wfn.org | Conferees Seek More Fair Coverage of Israeli-Palestinian Issues

["Nat'l Council of Churches" <nccc_usa@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2252/2227
E-Mail: news@ncccusa.org; Web: www.ncccusa.org
NCC4/25/2002 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONFEREES SEEK MORE FAIR COVERAGE OF ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN ISSUES

Note: Final Fair Practices Code Follows.

NEW YORK CITY - Emphatic exchanges of contesting points of view about the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict characterized an April 17-18 conference here,
titled Megaphones and Muffled Voices: What Constitutes Full and Fair Media
Coverage of Israeli-Palestinian Issues?

Some 80 secular and religious journalists and activists took part in all or
part of the two-day effort, co-sponsored by the World Association for
Christian Communication, WACCs North American Regional Association
(NARA-WACC) and the (U.S.) National Council of Churches Communication
Commission.

Fourteen formal presentations by journalists and academics with such diverse
affiliations as the Jerusalem Post and the Muslim Public Affairs Council
provided both fodder and a reality check to a conference whose stated
purpose was to help move news media, especially U.S. media, a little closer
to fair coverage, as NARA-WACC president and conference planning committee
co-chair Linda Anderson put it.

At times, the debate seemed only to illustrate Tel Aviv University Professor
of Communication Akiba A. Cohens point that - in effect - objectivity and
balance are in the eye of the beholder.  Cohen described a sobering bottom
line - journalists and their audiences alike vary greatly in what they pay
attention to and how they perceive and remember it.  The more complex,
intense and insolvable a conflict is, the harder it is to cover, he said.

Accordingly, speakers disagreed openly about whether stories comparing a
Palestinian teen suicide bomber with her Israeli teen girl victim enhanced
or hindered understanding of the conflict.  Whether journalists should be
denied or allowed access to, say, Jenin or Bethlehem during active fighting.

Whether to refer to particular piece of land as occupied or disputed or
to a particular action as a policy or a practice.  Whether its easier
to cover the Palestinian side of the story or the Israeli side and whose
suffering is under or overreported.  Whether Camp David was about a
generous offer that Arafat refused or not-yet-conclusive negotiations over
land to which the Palestinians are entitled.

Nevertheless, conferees met their immediate goal - agreement on a
close-to-final Fair Practices Code, which applies basic tenets of good
journalism to the extraordinarily complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hartford (Conn.) Courant Editorial Page Editor John J. Zakarian drafted the
code; he and the conference planning committee were charged with final
editing and distribution of the code post-conference.  (It accompanies this
story.)

As speakers gave examples of what they considered to be good and bad
coverage of Israeli-Palestinian issues, they reinforced such points in the
code as:

7	The best of journalists do not only report what they see, hear or are told
by official sources.  They dig beneath the surface.  They strive to get the
other side or sides of the story.  Commented Ethan Bronner of The New York
Times, You dont have to accept the other perspective but you have to try
to get and understand it.
7	Balance of coverage is not achieved only in providing equal space or time
to each side.  There is no balance when an articulate, moderate and
charismatic person is asked to represent one side and an uncompromising,
militant, fiery and inarticulate ideologist is offered as a representative
of the other side.
7	Headlines should reflect the content of the story.  Photographs should
give a fair and accurate image of an event and not exaggerate an incident
simply because the photograph is exceptionally dramatic.
7	As much as possible, journalists should understand the language, the
history and the culture of the people they cover.
7	Covering such a sensitive, nuance-ridden subject as the Arab-Israeli
conflict, journalists should be careful in using such loaded words and
clichis as terrorists, gunmen, Islamic bombers and fatalistic
Muslims.

Several speakers urged a harder and more dispassionate look at U.S. Middle
East policy - especially the ability of the United States to mediate
effectively given its financial and political support for Israel.  And they
urged journalists to hold all parties to a single standard, especially in
respect to human rights violations, citing Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International, among others, as important sources, and to recognize
international law, resolutions and conventions (e.g. United Nations Security
Council Resolution 242).

The media have done a good job covering the Palestinian suicide bombings
and Israeli destruction of Palestinian infrastructure, Zacharian commented.
Whats lacking is context, background, nuances of language, an
understanding of the forces of culture brought to bear.  Our goal is not to
take sides, but to help provide not only what happened yesterday but also
why.

Accordingly, Sarah Eltanawi of the Muslim Public Affairs Council said
reporters need to provide basic history and context, the grievances of both
sides and the reasons for the fighting, including the 35-year illegal
Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the illegal building of
settlements in the occupied territories.

Besides conference co-moderators the Rev. Dr. Rena Yocom and the Rev. Dr.
Martin Bailey, conference presenters included reporters and editors for Kol
Israel Radio, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Jerusalem Post, Jordan Times,
Muslim Public Affairs Council, Palestine Media Watch and for several major
North American dailies - The New York Times, Newark Star Ledger, Toronto
Star, Hartford Courant.  Other presenters were from the United Methodist
Church, Bethlehem, Columbia School of Journalism, Tel Aviv University and
the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

-end-
Code of Fair Practices

The following Code of Fair Practices was developed during a conference
called Megaphones and Muffled Voices on what constitutes full and fair
media coverage of Israeli-Palestinian issues.  The conference, held in New
York City, April 17-18, 2002, was sponsored by the World Association for
Christian Communication, its North American Regional Association, and the
Communication Commission of the National Council of Churches, U.S.A.
Conference participants included public and religious communicators and
professors from several noted journalism schools.  The participants included
media professionals from Israel, Palestine and Jordan as well as from
Europe, the U.S. and Canada.  They developed the Code of Fair Practices
under the leadership of John Zakarian, editor of the editorial page of The
Hartford Courant.  In the statement that follows, the term journalist refers
to any non-government person engaged in the gathering and dissemination of
information and opinion through electronic or print media.  This includes
reporters, opinion writers, editors, publishers, general managers and
producers.

	The primary mission of journalists is to offer readers, viewers and
listeners a rough first draft of history as it is being made. By definition,
this draft is not always complete, often presenting facts without adequate
context, filing reports in a hurry and sending pictures that emphasize
immediate action and consequences. Still, there is more to informing the
public than merely relaying raw data quickly.

	To prepare coherent accounts of events, reporters and editors routinely
filter and condense the vast amount of available information into a coherent
package. They attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Information
gatherers and gatekeepers fulfill their responsibilities best when they
observe the following
guidelines:

1.	The best of journalists do not only report what they see, hear or are
told by official sources. They dig beneath the surface. They strive to get
the other side or sides of the story and rely on diverse sources.
2.	Balance of coverage is not achieved only in providing equal space or time
to each side. There is no balance when an articulate, moderate and
charismatic person is asked to represent one side and an uncompromising,
militant, fiery and inarticulate ideologist is offered as a representative
of the other side.
3.	Headlines should reflect the content of the story.  Photographs should
give a fair and accurate image of an event and not exaggerate an incident
simply because the photograph is exceptionally dramatic.
4.	As much as possible, journalists should understand the language, the
history and the culture of the people they cover. They should not totally
rely on interpreters provided by particular causes or governments.
5.	Covering such a sensitive, nuance-ridden subject as the Arab-Israeli
conflict, journalists should be careful in using such loaded words and
cliches as "terrorists" "gunmen," "Islamic bombers" and "fatalistic"
Muslims.
6.	In presenting stories, there should be a clear distinction between news
reports and expressions of opinion. News should be free of bias. Columnists
should stake their positions by verifiable facts rather than secondary
sources or reports. Op-ed articles by advocacy groups should be clearly
labeled as such.
7.	As a marketplace for ideas, the news media, particularly newspapers,
magazines and periodicals, have a responsibility to publish all sides of
controversial issues by inviting "op-ed" contributions and letters to the
editor.
8.	Journalists should have the courage of well-founded convictions and a
healthy sense of fair play. They should never write anything that goes
against their conscience.
9.	Although pledges of confidentiality should be honored, they should be
made sparingly - and only when the journalist deems it to serve the public's
need for information.
10.	Journalists are more self-critical about their work than their readers
or viewers frequently give them credit. Journalists should also encourage
thoughtful public input about their work.
11.	Journalists should expect access from governments at all levels,
especially from those that profess to honor democracy. So-called closed
military zones and blanket orders prohibiting coverage in combat zones ill
serve democracy.
12.	Editorial criticism of a government's policy should not be equated as
criticism or derision of an entire nation or class of people.

-end-