We were disappointed to see that the Iranian state funded Press TV has multiplied its potential audience after launching December 1, 2008 on the UK’s mainstream Sky satellite service. While Press TV claims to offer a “straight, unbiased news agenda, mixed with analytical shows and a wide range of guests reflecting diverse views,” it is impossible to reconcile this with the reality.
After all, this is the same Press TV that published Nicholas Kollerstrom’s outrageous piece of Holocaust denial, The Walls of Auschwitz: A Review of the Chemical Studies and frequently features Lady Michelle Renouf, a neo-Nazi and supporter of Holocaust denier David Irving.
HonestReporting was contacted by Press TV in September 2008 asking for assistance in recommending panelists for a debate show. Pointing out Press TV’s promotion of Holocaust denial and the genocidal intentions towards Israel of the station’s Iranian backers, we politely told Press TV that we had no intention of helping its credibility. We also urged other organizations not to cooperate.
Press TV has continued to try to entice credible guests on to its shows, the latest being social media expert and CEO of Zionism on the Web, Dr Andre Oboler. Oboler also politely declined Press TV’s approach for the same reasons as HonestReporting. He received this shocking response from a Press TV employee:
Bla bla
We are free otherwise we would not contact you. And no one denies the holocaust. We are open to debate unlike you Zionist corporate new world order people.
I wanted for you to come and have a change to defend these foreign European occupiers of asia and north afrika, extension of British India , violation of International law that you call Israel.
We at presstv get many zioNaist and Israel supporters on and give them free air time so the audience can make their own assumption.
Iran does not support or promote genocide but cowboys did against Indians and the new cowboys (Israelis) do against the Real Indians (Palestine , Arabia, Asia, Lebanon) ..etc
Im sorry that Iran overthrew a puppet ZioNazi king but unfortunately Iran is not a puppet Monarchist ALCIADA group that you like
Does Press TV really expect us to believe that it has an “unbiased news agenda”?
NY TIMES: TERROR IS TERROR
HonestReporting has long campaigned for the media to use the term “terrorists” when the term fits. In the wake of the Mumbai terrorist atrocity, we flagged some media for continuing to refer to terrorists as “militants” or other inappropriate terms and other media for using the term “terrorists” to refer to the Mumbai attacks but not those that are regularly perpetrated by Palestinians against Jews and Israelis.
Now, The New York Times’ public editor Clark Hoyt examines the same issue:
Many readers want the newspaper, even on the news pages, to share their moral outrage – or their political views – by adopting the word terrorist, with all its connotations of opprobrium. What you call someone matters. If he is a terrorist, he is an enemy of all civilized people, and his cause is less worthy of consideration.
In the newsroom and at overseas bureaus, especially Jerusalem, there has been a lot of soul-searching about the terminology of terrorism. Editors and reporters have asked whether, to avoid the appearance of taking sides, the paper bends itself into a pretzel or risks appearing callous to abhorrent acts. They have wrestled with questions like why those responsible for the 9/11 attacks are called terrorists but the murderers of a little girl in her bed in a Jewish settlement are not. And whether, if the use of the word terrorist can be interpreted as a political act, not using it is one too. …
My own broad guideline: If it looks as if it was intended to sow terror and it shocks the conscience, whether it is planes flying into the World Trade Center, gunmen shooting up Mumbai, or a political killer in a little girl’s bedroom, I’d call it terrorism – by terrorists.
Isn’t it about time that the New York Times’ own correspondents followed the public editor’s advice?
Read the full article here.
GAZA: MORE “BLAME ISRAEL”
While the suffering of Gaza’s Palestinians is not in dispute, many media still fail to attribute any blame to Hamas, which continues to fire rockets and mortars into Israel even as Israel allows humanitarian aid to cross into Gaza during rare moments when terrorists are not mounting attacks.
There have been many stories published concerning alleged shortages in Gaza. The Independent describes Gaza’s cheerless Eid Al Adha. The Globe & Mail, however, paints a more plentiful picture, thanks to the smuggling tunnels:
Today they are responsible for a much higher percentage and are a big reason why Gazans aren’t starving.
In fact, coupled with a large surplus of fruit and vegetables intended for markets in Israel, the vast majority of people here aren’t wanting for food.
Reports that as many as 50 per cent of children are suffering from malnutrition are exaggerations, says Khaled Abdel Shaafi, director the United Nations Development Program.
“This is not a humanitarian crisis,” he said. “It’s an economic crisis, a political crisis, but it’s not a humanitarian crisis. People aren’t starving.”…
“undefined”>Rafah, on the border with Egypt, always was regarded as the poorest of Gaza’s towns. Not any more. Today, its dusty market is packed with products and with shoppers.
The Associated Press and Guardian also report that many Gazans have become addicted to readily available prescription drugs to help them through difficult times. Is this the same Gaza that has been ‘denied’ medical supplies?
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