
4:01 am
May 01, 2012
Maher Mugrabi is very correct in taking pride in the many good things that have been done by the Arab Muslim world, but he cannot ignore the nasties. Israel also has some nasties as do the Americans and everyone else, but balance the present Arab nasties with those of the democracies (which includes Israel) and it is clear where the scale falls.
Treatment of women, killing of their own citizens when they protest poverty and poor wealth distribution, stoning etc. Israel has the advantage that it protects its own citizens. Look at the way Hizbolla fired hundreds of rockets in an aggressive attack on Israel, building underground bunkers to store their ammunition but no shelters for their own people when Israel retaliated as any decent administration would. And what was the press reaction? Israel was using excessive force. What a joke.
The press is equally ignorant when reporting technology. Coverage of the Japanese nuclear reactor was so inaccurate I had to go onto Scientific American to learn the truth. Our journalistic standards are so bad it is better to read fiction. At least that is occasionally true. What on earth are they teaching in schools of journalism?
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RMC
7:49 am
May 04, 2012
Maher Mugrabi and all his “pure souls” left-wing friends and collaborators, wisely manipulate the average Australian Anglo-Saxon spectator, by talking about “civil rights”, “human rights” and “identity rights”. he won’t mention his real aim: to destroy Israeli independant entity and to wipe it out of a “holy soil”, as the first step in the Muslim war against the Christian one. extremist or moderate muslims, 99% of the Muslim world is committed to a violent Gihad, and he who dares to confront it, is expelled, hunted and chopped-off.
they wrap oppression and violence in purified terms. if you don’t have the right answer, go and learn Islam and its history. every time that a revolt of liberation took place in a Muslim country, it ended with more oppression, especially violation of women’s-rights. do you want to sit and discuss in European terms with someone that gives legitimacy to violation of rights, in the name of demanding those same rights for himself ? I don’t !!
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