Looking at the skewed coverage of the Mughrabi Gate dig, Jerusalem Post columnist Michael Freund concludes that bloggers were a better source of info than the MSM, and that hasbara efforts should give greater weight to the blogosphere:
But one item already unearthed by this dig should have us all deeply concerned, and that is the mainstream media’s disgraceful habit of parroting Arab propaganda.
It was just a few weeks ago that a shocking array of prominent media outlets, in their coverage of this non-event, went about spreading one irresponsible and malicious lie after another about the Mughrabi Gate dig, tarnishing Israel’s image and inflaming public opinion against the Jewish state….
AT THE height of the Mughrabi Gate crisis earlier this month it was the blogosphere which played a critical role in getting out the truth, just as it did during last summer’s Lebanon war….
SURE, mainstream entities such as CNN, the BBC and The New York Times will continue to dominate the news business for years to come. But the battle for public opinion is far from being a lost cause. Israel just needs to start thinking a little more creatively about how to wage the battle. By working with our allies in the blogosphere, Israel can begin to turn the tide in its favor and chip away at the falsehoods being spread by the press. If we can’t beat the media, let’s circumvent it. Reaching out to bloggers seems like a good place to start.
We visited the excavations ourselves. And without any official credentials, we got the real dirt.
