Headlines from major news networks make Western media's pro-Israel bias clear. Passive voice, a lack of Palestinian perspective, and inexhaustible coverage of the Israeli experience all paint a comprehensive portrait of exactly one side of the conflict. Now, internal rumblings from within CNN, one of the heavy hitters of American journalism, describe it plainly as malpractice.
"The majority of news since the war began, regardless of how accurate the initial reporting, has been skewed by a systemic and institutional bias within the network toward Israel," said one CNN staffer. "Ultimately, CNN's coverage of the Israel-Gaza war amounts to journalistic malpractice."
Chris McGreal, The Guardian
CNN isn't alone, as countless other networks have definitive partiality. Even the Guardian, who reported on CNN's directive, has clear evidence of bias.
Leaks from within CNN reveal that for months its executives have been actively imposing an editorial line designed to reinforce Israel's framing of events in Gaza, to the point of obscuring atrocities by the Israeli military.
The dictates, say insiders, have resulted in senior staff refusing to accept assignments to the region "because they do not believe they will be free to tell the whole story". Others suspect they are being kept away by editors who fear they will fight the restrictions.
Internal memos insist that stories be approved by the station's Jerusalem bureau, where staff are widely seen as partisans who slant reports in Israel's favour. Palestinian perspectives are tightly restricted.
Jonathan Cook, Middle East Eye
