When I first blogged the NY Times and Conflict of Interest Appearances over the issue of Ethan Bronner's son serving in the IDF, I pointed out that Western journalists having personal relationships with Palestinian stringers and activists create their own conflicts of interest too.
I was thinking along the lines of ABC anchor Peter Jennings and his well-known "relationship" with Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi.
But as Tom Gross points out, conflicting interests applies to other extracurricular activities:
To single out Bronner smacks of discrimination. And if the Times does now decide to reassign him, it should certainly also find someone to replace its current Gaza correspondent, Taghreed El-Khodary, who sounded like a virtual Hamas propagandist when she spoke at a media conference I attended last November, as I pointed out here.
The problem ain't limited to the Gray Lady. In 2007, Israel allowed a Hamas member employed by the BBC — subsequently identified as Fayad Abu Shamala — to enter Gaza to secure BBC reporter AlanJohnston's freedom. I didn't see the mainstream media ask if perhaps the Beeb should reassign Shamala.
Shamala's own conflict of interest is well-known. Speaking at a Hamas rally on May 6, 2001, the BBC reporter declared:
"Journalists and media organizations [are] waging the campaign shoulder-to-shoulder together with the Palestinian people."
I'm not commenting on whether Bronner should be replaced. If the MSM is suddenly into cleaning up conflicts of interest, let's just be consistent.
