The media is a very powerful industry and reports on the Middle East conflict go a long way in shaping and moulding public opinion on the issue. Israel is very sensitive to what it considers negative reporting on its role in the conflict and has increasingly marginalised news agencies that criticize it. For example, one of the most well-respected British agencies, the BBC, was barred from Israeli press conferences in the summer of 2003 due to the airing of a documentary on Israel’s weapons of mass destruction.
Due to this, many reporters are reluctant to report on the conflict in an objective manner and often simply peddle the statements made in official Israeli reports, regardless of how far from the truth it may be. For example, when American peace activist Rachel Corrie was run over and killed by an Israeli bulldozer, despite eye-witness and even photographic evidence showing it was a deliberate act of murder (Rachel had a luminous fluorescent jacket on and was shouting through a loud-speaker), the official Israeli story was that the bull-dozer driver did not see her. This official version was carried forward by many reporters.
In order to redress this balance, it is essential for you to monitor the media, whether broadcast or print, and make contact with them when the need arises to correct bias or inaccuracies. This is a simple and easy way to get active in the fight against Zionist propaganda and lies in the Middle East conflict.
We have prepared this small booklet titled Media Monitoring Guide which outlines some of the guidance and techniques for monitoring the media along with tips and contact details of the major TV, Newspapers, Radio and other organisations. Also there is a list of ke contacts and addresses discussed in the guide which you can download and import in your mail program. Please refer to your mail applications help for importing vCards.