International Journalism Festival’s Post

If you work in media or simply concerned about the future of journalism and democracy, take the time to read this article!

In my ten years at the CBC, only one story of mine was killed and never made it to air. It was an interview with the Emmy-nominated Palestinian-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. While I never got a clear answer as to why, it ended up marking me as 'biased' in the eyes of senior managers who then blocked me from advancing to more senior positions. I only felt comfortable talking about the incident after my departure from CBC, in a carefully fact-checked piece I wrote for The Walrus. I have otherwise been reluctant to wade into the asymmetry and skewed way by which many mainstream journalism organizations cover Israel and Palestine, and the punitive way that bosses and management handle their discomfort around it. This week alone, three prominent Muslim hosts at MSNBC—Ayman Mohyeldin, Ali Velshi, and Mehdi Hasan—were taken off anchoring duties, according to Semafor. Meanwhile, in the last two weeks, 2,100 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. And 1,300 Israelis have been killed by Hamas attacks. It’s times like right now—where there is an absolute bloodlust for more punishment, more cruelty—where the need for responsible, accurate, humanizing, unflinching journalism has the most crucial role. A big part of why we’re here today is because we have failed at this for decades. Journalism that’s courageous, consistent and contextualized—the clarifying, exponential power of all of those things together—not one or two of them—would’ve long ago shown and explained how the status quo in Israel & Palestine eviscerates conditions for peace. Not obfuscated it. There is a paralyzing fear in talking about this. Since I did this interview two days ago, I've been consumed with what else I wanted to say, how I could've said things better, how I didn't close the loop on some points, how I could've connected some dots better. Meanwhile, this is the deadliest week ever for journalists covering Israel-Palestine in the more than 30 years that The Committee to Protect Journalists has been covering attacks on the press. In less than a week, 12 journalists have been killed, eight injured and two are missing. Before he was taken off hosting duties, MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin said: "The narrative by which we have been trying to understand what's happening has not been accurate, so we aren't able to accurately solve the problem." I'd rather we talk about it - however imperfectly - than not at all. Podcast: Apple: https://lnkd.in/gWrX4qmG Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gDPjeqUM Links: https://lnkd.in/gBVUNhqm https://lnkd.in/gT_tnAmx https://lnkd.in/e2zEqcc

How can peace journalist report about war? What lessons can we learn from #Ukraine and #Gaza? Find out at my webinar this Friday. Details, free registration: https://lnkd.in/dH9Dhmmq

A recent content analysis by The Intercept of over 1000 news pieces shows a bias in the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by major US media outlets. The study found clear discrepancies in showing the toll of the humanitarian cost on the Gaza side. While this finding might have had a bigger impact on public opinion a decade ago, when public relied mostly on newspapers and other traditional media to get their news, it's interesting to analyze the real impact such biased coverage might have on public opinion today. With younger generations relying more on social media for news, like TikTok, Instagram, X and Youtube, it's worth questioning whether a low impact of these biases compared to a high impact of social media, could explain the noted shift in global public opinion in favor of the Palestinians. Check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/d-Vnpi8X

Copy editors are able to differentiate between these word definitions and how they are used. That is why copy editors are important.

This is the single article in mainstream media I found on the topic. What struck me were the following observations from the columnist: According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 64 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war; 57 were Palestinian, four were Israeli and three were Lebanese. This war “has been the deadliest conflict for journalists that CPJ has ever recorded, in terms of documenting attacks on the press,” CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg said in an interview with the New Yorker. For context, nearly as many journalists have been killed in two months in Gaza as were killed worldwide in 2022. And what of the Biden administration and its past pledges to support press freedom? On Dec. 10, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the death toll of Palestinian journalists presumably killed by IDF strikes. “We want to make sure that that’s investigated,” Blinken said, and that “we understand what’s happened and there’s accountability.” What a nothingburger of a response. As CPJ has reported, there has never been true accountability for Israel when it comes to journalist killings. And the consequences are devastating: The slaughter of Palestinian journalists is an erasure of those attempting to record the first rough draft of history in Gaza. https://lnkd.in/ezDZgwZS https://lnkd.in/eDssHKvc #gaza #gazagenocide #palestine #israeliterrorism #holocaust #unitednations #buckingham #manunited #esteelauder #christiandior #hautecouture #macys #oprahsfavoritethings #whitehouse #harvardmedicalschool #columbiauniversity #harvardbusinessreview #nytimes #wsj #tesla #elonmusk #Innovation #Management #HumanResources #digitalamarketing #technology #creativity #Future #Futurism #Entrepreneurship #Careers #Markets #Startups #Marketing #socialmedia #venturecapital #advertisingandmarketing #motivation #economy #economics #branding #personaldevelopment #bankingindustry #money #sustainability #healthcare #education #whatinspiresme #businessintelligence #bigdata #zionism #travel #law #lawandlegislation #strategy #washingtonpost

Our colleague Samuel Getachew writes via The African Report: As we mark World Press Freedom Day, there is nothing much to celebrate when it comes to journalism in Ethiopia as working in this profession has become a daunting task. Today is World Press Freedom Day, a day dedicated to honour sacrifices journalists make in their quest to tell truth to power and enlighten citizens on issues affecting them to help create a more equal, peaceful, and fair world. But in Ethiopia, there is nothing to celebrate. The majority of my colleagues, some of the most daring Ethiopian journalists, have either left the profession or leveraged their privileged status to move out of the country. The rest are exiting the occupation for a quiet life, or a career in public relations. The few who have remained fear being sent to prison as the profession is often compared to as an act of treason. Journalists have even been accused of terrorism, creating a very worrying trend. #WPFD2024 #ForeignPress #Africa Read here: https://lnkd.in/diNcPFFc.

Coming to the final stages of my research on Visual Witnessing Trauma Phenomenon among Journalists in East Africa. This topic could not have been more timely and significant in the midst of global conflicts, like what is happening in Gaza summounts. It is imperative that the discussions on effects of covering such conflicts are brought to the fore.

The success, and the sacrifices of Gaza journalists should serve as a model for journalists and journalism around the world, as an example of how news about war crimes, sieges and human suffering in all its forms should be conveyed. https://lnkd.in/gPDDKkGA