ladaat  

Israel's Electronic broadcasting:
Reporting or Managing the News ?

7.  Imbalance in the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s Programs

Yisrael Medad & Prof.  Eli Pollak
Israel’s Media Watch

"The Israel Broadcasting Authority’s obligations as a quasi-governmental institution include: objectivity, prevention of the politicization of the Authority, fairness, equality, no conflict of interests, and integrity in its decisions". Aaron Barak, President of Israel’s Supreme Court, Speech, May 13, 1996.

1.  Introduction - 2.  Israel’s Broadcast Media - An Overview
3. The Ideological Identity and Credibility of Israel’s Media
4. The Media Treatment of the Oslo Process
5. Rabin’s Assassination and the following Week as Reflected in Channel One’s TV Broadcasts
6. The Israeli Broadcast Media During the 1996 Election Campaign
7.  Imbalance in the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s Programs
8. Conclusion
9. References - Selected Bibliography of Works Consulted - Notes


7.  Imbalance in the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s Programs

The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), through its radio and television
transmissions, constitutes a public media network.  As such, the
expectation of media consumers that balanced coverage between the rival
political groupings in a country where the interest in the activities of
the Prime Minister, his government and the Knesset is very high, itself
becomes part and parcel of public debate.

During 1997, due to several media affairs, the subject of media
interference and its perceived lack of balance came to the fore.  One such
incident occurred in September when President Ezer Weizmann slapped Channel
Two’s Moshe Nussbaum, an incident that was hushed up and went unreported
for weeks even though it had been filmed (62).  Neither of the two
television channels thought the action of the President newsworthy. 

It later was revealed that at least on two other occasions, Weizmann had
used , what was described as "over-friendly physical force", on two other
journalists, one a woman.  It wasn’t until Shelly Yechimovitz, who had read
the Ha’Aretz item, interviewed Nussbaum on her radio interview program that
the issue was discussed.  Nussbaum appeared on Channel Two’s afternoon talk
show, "At Five with Rafi Reshef", and that was the extent of electronic
media interest.

Weizmann, a darling of the media for his pro-Oslo stand while being
critical of Prime Minister Netanyahu, merited a protective wall of media
indifference.  On the other hand, Netanyahu’s remark in September 1997,
uttered to a Rabbi, that "the Left has forgotten what is means to be
Jewish", was given extreme coverage, several times daily for a full week.
To compound the unbalance and the consequent favoritism, that same week,
his Labor Party rival, Ehud Barak, was quoted as referring to his possible
left-wing Meretz partners as having less than full Jewish roots.  His
remark was glossed over and received little media attention.

In early October 1997, following publication of the attempted
assassination of Hamas official Khaled Mash’al in Jordan, Carmela Menasheh,
Kol Yisrael’s military affairs reporter, was accused of combining her
personal views with her factual news reports.  On October 9, IBA D-G
Kirschenbaum released a statement that said: "the public is not stupid and
knows to distinguish between a news item and commentary on the news.  In a
matter such as the affair in Jordan, all the press dealt with both news and
opinion while reporters brought both news and opinion together.  To the
best of my knowledge, Carmela did not express her own personal opinion..."
(63).

It was less than appropriate, and that an understatement, that the IBA
head, who also serves as its chief editor, seek to excuse an incident of
blatant unethical behavior while noting, at one and the same time, that
"everyone is doing it" and that "she didn’t do it".

That the IBA D-G was unable, publicly, to differentiate between what is
practiced and what should be practiced, and what is correct for the public
broadcasting network while belittling the ethic’s code of the IBA, should
be extremely disappointing and painful for the public.  It seems that there
is no real serious attention paid to the matter of broadcasting ethics.
The IBA’s professional executive were not willing to recognize the problem.
Moreover, there seems to exist a major difficulty of exerting control over
what is happening in the IBA.  The result is unbalanced broadcasting which,
of necessity, is biased broadcasting.

(Note: references in parentheses in the following section refer to the
Nakdi Document)

A.     Balance - What is It and For What Purpose?

According to the ‘Nakdi Document’, "balance" is defined as permitting fair
and impartial expression of different opinions in correct proportions, both
in news and opinion broadcasts without awarding points (para. 41; 45).  A
central element of balance is "the ability to bring the news in the most
objective and neutral manner (para. 26) as well as the prohibition "to
broadcast feelings instead of information", that is, "the report must be
factual and as complete as possible" (para. 27).  These regulations, and
others, all stem from the fourth paragraph of the Law of the Israel
Broadcasting Authority which stipulates that "in the broadcasts, a place
should be given for the proper expression of the views and different
opinions  currently held by the public" and  the third paragraph which
obligates the IBA to broadcast information on "the current affairs of the
state, its struggle, its creativity and its achievements".

The editors of the last edition (64) of the Nakdi Document write in their
introduction that "we should always review what is the measure of the
journalist’s ability to present before the media consumer the full, exact
and significant picture  and what is the measure of purposeful concealing,
of bias in every one of the stages in the process of transferring data from
the news department employee, who is the provider and agent, to the viewer
and listener - the media consumer".

Imbalance is created when there is no supervision or control over the
various ethical fields:
expressing one’s personal opinion, lack of response, using a value-loaded
term, attaching titles, not broadcasting information, lack of variety, not
identifying the commentator’s background, preventing pluralism and the
squelching of criticism.  Balance is intended not only because of the
demands of the professional code but to avoid the entrenchment of
tendentiousness, especially in a public broadcasting system that is
involved in "public broadcasting".  Such an authority must be particularly
careful, due to its legal and public responsibility.

In an interview conducted by Razi Barkai with Benjamin Netanyahu on the
former’s "Media File" television program on February 21, 1998, the Prime
Minister made clear what must be the responsible position that the IBA
should adopt as well as any public broadcasting network:

"R. Barkai:     Is the IBA, in your opinion, balanced?
B. Netanyahu: "The problem is not in the political views of the editors
or the broadcasters, even if in this instance there should be
a certain balance.  The problem is in assuring the professional
ethic.  There are private views of a person and there is his
ability to give expression to the variety of existing views.  This
is the main thing".

What follows are examples of the most frequent forms of imbalance.

B.     Expressing Personal Opinion

IBA employees are obligated to distinguish between their opinions and the
facts (para. 26 quoted above and para. 27: "the broadcaster must avoid
expressions of solidarity with matters he covers").  Even in an interview,
there exists a similar prohibition (para. 77b).  Despite this, many
broadcasters, interviewers and show hosts occasionally allow themselves to
add expressions or statements that reflect their personal opinion.  Such an
expression can influence the media consumer as regards the subject at hand
and, as such, is an act of bias.  While, separately, these instances may be
thought minor, it is their cumulative, "drip" effect that presents a problem.

Kol Yisrael’s military affairs reporter, Ms. Carmela Menasheh, often
crosses the line between news and views.  The IBA’s ombudsman was forced to
bring to the attention of the radio’s director several justified complaints
against Ms. Menasheh.  In addition to the example above (the Mash’al
affair), Menasheh, on April 14, 1997, reported on the Prime Minister’s plan
to spend the Seder night at an army base.  In her report, she asked "why
must the PM disturb hundreds of soldiers?" who, in her opinion, would be
affected by Netanyahu’s decision.  On September 14, 1997, in a report on
Lebanon, she added "a solution must be found".

Mr. Aryeh Golan, too, too frequently expresses his own private opinions
within the framework of his hosting of the daily morning news wrap up
program on radio.  The IBA ombudsman, Mr. Viktor Grayevsky, wrote IMW on
October 7, 1997, that "your complaint was passed on to radio director Amnon
Nadav, with my request that he reprimand him due to his expressions.  I
hope that he will pay special attention to the matter". (65)

C.     Non-Broadcasting of Information

It is the journalist’s obligation to provide the media consumer with as
full a factual report as possible.  Even if there is no absolute
objectivity in the selection of news items (para. 59), the journalist's
competency is judged by his ability to gather data and to expose it
(Introduction, p. 10).  The reporter is to be a "fair agent" in the
transferal of news (op. cit., p. 11).  As the Nakdi Document makes clear
there, when news items are not broadcast, one is free to mull over the
possibility that the result is coincidental or one that stems from bias.

The slap across the face that Moshe Nussbaum received from President
Weizmann (as described above) is a classic example of a news item hidden
from the public by the media.  A similar situation arose over the Gabi
Butbol affair.  A member of the IBA’s plenum, he was quite active in
criticizing the IBA’s professional executive.  As a result of a directive
issued by Mordechai Kirschenbaum, IBA’s Director-General, the "Popolitika"
program producer sent a researcher to check up on Butbol’s performance as
an administrator.  Realizing what was developing, Butbol complained to the
IBA’s Chairperson, Rina Shapira.  The affair eventually reaching the
courts, after over a year of deliberations, investigations and public
debate.  Not one item of this affair was broadcast over IBA’s radio and
television news programs until the very last stage.

The "Mabat" evening news program never informed the public that the PA’s
police force had invaded the White Russian Orthodox monastery in Hebron,
throwing out its residents and their belongings and beating up two nuns in
August 1997, an interesting and relevant story of a religious conflict.
That same week, however, several nights were devoted to highlighting the
parallel story of a young woman, Tatiana Susskin, pasting up caricatures of
Mohammed as a pig in Hebron causing religious conflict.

As was pointed out in a previous chapter on the media during the 1996
election  campaign, Shimon Peres achieved media preference and sympathy
apparently stemming from a dovetailing of interests and values between
Peres’ policies and those of some outstanding media personnel.  Interviewed
by Daniel Ben-Simon for a book on the elections, Peres’s remarks on the
quality of those who voted against him appeared on the very first page.
Those who lent their support to his opponent were "all those who do not
possess an Israeli mentality".  In response to the follow-up question, who
are these people, Peres, in a clear racist tone, declared "it’s possible to
call them ‘the Jews’". (66)

The book was widely reviewed and yet no media personality thought to
question Shimon Peres as to the implications of his remarks.  Even
following a speech in the Knesset by Prime Minister Netanyahu attacking
Peres over the content of what he said, the broadcast media ignored the
issue, preferring it to die a death of neglect.  If one considers the
outpouring of media interest dedicated to Netanyahu’s statement to Rabbi
Kadouri, mentioned above, or more recently, that devoted to MK Ori Orr’s
racist comments on Moroccans in an August 1998 interview with the same
Daniel Ben-Simon, the dearth of media attention is a stark stain on the
conscious of media personnel.

D.     Non-Identification of a Commentator

The code of ethics is quite clear about political commentators: "when
there exists a link between a commentator’s political belief and the
subject under discussion, there is an obligation to note the political
background" (para. 23).  This principle is quite obvious in the need for
full disclosure to enable the media consumer to judge for himself the worth
of the commentary.  Nevertheless, the IBA has failed and continues to do
so, especially in regards to two frequent commentators: Amnon Avramovicz
and Professor Asa Kasher.

The simple and plain fact that Kasher was a candidate for elections to the
14th Knesset on the Meretz list, the radical liberal political grouping
headed by Yossi Sarid and Shulamit Aloni, was never mentioned in any of
Kasher’s appearances on television and radio over the past two years.
Kasher, who authored the controversial Code of Ethics for the Israel
Defense Forces, was, for example, the studio commentator for over two hours
on the live broadcast program of the state ceremony commemorating the first
anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s death.

Mr. Avramovicz first appeared on the "Yoman" Friday night news review
program as a commentator and now is an editor of the program, siting in the
studio.  He also appeared as a regular commentator for the daily "Mabat"
news program on issues of security and undercover intelligence affairs.  He
expressed chagrin at handing over a ‘present’ to the right-wing when he
identified Avishai Raviv as a General Security Services agent who’s code
name was "Champagne".  In a newspaper interview (67), he revealed that he
was a Labor Party supporter for years and that in publishing an item about
a planned assassination attempt on a PLO chief, he intended to harm the
Likud’s reelection chances back in 1981.  This data, which would seemingly
compromise his objectivity, and at the very least, oblige the IBA heads to
balance him with an opposite number, made no impression at all.
Avramovicz’s standing has only increased over the years and he was allowed
to get away with a blatant biased performance when he questioned
then-Foreign Minister David Levy about Netanyahu, asking him: "do you trust
the Prime Minister’s psychological stability?".  (68)  The question was not
only lacking in good taste but patently exceeded the professional expertise
of both Avramovicz as well as David Levy.

E.     Imbalance in the Inviting of Guests and Commentators

An imbalance in the inviting of guests, either in their number or in the
framework of their appearance, will cause the phenomenon of ‘stacking the
deck’.  For example, the regular panel  journalists on the "Popolitika"
program is all but absolutely identified as open supporters of the Oslo
process and as leftist in general foreign affairs and security matters.
This was true both before and after the 1996 elections.  In addition, they
do not appear as questioners or interviewers but make personal opinion
statements.  A detailed survey of this  is contained in IMW’s special
report mentioned above.  IMW has documented other examples as in the week
following Rabin’s assassination, also previously noted.  Several additional
examples follow.

A year and seven weeks after the murder of Yitzhak Rabin, "Popolitika"
devoted its October 27, 1997 program to the issue.  The panelists included
Daliah Filosof-Rabin, his daughter, Professor Anita Shapira, head of the
Rabin Heritage Center, Dr. Menachem Klein and Dr. Gutwein, both supporters
of left-wing politics.  All of them spoke out against the nationalist camp
whose sole representative, one out of five, was Yisrael Harel.  On
September 17, 1997, MK Benny Begin appeared on the "Conference Call" TV
program opposite three members of the "Four Mothers" movement demanding an
immediate and unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon.  Not only was their
imbalance in the number of guests and the time devoted discussion of the
viewpoints but Begin was consistently interrupted and hardly completed a
sentence.  In addition, no other intermediate opinion was discussed.

F.   Unreliable Information

The fourth paragraph of the IBA Law obliges the authority to broadcast
"reliable information".  The Nakdi Document makes it clear that an
insufficient check of sources or a cross-checking of sources will cause the
reporter, out of neglect or personal preference, to broadcast unreliable
information. 

One such example is a story first reported in the summer of 1995 on the
"Yoman" program that the lack of adequate water supplies to the Hebron
Hills region was due to the overuse of water by the Jewish residents of the
area.  The Kiryat Arba swimming pool was shown juxtaposed to an empty
faucet in an Arab house.  Despite protests, no follow-up story was
broadcast.  Two years later, the Civil Administration of the territories
confirmed that 40% of the water destined for Hebron was stolen, drained off
on the way, by Arab farmers.  The story reappeared in the summer of 1998,
again without due reference to the reality of the situation.

In another instance, Yaron Dekel, political affairs correspondent for Kol
Yisrael, quoted a fictitious quotation in a May 9, 1997 broadcast a report
concerning a Labor Party gathering that day.  He claimed that Ziad
Abu-Ziad, PA legislator, was a supporter of the Beilin-Abu-Mazen agreement
and so spoke at the gathering.  Abu-Ziad called in to correct the
attribution, which was done several hours later, commenting that Dekel had
not been present.  Suspicion fell on Yossi Beilin as the source.  Dekel,
who failed to confirm his story, was perceived, along with his editor, to
have provided Beilin with political back up at the expense of journalistic
ethics.

The use of unclear terms, purposefully beclouding issues, is another cause
of unreliability.  For example, the use of "security elements".  The public
is unaware whether such "persons" are truly a soldier under uniform who
desires to hide his identity or a political figure with a military
background who is hiding his political inclinations.  An example of such a
usage is the report by Carmela Menasheh in the morning news review on Kol
Yisrael on April 3, 1997.  There she quoted "assessments" of  "security
elements" and "army elements".  Among the "assessments" was the firm belief
that "only the action undertaken by the Palestinian security factors can
prevent planned terrorist attacks", as if the IDF and the GSS were
irrelevant.  Without a clear identity of the source, the media consumer
could have been receiving political propaganda disguised as actual army
intelligence.

G.     Political Inclination

Ronnie Milo, mayor of Tel Aviv, is probably an outstanding example of this
problem.  Until declaring his candidacy  for the prime ministership in late
spring 1998, Milo had been a regular panel guest on a political affairs
program, "Game of Shabbat", broadcast twice on Saturdays, in the morning
and repeated in the evenings.  He was present in over 85% of the programs
transmitted.

In a period of personal elections for mayorships as well as newly
introduced primary elections, the political weight that can be garnered
through unique television or radio appearances is great.  There was no
justification for the granting of such a unique platform for any
politician.  The preference granted Milo, despite many complaints, damaged
his potential political rivals.

Television awards a media allure to active politicians by applying to them
the title "commentators" as if they were neutral observers, academicians or
experts instead of being intensely involved  with a personal stake in the
subject they are discussing.  For example, MK Amnon Rubinstein of the
Meretz Party, although a Professor of Law at the Tel Aviv University, is a
full-time politician.  Despite this, he often appears as a commentator on
legal issues.  General (Res.) Oren Shachor, who joined the Labor Party and
serves as a close advisor to its head, Ehud Barak, frequently appears as a
commentator on issues concerning the negotiations with the Palestinian
Authority.

In connection with the problem of political bias, one cannot ignore the
media event of 1997: the "Bar-On - Hebron" Affair. (69)  Many saw this
affair as a media coordinated effort to act outside the democratic process
against a prime minister elected in direct elections.  The criticism
against the character of the reporting and the way the coverage was
broadcast, especially by Channel One TV was
quite bitter  during the three months the affair was in the news.  The
criticism originated from many quarters.  IMW complained and released
statements regarding  ethical and professional errors  in the reporting and
coverage.  The damaging inside media story, though, was that of Aviv
Bushinsky, Radio Kol Yisrael’s police reporter.

Aviv Bushinsky published an article (70) in response to remarks made in
reference to his professional work ethic by Rafi Halabi, head of IBA
television’s news division as well as Mordechai Kirschenbaum, the IBA
Director-General at the time.  Bushinsky reiterated his remarks on a Kol
Yisrael radio interview program hosted by Nadav HaEtzni and broadcast on
September 14, 1997.  On the face of the charges made by Bushinsky in
relation to the television coverage of the "Bar-On" Affair, a serious
investigation should have been initiated into the machinations of the
television news department.  This was never done although Kirschenbaum
attempted to launch an investigation against Bushinsky but was halted by
the IBA’s public supervisory body and its chairperson, Prof. Rina Shapira.

Bushinksy’s reports did not always coincide with the version of the affair
that was being promoted by the television.  Echoes of the differences of
opinion leaked to the press.  Bushinsky accused Channel One TV of unethical
behavior, especially on the part of Halabi and Chason.  Bushinsky also
hinted at criminal suspicions.  Bushinsky quoted from taped recorded
conversations he conducted with Halabi, in which Halabi spoke in a
threatening and caustic manner, attempting to influence the way Bushinsky
was reporting.  Halabi, as evidenced from the taped conversation, viewed
his journalistic duty as managing a battle over whether criminal charges
would be made against Netanyahu and others.  He accused Bushinsky of acting
out of self-interest and pressured Bushinsky, reminding him that he
(Halabi) had spoken to Kirschenbaum, the head of the radio and the head of
the radio news division.

Bushinsky claimed that the television news division did not draw
conclusions from the initial hurried manner in which the first broadcast
was made, lacking, as it did, a reaction from Bar-On.  He wrote that they
labored for some time to substantiate and verify the original story, all
the while putting on a "show" as if they that version was authentic, that
the coverage of the police investigation was coordinated with the police
investigators themselves while Chason awarded marks to this and that
investigator in her televised reports and praising others.  He also accused
Channel One television of ignoring the fact that the suspected source for
Chason’s story, advocate Dan Avi-Yitzhak, was interrogated by the police
and that Chason’s reports, in part, represented interference with the
police investigation when, in an attempt to gain his reaction, she informed
Bar-On that the police were on their way to his office.  The fact that an
internal police investigation was conducted against the police
investigation team’s second in command was suppressed by Chason.  And
lastly, Bushinsky pointed out that reports carried by Channel Two and the
Ma’ariv newspaper regarding Avi-Yitzhak’s behavior were ignored by Channel
One.

On the basis of this article, IMW requested of IBA Chairperson Shapira
that a special review be conducted.  Such an act by the public supervisory
body would have contributed to a clearing the air for if only a portion of
Bushinsky’s charges proved true, the conclusions would have been
far-reaching and quite serious.  Except for Kirschenbaum’s announcement
that he intended to review all of Bushinsky’s reports, which he later
recanted, no internal IBA review was ever made of the handling of the
Bar-On Affair.

H.     Broadcasting Songs with Political Content

Songs with a strong left-wing message, whether in their general content or
specific phrases, are frequently heard over the public radio network.  For
example, Aviv Gefen sings of "let’s get out of the territories and conquer
the peace".  Shalom Chanoch’s song, "Don’t Call Me A People", is
accompanied by a video clip which makes clear the dominance of its
one-sided political message.
Songs with an opposing ideological message, such as "Hebron, Now and
Forever", are not heard in any regular entertainment program.  Left-wing
songs are also played as background during news programs, thus doubling
their impact.

During the 36-hour national mourning period following the double
helicopter crash in 1997, not one song that could be defined as being
Chassidic or Traditional Jewish was heard.  The refraining from
broadcasting cultural expressions deeply rooted in the religious Jewish
heritage during general events and thus preventing the general public from
hearing them, as well as the limited broadcasting of Mediterranean-style
music in such situations, amounts to an imbalance in cultural diversity.

I.     Prevention of Criticism

Ram Evron, former moderator of the defunct media program, "No Man’s Land",
in an interview published in the Ha’Aretz newspaper (71), admitted that he
intentionally prevented criticism of the IBA from being broadcast on the
program.  This discriminatory situation is well known to IMW.  Despite
repeated requests to appear on the two main morning radio programs, not
once has an IMW representative been invited to voice his opinion on a media
issue.  During the three seasons that "No Man’s Land" was shown, an IMW
representative appeared but once.

As noted previously, on the eve of the 1996 elections, one of the
signatories on the "Open Letter to the Media", Professor Gavriel Moked, was
invited to appear on three different programs, all of which were canceled.
In an unpublished letter, Moked described "something strange happened to me
on the way to the media":

"All these incidents  only strengthened me in my opinion that our media is
contaminated not only with forceful arrogance...[and] ideological
uniformity...
but, in addition, the majority of those in the media who set the tone are
trying
to the domination a super extreme radicalism, one which is closer to the
the "new historians" who aspire to undermine the Israeli narrative rather
than
a balanced line of support for the peace process". (72)


 
 
 

   

 

IMW is a registered non-profit organization whose major aim is assuring the ethical and fair conduct of the Israeli media.

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