News wire services underpin the media industry. It’s not feasible for every news outlet in existence to have a reporter in every hotspot across the globe. Instead, outsource, turning to independent news agencies who allow newspapers and websites to reprint their articles for a fee.
The significance of wire service reports is generally under-appreciated by the public. Whereas people frequently vent frustrations with with big names such as the New York Times and The Guardian, many stories published in these papers, and others, are sourced from another organization entirely.
HonestReporting has previously noted the significance and impact of wire service reports:
When these agencies get their reporting right, it means that many millions of people are exposed to good coverage. When these wire services get things wrong, however, millions are exposed to false or misleading reporting.
There’s also one more possibility: Wire articles can be published as is, or they can be edited. Sometimes, the original reporting is fine — but then altered by an over-zealous editor before being published on a news website or newspaper.
That’s exactly what happened on Monday, when the Irish Independent published an article titled, “Fury as Israel demolishes Palestinian homes.” Although newspapers and websites are free to edit wire agency articles, basic journalistic principles still apply. Balance, context, and accuracy are as important for these pieces as they are for a story written by a newspaper’s own reporters.
The piece, originally written by Ali Sawafta for the Reuters news agency, titled Israel demolishes Palestinian homes near West Bank barrier, was balanced, and fairly depicted the serious, complex issue of the demolition of Palestinian buildings built close to the security barrier.
Unfortunately, the Irish Independent’s version of this Reuters dispatch totally cut out Israel’s side. Readers would think Israel tore down the buildings for no reason whatsoever. A comparison of the original report and what the Irish Independent published shows the key omissions:
- The original headline indicates the homes’ proximity to Israel’s defense infrastructure, but the Irish Independent piece removed that key context the story.
- The second paragraph of the original Reuters story mentioning Israel’s rationale was deleted by the Irish Independent. It reads thus: “Israel said the 10 apartment buildings, most of them still under construction, had been built illegally and posed a security risk to Israeli armed forces operating along the barrier that runs through the occupied West Bank.”
- The third paragraph of the original Reuters story refers to the UN and makes clear that under 20 people were affected by the demolition. The single-sentence paragraph, reading, “U.N. officials, who had called on Israel to halt the demolition plans, said 17 Palestinians faced displacement”, was removed from the Independent’s piece.
- The original article fairly describes the concerns of both sides, saying: “Palestinians fear that the razing of buildings near what Israel describes as a security barrier against Palestinian attacks will set a precedent for other towns along its route, which snakes through the West Bank for hundreds of kilometers.” The Irish Independent then removed the words, “what Israel describes as a security barrier against Palestinian attacks,” and published the concerns of the Palestinians alone.
These violate three different categories of media bias: imbalanced reporting, lack of context, and selective omission.
HonestReporting has contacted the Irish Independent, urging the editor to revise the article.
Help us pressure the Irish Independent — comment on our social media posts (Facebook here and Twitter here) to demand the Reuters dispatch be published in full.
