Disinformation and Xenophobia in Western Media

Jewish Newspaper in Atlanta Apologises for Obama 'hit' Column

2012-02-08T14:21:00.000Z

Andrew Adler, a writer for Atlanta Jewish Times has raised many questions in regards to his article 'What would you do?' where he suggested that a "hit" on Obama would be a possible option for saving Israel. Chris McGreal investigates this further in his article: 'Atlanta Jewish Times owner says sorry for Obama hit column'- 21st January 2012.
Adler explained to McGreal, that he wrote this article in order to get a reaction from the newspaper's readers and provided different scenarios, a "hit" on Obama being one of them, "in order to preserve Israel's existence". However, Adler hints that a "hit" on Barack Obama may have been discussed by Israel's most inner circles.
Adler argues that his passion for Israel allows him to question just how far one would go to save a nation. He goes on to stress that the idea of assassinating the U.S. president is "unfathomable and unthinkable" and he ensures the public that this was not what he meant.
Adler has promised to write a retraction to the column, preventing further problems.

Journalist; Johann Hari leaves the Independent

2012-02-08T13:01:00.000Z

After ten years writing for the Independent, Johann Hari has decided to leave after being suspended for plagiarism. Hari informed the public on his website, that he was not returning to the Independent as he did not want to see his colleagues taking the blame and paying for his mistakes.
Hari was accused of using information from other journalists and articles, without referencing them correctly. In addition to this, he was also accused of editing his Wikipedia entries using a different name whilst attacking critics.
Hari defended himself by stating that he did not think he was doing anything wrong as he was never confronted with this issue in previous years.
After his suspension, the Independent had agreed to take Hari back, however various individuals believed that by doing this, the reputation of the newspaper will be affected. In the end, he decided that leaving would be the best option for him and now plans to focus on his book.

'Christmas Banned By PC College Chiefs' Daily Express

2012-02-08T12:33:00.000Z

Paul Jeeves has written an article bringing tolight an event which has occurred in Yorkshire Coast College inScarborough, North Yorks, claiming that leaders of the institution have decidedto refer to holidays like "Christmas" as "end of termbreaks".

The article written on 16th September, 2008, shows the outrage by variousindividuals who find this unreasonable and “bonkers” arguing that byprotecting the rights of minorities, we are ultimately oppressing the majorityas this is a Christian country, where part of the religious acceptance is aboutrespecting other religious beliefs.

This article has also caused some controversy with various Muslims, who believe that the Daily Express has caused trouble by possibly victimising them and presenting them in a way where it could be understood by readers that they are the ones who have persuaded the enforcement of this change.

Although this is arguably being enforced to promoteequality and diversity, it is also debateable to argue that by banning thereference to holidays such as ‘Christmas’, this institution is possibly doingthe opposite by oppressing the majority in case of affecting thesensitivity of others.

Update abut the Leveson Inquiry

2012-01-24T15:41:00.000Z

The owner of Express Newspapers and Channel 5 appeared in front of the Leveson inquiry on January 12, to face to charges of defamatory coverage of the Madeleine McCann case. According to the parent of the disappeared girl, several articles published on those newspapers were mistaken and defamatory. As the first newspaper owner speaking in the inquiry, Richard Desmond tried to downplay the accuses, stating that just a minor part of the articles had a negative stance against the McCann family, and this was reflecting the general perception of the British audience at that time. Mr Desmond apologized for the conduct of his newspapers, but accused the inquiry of using his newspapers as a “scapegoat”.

French reported killed in Syria

2012-01-24T15:40:00.000Z

The first Western journalist has been killed in Syria on January 11, extending the list of media staff who gave life in reporting the events of the Arab spring in the last months. A France 2 channel reporter, Gilles Jacquier was reporting from the city of Homs, embedded to a government authorized group covering a pro-Assad manifestation. According to the Syrian official version, Jacquier was hit by a RPG launched by a protest group that was targeting Assad supporters, and the French reporter died on the spot. Doubts about the government reconstruction of the events have been erased by Syrian opposition groups and also international human rights associations. For sure, if the Syrian government would demonstrate that the situation was under its control, the attempt failed, as Guardian journalist Ian Black commented. While the situation in Syria is rapidly deteriorating and civil population is increasingly suffering the conflict escalation between different factions, journalists and reporters are paying a high price for covering the developments in the region.

German President tried to stop newspaper publishing about his finances

2012-01-24T15:38:00.002Z

A really hard 2012 start for Christian Wulff, President of Germany, who has been asked to resign after he tried to stop the publishing of a story about him. According to a journalist investigation, Christian Wulff accepted a £ 420,000 loan at a favorable interest rate from the wife of Egon Geekens, a German businessman. When Mr Wulff discovered that Das Bild was going to publish the story, he contacted the newspaper editor, threatening judicial consequences and a breach in the relations between the Presidency and the newspaper. His attempt was unsuccessful, and he later tried to excuse personally for his behavior, but the details about the whole story had already been released. Even if the loan was subscribed before he became President in May 2010, now he has to face increasing pressure, asking to clarify his position, while some people are expecting him to resign.

Swedish journalists detained in Ethiopia

2012-01-23T17:26:00.000Z

Two Swedish journalists have been sentenced to 11 years for terrorism activities by an Ethiopian court at the end of the last December. They had entered illegally the African country in Ogaden along with a Somali rebel group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which is considered a terroristic organization by Addis Adela. Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye are freelance journalist, publishing for several Scandinavian newspapers, and they were imprisoned after being discovered during a clash between government and rebel forces in the Ogaden area. During the process, the two recognized to had entered in the country illegally, but with the purpose of covering stories about human rights abuses and business involvement of Swedish companies in the exploitation of local oil resources. Despite the court rejected their claims, the judge had not sentenced them with the maximum of the penalty, which is 18 years, and this can be considered a good sign for the appeal phase. Living conditions in Ethiopian prisons are harsh, but the two are not considered in danger of life, and the staff of the Swedish Embassy is assisting them. Local activists have accused the ruling Ethiopian government to have organized a campaign against opposition groups and democracy in the country, and more than 150 arrests have been reported in 2011, counting several journalists.

JOURNALIST KILLED IN DAGHESTAN

2012-01-09T16:51:00.000Z

Russian journalist Hadzhimurad Kamalov was shot dead on December 15 in the Russian Province of Daghestan. Kamalov was a well known reporter in Russia, especially for his work in denouncing corruption in the Russian institutions. He was the executive director of an organization promoting freedom of expression called “Svoboda Slova”, and the founder of the Daghestan newspaper Chernovik. He was killed while leaving his newspaper office, shot 14 times by unknown people, in exactly the day Russians commemorate journalists killed in the line of duty. Kamalov is the fourth journalist killed in Russia this year, for a total of 40 since 2000, making Russia one of the most dangerous place for reporters in the world.

UPDATES ABOUT THE LEVESON INQUIRY

2012-01-09T16:50:00.000Z

Brief update in the Leveson affair.
Sean Hoare’s brother, Stuart Hoare, gave written witness to the inquiry, stating that “phone hacking was routine” at the Sun and at the News of the World. A former News of the World reporter, Sean was found dead last July, due to natural causes: in September 2010, he spoke out about hacking practise done by journals in a New York Times article. His brother said Sean was under great pressure from his superiors in doing his job, and that phone hacking was “endemic” in the group, a common practise by several journalists. On the 20th of December session, the former editor of Daily Mirror Piers Morgan denied any involvement in hacking practices. In front of the court, he stated that he did not investigate the nature of the practices in collecting information to not compromise his sources. In his 10 years working experience at the Daily Mirror, Mr Morgan denied knowledge of illegal practices, dismissing as rumours every charge against his behaviour. The Leveson inquiry was set up to investigate alleged illegal and anti-ethical practices undertaken by UK media and newspapers in collecting information.

BBC won't sack presenter over remarks against public sector strikers

2011-12-16T16:39:00.004Z

BBC won’t sack one of its best known presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, after his declarations about the last British public strike last month. Commenting the strike on The One Show on 4th December, Mr Clarkson declared that the strikers should be “shot in front of their families”, causing huge protests and requests for his sack by the British working unions. BBC director general Mark Thompson confirmed that BBC is not going to fire him and that Clarkson’s declarations were intended as a joke, even if it was a stupid one. Clarkson, had already apologized for his remarks, and will continue with his programme on the BBC, Top Gear, estimated to have around 350 million viewers per week all around the world. The BBC received 32,000 complaints about the Clarkson comments.

BBC feels the "Frozen Planet" cold

2011-12-16T13:54:00.002Z

BBC rejected the critics for misleading audience during its series of “Frozen Planet” about polar bears in their natural wild environment, broadcasted at the end of November on BBC One. Some sequences were filmed in a Dutch zoo, but the audience was not advertised of this, and the documentary was edited as the whole scenes were taken place in the wild. A BBC spokesman said that it would not be possible in another way, and detailed information about the footage is available on the website.Despite this justification, several UK newspapers have criticized the BBC conduct, asking for corrections in its programs.

BBC INTERNAL REVIEW RESULTS

2011-12-15T15:57:00.000Z

BBC says that no evidence of bribery and phone or computer hacking in the journalists work, as emerged from a broad internal investigation. Addressing the monthly BBC Trust meeting at the end of October, BBC Director General Mark Thompson said that the findings are good: the conduct of the corporation’s employees is sound with the BBC guidelines, and private investigations are occasionally used only for “subject of significant public interests programmes” and for “surveillance and security services”. The BBC internal review was launched under request of the Leveson’s inquiry, which is investigating the UK media standard and practices. However, Mr Thompson suggested a strengthen in the BBC editorial guidelines, maybe scared of possible scandals rising from the BBC journalist conduct.

Guardian journalist justifies hacking phones

2011-12-07T15:53:00.002Z

David Leigh, reporter and assistant director with special responsibility for investigations at the Guardian newspaper, justified subterfuge practices by journalists when in the public interest. At the 5^th December session, Mr Leigh was heard by the Leveson inquiry, which is investigating the working and ethical standards of several newspapers and other press agents in the UK. He admitted that he approved hacking phones and voicemails, and also he was involved in blagging practices- it means, obtaining information from people by impersonation. Mr Leigh justified these behaviours only in exceptional occasions, and only when he valued that the public interest was at stake, as in alleged practices of bribery and corruption. To support his position, the journalist made a 2006 example, when he contacted Mark Thatcher pretending to be a Middle East arms trader –the Prime Minister’s son was involved in alleged bribery cases in a weapons deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia. When Mr Leigh was reminded that intercepting phones calls represents a criminal offence, he replied that, according to him, these practices were legitimated in ethical terms and that the British Public Prosecutors would have no interest in prosecuting him. While the inquiry court continues with the hearings, the border between privacy and public interests is still at the centre of the British debate.

BBC apologises over biased reporting on Dale Farm

2011-11-25T11:34:00.003Z

On the 14th of February, the 'ONE show' told the story of the travelling community who were being unlawfully evicted from Dale Farm. The 5-minute piece failed to mention the fact that the area had been marked, by the council, to be a green belt area which aims to combat the growing issue of urban sprawl by maintaing green areas and transforming them into an area for agriculture, forestry or leisure.

Following the brief report, the show's presenters sympathised with the travelling community and failed to perserve an unbiased front which led Basildon council to lodge a formal complaint about the inaccurate and misleading information presented.

The BBC editorial standards committee has admitted that the show had been duly inaccurate yet unknowingly misleading.

Journalist suspended from NPC for asking tough question to Saudi Prince

2011-11-22T13:09:00.002Z

Sam Husseini, communications director for the Insitute of Public Accuracy, was repremanded on Friday last for his tenacious questioning of Prince Turki al-Faisal, of Saudi Arabia.

The journalist undauntedly queried;

"There’s been a lot of talk about the legitimacy of the Syrian regime, I want to know what legitimacy your regime has sir. You come before us, representative of one of the most autocratic, misogynistic regimes on the face of the earth. Human Rights Watch and other reports of torture detention of activist, you squelched the democratic uprising in Bahrain, you tried to overturn the democratic uprising in Egypt and indeed you continue to oppress your own people. What legitimacy does you regime have – other than billions of dollars and weapons?",

Eventually choosing to go the offensive route, the prince explained that the US had only passed suffrage for women in 1910 after 121 years of legitimate government while Saudi Arabia in only it's 81st year as a recognised state, allows women to not only vote, but participate in elections and become members of the Shura Council.

Husseini was later informed that he would be suspended from the National Press Club, (a club whose aim is 'to be the world's leading professional organisation for journalists') for two weeks for his breach of house rule number 4 through his use of boisterous or unseemly conduct.

BBC justifies shocking Gaddafi images

2011-11-22T11:58:00.002Z

Following the annihilation of Col. Muammar Gaddafi, global media provided the medium for the images of the dictator's death to be seen all around the world. These images were the primary subject for the majority of press publications whether it was tabloid or broadsheet, online or televised, the images could not be avoided. Unsurprisingly, the pictures caused upset to some audiences, recently leading the BBC to defend their actions of exhibiting Gaddafi's murder.

On the 19th of November, Mary Hockaday of the BBC multimedia newsroom blogged that although the images were shocking and gruesome, BBC's decision to broadcast the images was editorially justified and "as a news organisation our role is to report what happened, and that can include shocking and disturbing things".

The BBC showed the images follwing a clear warning to viewers regarding their nature on both the 6PM and 10PM news bulletin but omitted the pictures from it's website later on.

French magazine petrol-bombed for again depicting Prophet Muhammad

2011-11-03T16:26:00.002Z

The French satirical magazine, “Charlie Hebdo”, which was taken to court in 2007 for its decision to publish Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad, has come back into the spotlight again. However, this time it is not being attacked in court, but instead attacked with physical violence. The offices of Charlie Hebdo were petrol-bombed, destroying most of the office’s contents and blowing out windows, reportedly because of its release of a “sharia edition” which featured a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad on the cover as “guest editor”.

Whether one agrees with the publication of such provocative cartoons or not, the petrol-bombing, which was accompanied by threats on Twitter, Facebook and through the post, was an unacceptable and worrying attempt at intimidating an organ of the free press. Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council for the Muslim Faith (CFCM), has strongly condemned the fire if police did confirm it was a criminal attack, and Paris City Hall said it would help Charlie Hebdo find a new office.

The special edition of the paper mocked the victory of the An-Nahda Party in Tunisia: “To fittingly celebrate the victory of the Islamist Ennahda party in Tunisia... Charlie Hebdo has asked Muhammad to be the special editor-in-chief of its next issue. The prophet of Islam didn't have to be asked twice and we thank him for it.” The cover of the issue shows Muhammad saying “100 lashes if you are not dying of laughter,” which has yet again caused a great deal of offence. A spokesman for Charlie Hebdo explained that this was a response to what was happening in Tunisia and Libya in which Islamist parties are gaining prominence. This is particularly infuriating for many Tunisians since it seems to lump An-Nadha into the standard Western depiction of an “Islamist” camp despite the fact that it campaigned explicitly on a moderate basis, insisting on women's rights and the importance of political plurality.

Although of course such attacks should in no way be allowed to take place, and free press should be encouraged, such freedom must also come with responsibility. Charlie Hebdo should certainly be allowed to publish satirical content, but should consider acting with greater sensitivity.

Daily Mail sued for libel over Carole Caplin, Cherie Blair article

2011-11-02T15:24:00.001Z

The Daily Mail is in trouble again, this time resulting in Associated Newspapers being sued for libel over the Mail’s article on Cherie Blair’s former lifestyle guru, Carole Caplin. The Mail article, published in September 2010, claimed that Caplin would “blow the lid” on her client’s new book and reveal the Blairs’ “sex secrets” for £1 million. But David Price QC, acting for Caplin told the high court in London, "the truth is that, contrary to the article, Ms Caplin has never had any intention of disclosing any confidential information concerning the Blairs.” Furthermore, the article claimed that Caplin had financial difficulties, which was the reason for her being tempted by the £1mn reward for the “secrets”. Price explained that not only were the assertions about Caplin’s financial status unfounded, but she also did not even possess “sex secrets” that the Mail claimed could “finish” the Blairs.

Associated Newspapers has agreed to pay substantial damages to Carole Caplin.

The fine line between information and sensitivity: PCC censures Daily Record

2011-11-01T15:11:00.002Z

“In general”, writes Roy Greenslade of the Guardian, I don’t think newspapers should carry pictures of dead people.”

This was also the ruling upheld by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) which has censured the Daily Record for using a picture that showed the body of a man wrapped in sheeting, found on a footpath near Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. The PCC made its ruling after the man’s aunt complained that the Daily Record had been insensitive and had caused distress to family and friends, adding that he was not a celebrity so the paper should have exercised some restraint. The PCC sided with the aunt, arguing that there was no justification for the “very specific nature” of the photo and though the Record had a duty to inform the public, it was also obliged to handle publication of such stories with sensitivity.

Certainly this is a very fine line to straddle. This case of the Daily Record raises similar questions to those raised recently in the debate about images of Qaddafi. The very graphic footage of a barely-alive Qaddafi, and eventually his dead body, were aired by most of the major broadcasters and carried by mainstream newspapers. This, however, appears to have been deemed acceptable; as Roy Greenslade points out “it is, of course, unlikely that a relative of Colonel Gaddafi will make any complaint about the papers' grisly front page pictures of his dead body.”

ITV "IRA" footage was from video game

2011-10-24T13:10:00.001Z

ITV is to be investigated by Ofcom for using footage that they claimed was the IRA shooting down a helicopter with weapons supplied by Qaddafi, when it was in fact taken from a video game, Arma 2. Current affairs show, Exposure, used the video game sequence in its first episode but this was spotted by games fans after the programme was broadcast. ITV was forced to issue an apology and has said that it was “human error” rather than a deliberate choice which led to the game sequence being used. ITV also said that it did in fact have the correct footage but it was labelled incorrectly.

Ofcom’s investigation will reveal whether the incident constituted a breach of its broadcasting code.

Wall Street Journal artificially inflating its sales figures?

2011-10-14T10:48:00.000Z

The Wall Street Journal is facing fresh allegations of artificially inflating its sales figures, prompting the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), the British newspaper circulation watchdog, to launch an investigation into its figures. This is yet another blow for News Corp, this time relating to the Murdoch empire’s flagship journal, Wall Street Journal Europe. The ABC had previously reviewed the Journal’s sales practices and ruled that its scheme of working with Dutch consulting firm, the Executive Learning Partnership, was “deemed to be compliant with the rules” which govern the particular practice called “multiple copy subscription sales”. As the Guardian reported on 13th October, however, “through Executive Learning Partnership and other companies, the Journal had effectively been secretly buying thousands of copies of its own paper at low prices, boosting its audited circulation. In total, 41% of the Wall Street Journal Europe's audited circulation of 75,000 came via this method.” In light of these fresh allegations, and with the resignation of Andrew Langhoff, one of Murdoch’s most senior European executives, ABC has decided to re-examine the scheme, explaining that “there now appears to be additional new information which may give grounds for further investigation."

Newsnight is let off the hook for Starkey’s racist comments

2011-10-10T15:57:00.003Z

David Starkey’s comments on Newsnight regarding theLondon riots were undoubtedly racist and inflammatory. Referring to EnochPowell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech, explaining that “the problem is that thewhites have become black,” and referring to a gang culture based on “Jamaicanpatois” is an extremely clear indication of Starkey’s general outlook on theworld.

Although some may have wanted some form of regulatory bodyto investigate him personally, we live in a country in which free speech isallowed to a large extent, so Starkey will escape any official sanction, fornow. Newsnight, however, is subject to institutional scrutiny, specifically bythe media regulator Ofcom, which received more than 100 complaints from thepublic, accompanied by open criticism of Starkey from Labour leader EdMiliband. Ofcom has recently ruled, however, that it will take no actionagainst BBC2’s Newsnight, explaining that Newsnight presenter, Emily Maitlishad sufficiently challenged Starkey’s assertions.

Ofcom’s job is not to criticise Starkey’s behaviour,however, and as such no judgment was made about his conduct. Even if theappropriateness of Starkey’s comments remain questionable, Newsnight’spresenter has been found to have acted entirely appropriately. Although itseems this brings an end to the Starkey Newsnight debacle, not everyone issatisfied with this decision. Reflecting a number of disillusioned voices, Owen Jones, who appeared on the show with Starkey, reflectedthat Ofcom's decision meant that it had "proved itself to be a toothlessbody by failing to tackle the out-and-out racism of a discreditedhistorian". Either way, on this occasion Newsnight has been found notguilty.

Vatican adds its voice to attack on BBC

2011-10-10T14:38:00.000Z

The BBC’s suggestion that religiously “neutral” terms should replace the use of “BC” and “AD” when discussing history has generated a fair amount of condemnation. It is being reported that the BBC ethics guidance suggested that the more modern phrases, “Common Era” (CE) and “Before Common Era” (BCE), should be used in place of the traditional Christian terms.

Such reports were met with strong criticism from inside the BBC, attracting the comments of a number of well-known BBC personalities. James Naughtie, the presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, for example, said: “Nobody has suggested this to me, and if they do, they will get a pithy answer, which may be too pithy to share with readers of the Telegraph.” The move was also criticised strongly by Boris Johnson who described the plan as “puerile, spineless and absurd”.

Now, it seems, the Vatican also want to register their disgust about the reported change. The semi-official newspaper of the Holy See, L’Osservatore Romano, has come out strongly against the BBC. The newspaper takes a very critical line, arguing that “It is by now very clear that respect for other religions is only an excuse, because those who wish to erase every trace of Christianity from Western culture are only a few secular westerners.” It asserts that “to deny the historically revolutionary function of the coming of Christ on the earth, accepted even by those who do not recognise him as Son of God, is enormous nonsense. There is nothing more anti-historical and senseless.”

However, after such strong negative remarks, and a number of public complaints were received, the BBC clarified that it had not in fact replaced the date systems BC and AD with BCE and CE, although it acknowledged that this was a possible alternative terminology and that it is often used in historical research. The BBC also stressed that it had not issued any editorial guidance on date systems, since this decision rested with individual editorial teams. This, however, did not allow the BBC to weather the storm, since the Vatican’s complaints came after this BBC clarification. The Vatican remains unhappy with what it calls a “hypocritical gesture.”

Western media fabrications? “Beheaded” Syrian woman thought to be alive

2011-10-07T10:29:00.005Z

A number of sources, including the Guardian, the Huffington Post and the BBC reported the death of “Syrian teenager” Zainab al Hosni two weeks ago, who was thought to be the first woman to die in detention. Al Hosni was dubbed the “flower of Syria” and had been a symbol of the Syrian protesters. The verdict handed down by the media, that she had been killed in custody and had been beheaded and mutiliated, only to be found by accident in a morgue, was reiterated by human rights groups with Amnesty leading the charge.

On Tuesday, however, al Hosni was shown in a brief interview on the main Syrian state television channel in which she showed an identity card and said that she had run away from home in July because her brothers had abused her. According to Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch, relatives confirmed that the woman on TV was indeed al Hosni. Damascus is presenting this as proof of Western media bias against the regime, with the station describing the interview as a way of discrediting foreign “media fabrications.”

Many still remain cynical, with the Guardian reporting one western diplomat as saying, “I wouldn't put it past the Syrian authorities to have fabricated the whole thing. "They can be cynical and manipulative to an extraordinary degree." Indeed as Syrian blogger Maysaloon has noted “the date on which she was paraded on television was the day the UN security council draft resolution was to be voted on. Like Iran, the Syrian regime is remarkably sensitive to the political calendar.” Furthermore, even if the woman in the interview is found to be Zainab al Hosni, there is still a mutilated body to be explained.

Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have called for an independent investigation to confirm the identity of the woman, but whatever the outcome, this is certainly a reminder that Western media outlets must continue to be viewed with the same level of scrutiny as before the start of the Arab uprisings.

Dominic Grieve vs. Theresa May: "hysterical untruths" about the HRA must stop

2011-10-06T16:01:00.004Z

In an unexpected twist in the tale of Tory politics, Dominic Grieve has pitted himself against Theresa May, criticising the spreading of “hysterical untruths” relating to the Human Rights Act. Grieve made his comments after Theresa May explicitly called for the HRA to be scrapped. His words carry more weight than other proponents of the HRA because he has traditionally been very critical of the Act and still maintains that it has substantial flaws.

There has been a great deal of scaremongering in the press concerning the HRA, ranging from a focus on it being a piece of legislation forced upon the country by dictatorial Eurocrats, to reports on the criminals who have avoided prosecution due to the leniency of the Act. Typical of this trend is the story about a man on a roof who, before being arrested, was given fried chicken by the police. This, it is claimed, is because of the Act, and furthermore the British police force should not be forced to pander to criminals. At a fringe meeting organised by Liberty at the Conservative Conference in Manchester Grieve rallied against these kinds of stories, arguing that "We need some rational discussion of the issues and not, I'm afraid, what we often see in certain pages of some newspapers, which is hysterical untruths being peddled over and over again. It's not very productive." The fried chicken incident is one of these “hysterical untruths.”

The Huffington Post reports that Grieve had positive things to say about the HRA, noting that though the European Court of Human Rights was “out of control” and though the Act was “not perfect”, the UK also had much to thank for the Act. He also reminded delegates that the decision should be made with their coalition partners, the Lib Dems, who are largely in favour of retaining the Act, rather than the Conservative proposal of a British Bill of Rights. Whichever option is eventually chosen, the government should arrive at their decision through constructive debate, rather than contributing to the anti-HRA press scaremongering.

The Daily Mail's invasion of privacy? The case of Carina Trimingham

2011-10-06T13:53:00.004Z

In what is the fourth privacy action taken against a UK newspaper in the past ten years, the partner of cabinet minister Chris Huhne is seeking damages from the Daily Mail after it published details about her sexual history. Her barrister told the high court that Carina Trimingham had a reasonable expectation of privacy and more significantly, as was reported in the Guardian, that the 'perjorative' references to her sexuality were a breach of section 12 of the Press Complaints Commission code of practice which "makes it absolutely clear that a person's sexuality ought to be mentioned unless genuinely relevant to the story". Trimingham’s sexuality clearly was not relevant in any of the eight articles printed by the Mail over the summer of 2010 detailing her affair with Chris Huhne. She claims to have suffered huge distress and embarrassment due to the Mail’s conduct.

Associated Newspapers, the Mail’s publisher, defended the paper, arguing that the idea that Trimingham should be left alone because she is a private individual and not involved in political life is problematic. Trimingham was Huhne’s press officer when he was campaigning to be leader of the Liberal Democrats in 2007, and in the 2010 general election. No verdict has yet been reached.

Peter Oborne criticised for being "gratuitously offensive"

2011-10-05T15:18:00.005Z

“Frankly I wouldn't mind paying an extra £10 a licence fee year to get the old, eclectic Newsnight back – and idiots sent early to bed,” writes Peter Preston in The Observer. This in response to Peter Oborne’s outburst on Newsnight in which he insulted the European Commission representative, Amadeu Altafaj-Tardio, referring to him as an “idiot” and openly laughing as he responded to Paxman’s questions. His insults were also directed at former Financial Times Editor Richard Lambert, who he lambasted for taking the same line as “the idiot in Brussels” that the Euro crisis was primarily a political, rather than economic, issue. Oborne’s wrath was eventually cut short by Jeremy Paxman chastising him for being “gratuitously offensive”, but not before the EU spokesman had taken off his microphone and walked out of the studio.

This episode has generated a fair amount of criticism and comment based around two major issues. First that Paxman was at fault for failing to stop Oborne earlier in the discussion, reflecting the declining standards of the current newsnight programme. Second, Oborne’s aggressive style has stifled debate, and is part of a larger problem in which misinformation about the EU is allowed to continue. Denis MacShane notes, for example, that “core EU facts remain unknown to the British public. According to the House of Commons library, just 7% of our laws originate in Europe. The total EU spend is just 1% of Europe's GDP. The BBC employs more people than the European commission and pays much bigger salaries”. Yet the British public are more likely to sympathise with Oborne’s analysis that the EU is not in Britain’s interests.

Oborne has just released a new book, Guilty Men, which details his views on the dangers of the Euro.

Watson: Sun Has Questions to Answer Over Phone Hacking

2011-09-28T13:57:00.002Z

Labour MP Tom Watson claimed at the Labour conference that the Sun newspaper was involved in phone hacking, noting that the illegal practice had gone “far beyond News of the World”. The MP, who sits on the Home Affairs select committee, made the allegations during an emergency motion debate which called for Rupert Murdoch to stand down as chairman of BSkyB. Watson warned Labour activists that phone hacking scandal at the News of the World could be the tip of the iceberg. He accused Dominic Mohan, the current editor of the Sun, of “joking about lax security at Vodaphone when he attended celebrity parties.” Watson went on to call on Murdock to step down, describing him as “not a fit and proper person to chair a major broadcaster”.

In addition, Watson praised Ed Miliband’s leadership during the phone hacking scandal, and called for tougher media laws and a register which could see misbehaving journalists barred from the profession.

British journalism going through a “dangerous period”

2011-09-26T11:34:00.002Z

Mark Thompson, the BBC director general, has complained that British journalism is going through a “dangerous period” because of police attempts to force news organisations to hand over confidential sources. In a speech in Taiwan on Sunday, Thompson noted that the affair was part of a “disturbing trend” which involved police forces in many parts of the UK routinely demanding “that journalists disclose sources and hand over journalistic materials”. He went on to add that “at the BBC, we receive an ever-growing number of demands for untransmitted news rushes which the police seem to regard as having no privilege or protection attached to them than CCTV pictures”. Following the riots that took place over the summer, the police asked broadcasters to provide them with footage of the rioters in order to help them follow up arrests; most broadcasters were happy to provide such footage, provided that the police obtained court orders requiring them to do so. However, Thompson seemed to imply that the police had overstepped their authority when they began demanding sources from the Guardian reporter Amelia Hill regarding her exposure of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Police were due to attend court last Friday to pursue a court order forcing Amelia Hill to reveal her sources, however the Met dropped its application following an outcry from leading political and media figures.

PCC upholds Mensch’s complaint against New Statesman

2011-09-22T13:57:00.001Z

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has upheld the complaints of Conservative MP Louise Mensch about three articles in the left-wing magazine, New Statesman. The three articles, published between September 2010 and June 2011, implied that Mensch identified closely with US politician Sarah Palin and even described her as a “cheerleader” for the controversial Republican. Mensch complained that the first article, which was published by the New Statesman following an interview with the Conservative MP, claimed that she “loved Palin power” whilst the third article described Mensch as a “keen admirer” of Palin.
The PCC ruled on Tuesday that the magazine had misrepresented Mensch’s views on Palin, meaning that the publication was in breach of the commission's rules on accuracy. The New Statesman has declared that a correction was not needed on the articles, and instead the magazine has agreed to publish a “right of reply” by Mensch later this week.

Daily Mail Criticised for Transgender Reporting

2011-09-22T09:58:00.000Z

The Daily Mail has been criticised for its September 19 article about expanding passport gender options to include a third identity. The Daily Mail referred to “transgender people” in its headline; by placing the phrase in quotation marks, the paper has been accused of negating the existence of transgender people. Additionally the article’s author, James Slack, has been criticised for referring to intersex people in quotes and using insensitive terms such as “sex-swap” to describe transgender people.
An online petition has been started to demand more sensitive reporting of this issue from the Daily Mail, and currently has 780 signatures.

Wikileaks

2011-09-19T17:53:00.000Z

There have been half a dozen or so mentions of the NCF in wikileaks. The worst of these have related to an Iranian.
The Jewish Chronicle in London and the Independent newspaper reported these following interviews given them on the telephone by Rabbi Herschel Gluck. The Jewish chronicle article titled "Wikileaks exposes Rabbi's Iran talks and appeared on 8 September. The Independent article titled "Rabbi takes on Wikileaks after secret talks with Iran are exposed" followed on 10 September.

Both newspapers were warned prior to publication that the articles endangered life. But they said, "If we don't print it someone else would".

Guardian in need of guarding?

2011-09-19T14:44:00.002Z

Following an attempt by the Metropolitan police to use the Official Secrets Act to force Guardian journalists to reveal their sources, the attorney general Dominic Grieve is under growing pressure to block the police’s endeavour. It was reported on Friday that the Metropolitan police are seeking a court order under the 1989 Official Secrets Act to force Guardian reporters to disclose their confidential sources about the phone hacking scandal. This is an unprecedented move which sees Scotland Yard use this legislation, which has special powers usually aimed at espionage, to coerce journalists to handover documents relating to their sources of information for the phone hacking story. The only attempt to use the Act against a journalist collapsed 11 years ago after a public outcry following the arrest of the journalist Tony Geraghty by Ministry of Defence Police.
The national press, as well as a number of figures from the political and celebrity world, have rallied to the Guardian’s defence. The Times’ editorial described the Met’s actions as “shameful”, claiming that the police are using the Official Secrets Act in order to “prevent institutional embarrassment” rather than protecting national security. In addition John Kampfner, the chief executive of Index on Censorship, in a letter to the commissioner of the Metropolitan police stated that this move was “a severe threat to free expression in the UK”, whilst Hollywood star Hugh Grant described it as a “very worrying, upsetting development” and the Lib Dem peer Lord Lester called it “outrageous”. Despite this considerable nation-wide show of support for the newspaper, the support of only one man could turn over this attack by the Metropolitan police. Dominic Grieve has the power to make the final decision as to whether the police continue to pursue their court order. Currently, he is under immense pressure from the public and a coalition of newspapers to exercise this power.

Ethan Bronner in “very dicey ethical territory”

2011-09-19T12:26:00.003Z

It has been reported in the Columbia Journalism Review that Ethan Bronner, the chief of the New York Times’ Jerusalem bureau, is on the speaker’s bureau of Lone Star Communications, an Israeli public relations firm. Lone Star, which is accused of having a clear ideological bent, arranges speaking dates for Bronner and takes up to 15% of his fee, whilst also pitching him stories to publish in the New York Times. Charley Levine, the founder and CEO of Lone Star Communications, is well known for his work as a media advisor to several senior right-wing Israeli officials, including former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and three senior ministers in the Netanyahu administration. Levine, who lives in the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in the West Bank, is also a reservist captain in the Israeli Defence Force’s Spokesperson Unit. A relationship with a Times reporter is a valuable connection for any PR firm, and since Bronner joined the speaker’s bureau he has written about Lone Star’s PR clients in at least five stories. The Times journalist covered a sensitive land issue involving the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation of Los Angeles, an organisation for which Levine himself served as a spokesman for in 2006. The American organisation sought to construct a “Museum of Tolerance” on the grounds of a historic Muslim graveyard in Jerusalem; its plans had attracted criticism from Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious groups. On August 13 2010, Bronner published an article on attempts by the Jerusalem Municipality to bulldoze gravesites to make way for the construction project. Other Lone Star clients which Bronner has covered include ‘The Israel Project’ in September 2009 and the conservative Knesset member Danny Danon in May 2011.
It is not difficult to see how Bronner’s connection to the PR company may prove problematic when assessed according to the New York Times’ ethical guidelines. The guidelines state that “Staff members and those on assignment for us may not accept employment or compensation of any sort from individuals or organizations who figure in coverage they are likely to provide, prepare or supervise” [Section 36] and “Staff members and others on assignment for us may not collaborate in ventures with individuals or organizations that are likely to figure in their coverage” [Section 49]. The quality of Bronner’s news coverage is not being questioned, however criticism has been made about the fact that he takes paid speaking engagements from a company which also pitches him stories. Bronner’s suitable for his office was doubted in 2010 when his son decided to serve in the Israeli military, however the backing of the former Times Editor Bill Keller quieted the calls for Bronner’s resignation. Robert Steele, a leading expert on journalism ethics, has concluded that Bronner is now in “very dicey ethical territory” and so it may be questionable whether his superiors in the Times will lend him the same support which he received in the past.

SocGen plans action against Mail on Sunday

2011-09-14T14:18:00.002Z

Société Générale, France’s second largest bank and one of the largest in Europe, is reportedly planning to take legal action against the Mail on Sunday for defamation, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Following a story published by the Mail on Sunday on the 7th August, in which the bank was described as being in a “perilous” state and on the “brink of disaster”, shares in the French bank fell by almost 20% in a single day. The Sunday newspaper quickly retracted its August 7 story, acknowledging that they now accept that the story was “not true”. The paper was not alone in questioning the bank’s stability; the story was part of a storm of rumors in early August that speculated about the bank’s financial solidity and exposure to Greek debt. The leaked memo reportedly said that Société Générale was preparing to sue Associated Newspapers, the publisher of Mail on Sunday, for undisclosed damages as well as promising to take legal action against any others who “spread unfounded rumors about our company”. A separate report by the French newspaper Le Figaro asserts that the French bank has agreed to settle its claim if Associated Newspapers donated £1million to charity; it is not yet clear if the publisher has accepted this offer, after its previous offer of donating £1,000 to charity was rejected by the bank.

Reporter Questioned Over Phone- Hacking Leaks

2011-09-09T15:35:00.002Z

The Guardian newspaper confirmed that one of their reporters, Amelia Hill, had been questioned in connection with the phone- hacking inquiry. Hill is one of several journalists investigating the News of the World phone hacking scandal as it develops, and was questioned ‘under caution’ by Operation Weeting (the police investigation team) earlier this week in relation to the ‘off- the- record’ sources she has previously used.

The National Union of Journalists labelled the actions of the police as ‘outrageous’, and have since raised concerns about the way in which their actions represent a slippery slope, ultimately leading to the criminalisation of journalists who are simply trying to perform a more thorough check on the information made available to them. Michelle Stanistreet, of the NUJ, accused the government of using criminal law as a ‘weapon to silence people’. Indeed, if officials are allowed the freedom to continue exercising this sort of power over journalists, it could signify the demise of journalism as we know it. Limiting journalists to the official police line is hugely restricting, and largely undemocratic. As citizens in a democratic nation, we have an unwritten right to live in a society in which the fourth estate acts as a constitutional check on the actions of the government and judiciary.

It must be acknowledged that clear and defined boundaries are useful to some degree; for example when it comes to regulating bribery and corruption between officials and the media. However, restricting people’s ability to make informed decisions is essentially paving the way for increased government censorship, whereby the British media are reduced to a subservient status not unlike that of the reporters subject to the Journalist ‘Protection Laws’ in Iraq.

The failings of Newsnight

2011-08-25T15:38:00.001Z

David Starkey was interviewed by Newsnight to give his opinion on the London riots. Newsnight has been heavily criticised (The Guardian, 21 August 2011), for its poor judgement in giving a platform to a man to talk about the riots who is loud, opinionated and a historian in Tudor England.

Supposedly Starkey was invited on to the programme as a guest speaker because he is relatable to ordinary people. Alas this “ordinary” man did not relate to the mass public whilst the streets of Britain were being vandalised. Rather, Newsnight has been accused of having “lost of way”, and not having challenged the bigoted ramblings of Starkey. The fact that Jeremy Paxman carries so much weight of the show does not help either, given that he was away on holiday at the time of this interview.

The "Riot Rape"

2011-08-16T20:55:00.009Z

The Daily Mail reported this as "the most depraved incident to emerge from the riots" and I am inclined to agree. On the 13th August, a 15 year old boy from south London appeared before Camberwell Green magistrates’ court charged with robbing a 13 year old girl of her BlackBerry mobile phone and then raping her. The Daily Mail mistakenly reported that the incident took place during the day on the 8th August, amidst the Woolwich riots. The Guardian then reported correctly that the perpetrator attacked his victim at around 21:00 on the 9th August - many hours after the riots had died down... Thus not a "riot rape," just a rape. Right?

Wrong.

Of course the details of where and when the assault happened are key to the assailant's conviction and yes, the Daily Mail's article was inaccurate, but that aside I don't think their take on events was entirely misleading. The Guardian argues that the Daily Mail wrongfully linked this heinous crime to the riots adding a much more sinister and alarming edge to the capital's disorder. In a sense, the Daily Mail allocated partial responsibility of the rape to the anarchy caused by the rioters, looters and vandals in our community. I partially agree - the only separation between the rape and the riot was the assailant's intelligence to wait until the police had left the area to avoid being caught. In my opinion the blatant display of disrespect, mass thuggery and animalism seen in the riots was enough to incite further unlawfulness in this individual. The general air of hysteria, aggravation and the authorities' distraction could have provided some sort of encouragement to an opportunistic sexual predator.

The feral mob rule on the streets, the rage, boredom and immorality of our youths was crushing to witness last week. The sickness of our society reached a climax that will undoubtedly be seen again. That same sickness was in the eyes of the 15 year old boy when he forced himself onto an innocent minor. The pedantic deliberation of how to label this crime is somewhat irrelevant - the raping of the teenage girl WAS "the most depraved incident to emerge from the riots."

BBC apologises to Darkus Howe

2011-08-11T11:13:00.000Z

The BBC has apologised to viewers following their live interview with Darkus Howe on 9 August. Speaking in the aftermath of the riots in Croydon, Darkus Howe, a veteran broadcaster and columnist, was commenting on the deep-rooted causes of the violence. During the interview Fiona Armstrong of the BCC said: "You are not a stranger to riots yourself I understand, are you? You have taken part in them." Howe replied: "I have never taken part in a single riot. I've been part of demonstrations that ended up in a conflict… Stop accusing me of being a rioter and have some respect for an old West Indian negro, because you wanted for me to get abusive. You just sound idiotic." The awkward conversation was further troubled by what were apparently technical difficulties resulting in Howe and Armstrong talking over one other.

Guardian newspaper implicated in phone hacking scandal

2011-08-08T16:16:00.001Z

Senior Guardian journalist, David Leigh has admitted to phone hacking. In an article published in 2006, he admitted that he had hacked into a mobile phone.
The irony is that up to now, the Guardian has been leading the investigation into the News of the World Scandal. Now, in August 2011, the newspaper is itself facing allegations of hacking.

In 2006 Leigh was senior investigations editor at the Guardian and admitted to listening to the voicemail of “a corrupt arms company executive” who had left his personal identification number on a printout.

In a statement, the Guardian has said that this is not a new story and Leigh has been open about it from the outset.

Daily Mirror Uses Southern Investigations 230 Times

2011-08-05T12:05:00.000Z

Journalists caught in the Hackgate scandal have frequently professed being oblivious to the gutter methods employed to attain sensationalist stories. Piers Morgan, who has been under pressure after Heather Mills revealed her phone was hacked by his paper ten years ago, responded to allegations by saying that he never took part in or had knowledge about hacking.

Recent evidence goes to show that the Daily Mirror, once Morgan’s paper, has been employing third parties such as private investigators to carry out phone hacking for them. Southern Investigations, an example of this, was employed by the Mirror 230 times between 7 October 1997 and 23 September 1999, with bills pushing £67,000.

Although this appears to confirmation of scandal, there is no evidence that their work is illegal, and the Mirror has not denied using the group. The prime minister has called on Lord Justice Leveson to investigate the use of private detectives in newspaper journalism. It appears that the Mirror depended on private detectives for two enquiries a week in the late 1990s.

There are several confidential pieces of information that have further arisen from the enquiry. For example, Southern Investigations have obtained the mortgage details of Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, and the financial records of Peter Mandelson.

This type of confidential financial information was used in several stories run by the Mirror. The Levesdon enquiry will continue to scrutinise the legality of attaining this information as well as further use of private detectives by other papers. Hackgate continues.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14386696

'Hari Hurry Back!' Say Dubai

2011-08-04T15:47:00.001Z

Johann Hari, a British journalist for The Independent, has been welcomed back to Dubai, regardless of his opinion of the emirate. He wrote almost 9000 words on ‘The Dark Side of Dubai,’ in which he regards the city as ‘morally bankrupt.’ Regardless of the fact that it is illegal to insult the government, a spokesperson for Dubai Police says ‘he is welcome in Dubai.’

Hari has a background of controversial writing, and was recently accused of plagiarism over twitter. He writes in The Independent that he has ‘sometimes substituted a passage they have written.’ Hari, however, has seen the consequences of his actions, and apologised. He was suspended from The Independent.

The controversial journalist also seems unable to take criticism. There are allegations that Hari, under a different name, edited the Wikipedia pages for other journalists that disapproved of his work.

Hari is the youngest journalist to have won the George Orwell prize, and has also won a number of prestigious awards, including the Amnesty International Journalist of the Year Award, twice.

Although perhaps Hari contributes heavily to the concept of freedom of expression and speech, a few of his journalistic endeavours, and mistakes, have turned around to bite him. Nonetheless, he has proved the UAE to be extremely forgiving.

http://dubib.com/news/11362_disgraced-hack-hari-welcome-in-dubai-say-police

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/

Piers Morgan Under Scrutiny

2011-08-04T14:38:00.001Z

Heather Mills has relit the furore of the phone hacking scandal with her new allegations regarding the Daily Mirror hacking her voicemail messages. It follows a long list of celebrities who have gradually discovered and accused large tabloid papers of publishing stories based on ‘gutter methods’.

The hacking was at a time when Heather Mills was experiencing difficulties in her marriage to Sir Paul McCartney. It was also when Piers Morgan was editor of the Daily Mirror, which brings several calls for a committee hearing.

Heather Mills revealed in her interview with BBC Newsnight on Wednesday 3rd August that a journalist called her and quoted parts of the call. Mills said she threatened the journalist with going to the police, and he agreed not to run the story.

Although this journalist was not Piers Morgan himself, he admitted that he had heard the voicemail message in an article in 2006 for the Daily Mail. “It was heartbreaking...Paul was pleading with her to come back... (He) even sang ‘We Can Work It Out’ into the answer phone.”

Such information obviously requires some dishonesty in attaining; however Morgan refutes ever having any involvement or knowledge. Nonetheless, MPs and the Culture Select Committee say they have no intention to quiz Morgan.

The phone hacking scandal, which has swallowed up News of the World and is biting away at Rupert Murdoch, has seen a number of revelations of dishonest journalism, as figures from Sienna Miller to Milly Dowler have seen their voicemails hacked. With a further release of allegations, in Heather Mills’ case, ten years after the event, the scandal may continue to grow and hit other papers beyond the Murdoch empire.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/08/03/mp-piers-morgan-should-co_n_917704.html

Saudi Prince Wins Libel Damages against Independent

2011-08-04T11:37:00.001Z

On 15^th April, Robert Fisk, a journalist for The Independent newspaper, published an article which stated the Saudi Minister of Interior, Prince Nayef, ordered police to shoot unarmed protesters. Fisk commented that this order was ‘extraordinary and outrageous,’ and should be investigated by the International Criminal Court. The claims originated from a fake order published by protesters online which the Independent picked up on.

The article created large consequences for the Independent Print Ltd., who was taken to London’s High Court on Wednesday. The paper has paid the prince ‘substantial damages’ to compensate, of which he will be giving to charity. The amount paid remains undisclosed.

Prince Nayef is second in line to the throne and has been Minister of the Interior for 40 years. Perhaps the Arab Spring has prompted quick conclusions over orders that emerge over the internet. Heather Morris, The Independent’s lawyer, stated that Fisk wrote the article in ‘good faith,’ however this mistake is sure to remind the British press of the importance of good journalism and the consequences of hasty assumptions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14390301

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article482766.ece

Sharia law on London Streets

2011-07-29T14:32:00.007Z

Islamic extremists have set up Shria law controlled zones in British cities, so claims the Daily Mail.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2019547/Anjem-Choudary-Islamic-extremists-set-Sharia-law-zones-UK-cities.html#ixzz1TVHOLigx

The poster campaign bombards communities with the information ‘You are entering a Shariah controlled zone. Islamic rules enforced. No alcohol. No gambling. No music or concerts. No porn or prostitutes. No drugs or smoking’.

Muslim convert Anjem Choudary, who runs the banned militant group Islam4UK, has claimed responsibility for the scheme. Old University friends of Choudary say that if Shariah law had been introduced when they knew him, he would have been stoned to death numerous times for the activities he engaged in.

Choudary claims to have thousands of people up and down the country willing to patrol for him, raising fears that local residents could be intimidated and threatened for flouting Islamic law.

Scotland Yard is working with local councils to remove all posters as soon as possible and are studying CCTV images to identify the culprits.

Fox News report on Norway attacks

2011-07-26T15:51:00.000Z

Fox News has been criticised for its reporting on the Norway shootings.

There has been no question that Breivik is a right-wing extremist but Fox have failed to accurately portray this and in fact jumping to conclusions, accusing Breivik of being an Islamist before any of the official facts were published. They have been accused of denying the true nature of the gunman’s beliefs, blaming the internet and society for the autrocities rather than holding the individual to full account.

David Badash adds his criticism of Fox News. In a 5 minute news segment, ‘loaded with falsehoods’, Fox News manage to use the words ‘Muslim’, ‘Islamic’ and ‘Al Qaeda’, a total of 15 times, despite the fact that the attacker was none of these but in fact a Christian fundamentalist. The Young Turks echo this, today criticising the media giant for continuing to deny Breivik’s right-wing, Christian nature.

"Clash of Civilisations" reports New York Times

2011-07-25T13:42:00.003Z

The New York Times used strong, emotive language in the aftermath of the Norway massacre. "Clash of civilization", "cult of death", "terrorist attack". These expressions are normally reserved for Muslim terrorist attacks, and the paper ran with presumption that a Muslim terrorist group was responsible for the attack. But it was not. A right-wing fanatical blue eyed, blonde hair young man was responsible.

Pointing fingers in the aftermath of the Norway Massacre

2011-07-25T13:08:00.004Z

The Sun newspaper's front page headline after the Norway massacre which killed 93 people and left 96 injured screamed "Al Qaeda Massacre", and referred to Anders Behring Breivik as a "home-grown Al Qaeda convert".

Irresponsibly the paper vehemently blamed Muslims for the attack whilst admitting it did not know who carried it out. The facts show that Breivik has no links with Al Qaeda. Rather, he loaths Muslims and wants to maintain a Christian Europe.

In trying to understand why Norway was the target of this terrorist attack, the article pointed out that Norway is a member of NATO and plays an active part in both Afghanistan and Libya. Equally, Norway has taking a stand against Muslim fundamentalists within the country.

Gordon Brown v News International

2011-07-12T15:14:00.002Z

Gordon Brown has today joined the extensive list of people attacking News International as he accuses them of using ‘disgusting’ methods to gain access to personal information and alleges they have links to the ‘criminal underworld’.

Brown went on to attack The Sunday Times claiming they had illegally gained access to his personal bank account as well as legal files during the time he served as UK Chancellor.

News International journalists informed Brown that the Sun had details of his son’s medical condition (cystic fibrosis). The former Prime Minister was incredibly upset as he had wished this information to remain private. Brown does not know how this information was gained; but the Sun claimed it was by acceptable methods.

In separate news, The Sunday Times reported that according to details they had uncovered, Brown had bought a flat at a ‘knock-down price’ that was formally owned by Robert Maxwell. Brown refuted this but alleged that the newspaper had someone gained access to his building society account and legal files by using their links with known criminals who Sunday Times investigators hired.

News International said that the matter would be investigated and David Cameron pledged to get to the bottom of what he referred to as this ‘appalling mess’, calling for further investigations to be made into the newspapers and offered his sympathy to Gordon and Sarah Brown.

BBC coverage of Nakba day demontrations

2011-07-11T14:01:00.000Z

The BBC failed in its online coverage, on 6 July 2011, to fully explain the recent UN report focusing on the Nakba day demonstrations along the Israeli/Lebanese border. The report criticises both the Israeli army and the Palestinian demonstrators during this episode, and notes that it was the Palestinian demonstrators who ‘initiated the trouble, were first to use violence, and violated UN Security Council Resolution 1701’

BBC online coverage, however, focuses on the actions of the Israeli army and fails to mention any of the report’s criticism of the Palestinian protestors.

The News of the World hacking scandal

2011-07-06T13:54:00.003Z

The News of the World hacking scandal has been an ongoing affair. It began in 2006 when a court case resulted in the former royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Gleen Mulcaire being jailed for hacking into phones of royal aides.

Since then further allegations have resurfaced and public figures and celebrities have launched legal actions after it emerged that their phones and emails have been intercepted. Whilst this is clearly an invasion of privacy it is most disturbing to hear allegations that the News of the World may have hacked the phones of the 7/7 London bombings victims’ families and in the Milly Dowler case. It is illegal to intercept another person’s telephone under the Regulation of Investigatory Power Act 2000 (Ripa) and there have also been offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. However, this is not only an illegal act but a grossly unethical one which severely undermines the publications reputation. Furthermore, a former reporter Sean Hoare told the BBC that this type of hacking was ‘endemic’ at the News of the World.

Graham Foulkes, the father of a victim of the 7/7 attacks has reported to the BBC that his phone may have been hacked. He says ‘My wife and I were kind of all over the place... the thought that somebody may have been listening to that just looking for a cheap headline is just horrendous’. Labour MP Chris Bryant has led the way for parliament to hold a debate on Wednesday as to whether there should be a public inquiry into this issue, after he accused the News of the World of “playing God with a family’s emotions”. These illicit techniques were also used in the case of Milly Dowler. Allegedly a private investigator, working for the News of the World, intercepted and deleted voicemails on her phone after her disappearance, as reported by the Telegraph. On the 5^th of July David Cameron expressed his shock over what is reported to have occurred over the Dowler case and by stating he was appalled if this was the case, as reported by the BBC. He has called for the police to carry out a thorough investigation and get to the truth of what is happening.

The News of the World is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s and this scandal could cost the publication a huge amount. A compensation fund has been set up with an estimated £20 million to compensate justifiable cases. Roy Greenslade of the Guardian has called on the public to act in view of these revelations to deter this type of journalism. He suggests boycotting the paper, applying pressure on advertisers and media buyers not to buy space in the News of the World and to back the call for an independent public inquiry into the affair amongst others.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

BBC Fake Footage

2011-06-17T13:57:00.002Z

The BBC is facing fierce criticism after fake footage in its Panorama programme three years ago called “Primark: On the Rack”. This episode alleged that Primark, the massive high- street retailer, was guilty of making cheap clothing by exploiting child labour in sweat shops In India.

In a review of the facts raised in the episode, the BBC Trust recently admitted that it could not be proven that the footage inside the sweat shops was real.

Whilst the BBC is regarded for its high standards of investigative journalism, this fake footage will only serve to undermine its credibility in journalism.

A bizarre incident of stolen identity

2011-06-10T11:44:00.003Z

The curious story of the mistaken identity of a kidnapped Syrian blogger is baffling.

Amina Arraf, known on her blog as “a gay girl in Damascus” has become a worldwide personality in a matter of days. She is a fierce critic of President Assad’s government, and his clampdown on protestors. News of her kidnapping, allegedly by government agents in Damascus, angered thousands of her readers. In response a facebook page was instantly set up calling for her immediate release.

A bizarre twist of events has shown that in fact the woman supposed to be Amina Arraf is in fact not her. It is a case of a stolen identity as the woman in the pictures is really Jelena Lecic, who lives in London. Lecic says "I realised when I saw my picture on a Guardian online story and… before I knew it, it was everywhere.” “"It's absolutely astonishing that someone has been using my picture and obviously campaigning with my face on it." She thinks the images are taken from her Facebook account.

Hooky and the UAE

2011-05-27T11:44:00.000Z

This came in from Hooky:

You may remember that I put in a complaint to the BBC when in the “Today” programme on 4 March John Humphrys called the late Shaikh Zaid “a very, very nasty man”. After some to-ing and fro-ing between me and the Assistant Editor of the programme, the BBC added the following – to be fair, in heavy type - to the website for 4 March: “In the course of this interview John Humphrys made reference to Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates. We now accept that the description used was inaccurate” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9413000/9413874.stm). I did not consider that this wording on a website constituted an adequate apology and I pursued my complaint with the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit.
Hooky has now recieved a letter dated 6 May from the Head of Editorial Complaints.
He says: If I were in the BBC the sequence of events would cause me to pose a number of questions about the organisation’s procedures; but I do not propose to pursue the matter further.

The Daily Mail

2011-05-05T19:04:00.000Z

Some of our members called us to task for not dealing adequately with issues relating to xenophobia in the London Daily Mail newspaper. Here is one such complaint, from a journalist:

Firstly, they give lots of coverage to nutters like Anjem Choudary. He's a publicity seeker, who doesn't represent British Muslims, but the Mail like to quote him constantly.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383681/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-Hate-preacher-Anjem-Choudary-plans-protest-London.html

Played his hands by publishing his ridiculous mocked up pictures of Buckingham Palace as a mosque and the Queen wearing a burka.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1224153/Burq-ingham-Palace-Hate-preacher-calls-Queen-wear-Muslim-dress.html
General fearmongering stories about Islamification of the UK:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377780/London-Taliban-targeting-women-gays-bid-impose-sharia-law.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373306/Battle-minarets-continues-Now-public-inquiry-decide-mosque-built-yards-Sandhurst
Foreign coverage focuses on incidents like this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375168/Sharia-Law-A-woman-whipped-having-affair.html

Aid money for education in Pakistan is "a huge gamble with the lives of British troops" and supposedly an apology to Pakistan for the mistakes of the British Empire and saying it looked both ways on terror:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373478/David-Cameron-Pakistan-650m-spend-education.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375236/Senate-hearing-descends-shouting-match-Nonie-Darwish-testifies-Islam.html
Some of Littlejohn's columns:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1331032/Prince-William-Kate-Middleton-Royal-Wedding-The-bride-wore-burka.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1378291/Wolfie-Smith-Tower-Hamlets-Taliban.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-399515/If-hate-dont-leave.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1349114/Islamophobia-What-kind-dinner-parties-Baroness-Warsi.html#ixzz1LUy2LT00
"The problem is exacerbated by the huge increase in immigration under Labour. There are now almost three million Muslims living in Britain, an increase of 50 per cent since 2001. Who voted for that? It can’t all be explained by a high birthrate."
"We’re also told that thousands of young Muslim men became radicalised after 9/11. You might have thought that any sane individual would have been horrified by one of the worst acts of mass murder ever witnessed in peacetime — not seen it as a call to arms."
"Before 9/11, few took much notice of the growing Muslim communities in Britain or the sprouting of alien-looking mosques across our cityscapes.
But many people are now genuinely concerned about the past decade of Islamic expansionism. Rightly or wrongly, they fear the transformation of British society in some areas, from the intrusive call to prayer in the inner cities to the ubiquity of halal meat in supermarkets."
"I’ve remarked before on the contortions the Left are prepared to perform in order to make common cause with the mad mullahs, who are diametrically opposed to ‘diversity’ in all its manifestations.Militant Muslims attempting to establish a sharia state in East London are being cheered on by Leftists, such as those who support George Galloway’s absurdly-named ‘Respect’ party, a toxic mix of Islamist fanaticism and revolutionary socialism.
"For it is not just terrorism that threatens Britain. It is also the steady incursion of Islamic sharia law, whose principles are inimical to Western values and human rights. This ‘sharia creep’ is now highly advanced in Britain. A parallel jurisdiction in Islamic family law has been allowed to develop in Muslim areas, turning British Muslim women into second-class citizens and worse."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1380972/Britain-IS-centre-terror-Tragically-rulers-truth.html

The BBC again

2011-03-21T00:27:00.000Z

Hooky wrote this to the BBC. There was no satisfactory answer:

Subject: REFERENCE TO LATE PRESIDENT OF THE UAE dg holding reply
Dear “Today”
In his interview with Howard Davies on 4 March John Humphrys described the late President of the United Arab Emirates, Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as “a very, very nasty man”. I quickly sent off the attached e-mail. I received no response other than the usual electronic acknowledgment, and there has been no reference on your programme this morning.
It is not for me to give the Today programme lessons in modern history: you have plenty of researchers. It will however perhaps help to guide their researches if I draw attention to the current Wikipedia entry on Shaikh Zaid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zayed_bin_Sultan_Al_Nahyan. I stand by the snap judgment given in my e-mail of yesterday. I would add that Shaikh Zaid was a good friend of the UK (it may be recalled that, remarkably, when HMG announced their intention to remove their physical presence from the Gulf states by 1971 Shaikh Zaid offered to pay for our troops to remain in his territory). I would go so far as to assert that Shaikh Zaid was a fine man, even as human beings go a good man.
Certainly he could by no standards be called “a very, very nasty man”. Certainly, too, it is not for the Today programme gratuitously to traduce foreign leaders at the whim of an ill-informed presenter.
Howard Davies apologised for what he considered errors of judgment on his part in the dealings between the LSE and the Gaddafi regime. Is John Humphrys a big enough man to apologise for his own error? If not, the BBC should issue an apology on their own account.
Yours sincerely
H Walker

(Sir Harold Walker)

BBC Arabic Team Detained and Arrested in Libya

2011-03-11T14:59:00.000Z

Three BBC Arabic Team journalists in Libya were detained for 21 hours whilst trying to reach the besieged city of Zawiya, in the Western part of the country in an attempt to report on unfolding events there.

In a clear sign of brutality, the men were beaten with fists, knees and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions by Libyan troops and secret police, loyal to Gaddafi. The UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay stated that such treatment of journalist may amount to torture as it was illega.

The journalists have since left Libya, and a Libyan government official has apologised for their treatment.

Has the Daily Star decided to back the English Defence League?

2011-02-17T16:17:00.005Z

The Telegraph reports how the front page of the Daily Star suggests the paper wants to bring far-right party into mainstream.

9/02/2011

It's a rare thing for the Star to "splash" on politics. And although the coverage referred to the EDL as being a "far-right group", it reported its activities in an uncritical manner and noted that, in a phone poll of readers the previous day, 98 per cent of respondents had "said they agreed with the EDL's policies"

The media website Engage immediately asked "Is the EDL the Daily Star's New Friend?" A day earlier the newspaper had run a story saying that the EDL would "fight for heroes" and claiming that two Muslim councillors had "snubbed" a soldier by not rising to their feet when he was being given a standing ovation for winning a George Cross.

They also carried the headline "EDL Chief: Vote Us Into Parliament!" It reported the wish of the group's leader – who uses the pseudonym Tommy Robinson – to appear on the BBC's Question Time.

"The EDL boss said that, unlike bumbling BNP leader Nick Griffin, 51, he would be a surefire hit on the show," the paper said. The article appeared alongside the Star's coverage of upheaval in Egypt, a piece that began: "Thousands of illegal immigrants will flee riot-torn Egypt and flood to Britain."

The paper's report that the EDL was preparing to field MPs was accompanied by Mr Robinson's observation that the group's 74,000 following on Facebook would exceed the online support of the three main political parties by the end of the year.

Among those Facebook followers yesterday, the Daily Star's apparent warmth to the group and a lead editorial headlined "Don't dare ignore EDL", was a source of pride and exhilaration.

Stephen Martin, who uses the slogan "British by Birth, English by the Grace of God", described his morning commute. "TODAY i sat there with my daily star with PRIDE, the pictures and banners were fair, the write up was fair, the Star comment was fair and 98 per cent back us (including everybody sat with me)," he wrote. "We have a voice now, 25p a day, if they have 74,000 new readers, we have a BIGGER voice."

Tom Evans ("English and Fuckin' Proud of It") agreed. "i think everyone should support the daily star and buy it a couple times a week at least lol... they are the only one to stand up for the EDL." He said other EDL followers were thrilled at the "awesome" and "amazing" 98 per cent approval rating from Star readers.

The Daily Star has now run several negative stories about the EDL because of heavy criticism.

White Terrorist Ignored by Mainstream Media

2011-02-16T16:00:00.002Z

Russia Today exposes the bias in the western media. They identify a story of an attempted terrorist attack in the US by a white american citizen, whose target was a mosque. This story was hardly reported in the Western Media, however, RT argue that had the roles been reversed and it was a Muslim man planning the attack the media response would have been vastly different.

Last week an ex-Army veteran from California was arrested for driving to Detroit’s largest mosque with a trunk full of explosives. Police then found Roger Stockham inside his car, outside the Islamic Center of America with a load of M-80′s and other explosives in his trunk. The mainstream media has ignored this story. Alyona asks Georgetown University Professor Christopher Chambers why the media only cares about Muslim Terrorists.

Horrendously poor standards of journalism

2010-12-22T22:37:00.000Z

The British Press has sunk to gutter standards never manifest before in Western journalism. This horrendous behaviour borders on treasonous and the Editor of the London Daily Telegraph should be prosecuted. To conduct a sting of this kind to entrap a government minister is to curb, not foster, free speech, and endangers democracy.

For more information click here

International Media Crebility Index 2010

2010-11-02T14:23:00.003Z

The Next Century Foundation is looking into creating an International Media Credibility Index (which it hopes it could publish and update yearly). The index would rank publications and media organisations throughout the world on a number of issues.

We have created a questionnaire to help us in compiling this Media Index. This questionnaire is designed to gauge the credibility of media outlets across the globe.

Disinformation and xenophobia are both worldwide phenomena hindering progress in broadcasting. Therefore an audience-driven Media Credibility Index might facilitate the development and implementation of better practice.

The questionnaire can be found here: (http://www.ncfpeace.org/drupal/node/619). If you have any suggestions for ways to change it or completed questionnaires please sned them to ncfmediagroup@aol.com.

Wikileaks Prepares new Publications

2010-10-18T13:08:00.003Z

As it becomes apparent that Wikileaks is about to publish documents on the Iraq war the US military is preparing for the impending media attention.

Wikileaks, the online news source that specialises in revealing abuses of power by government and businesses, has said that it has up to 400 000 documents on the Iraq war and video footage of a massacre of Afghanistani civilians by US troops that it will release soon. They are expected to be posted on the website when it is restored as it is currently down for maintenance.

The US military has voiced its concerns over the release of documents, citing the impact on the security of those sources implied in the documents. After the release of 70 000 similar documents in July the Pentagon expressed fears that Wikileaks did not have the expertise to guarantee the safety of the sources mentioned in the documents. The US military have assembled a 120 man task force to try and monitor the leaks and defend the allegations of abuse of power that are sure to stem from it.

The publication of these documents will undoubtedly be a good thing as it will force the American Military to conduct itself much more responsibly and it is disappointing that the US feel the need to try and suppress this.

Sloppy Reporting Is Irresponsible And Unacceptable

2010-10-15T15:33:00.002Z

Wondrous developments in technology have put millions of users online, with access to unfathomable depths of information. In this cyber-age everyone and anyone can broadcast their loves, hates, and darkest fears to the world through blogs, video-postings, and opinion polls.

The wealth of information at our touch-typing fingertips is unpoliced and uncertain. Public scepticism is the only source of editing. Yet while the fallibility of Wikipedia is a foregone conclusion, many other sources remain unchecked.

So rather than herald the end of print-media, as many suggested, the murky waters of the internet should allow the national media outlets, with trained journalists on the pay-roll, to shine out as a beacon of truth. In response to the dubious web, national and international newspapers should recognise their duty to publish credible, well-researched, accurate reports that pay no heed to gossip and rumour.

Two recent media storms reveal that this is not the case.

Some of Israel’s most influential dailies put much weight behind the claim that Hezbollah, aided by Syria, was amassing Scud missiles, capable of striking deep inside Israel. Have the journalists responsible for such gossip ever seen a Scud missile? Why would Hezbollah, generously funded by Iran, pay any attention to Cold War era fossils?

Another fairytale recounted by the media is that Syria is producing rockets. Syria would love to be producing rockets. That would be very lucrative and useful. Unfortunately they do not have the manufacturing capability, nor will they have it anytime soon.

Blind acceptance of intelligence feeds smacks of incompetency and laziness. Spread of disinformation is unacceptable, especially when dealing with such sensitive subjects that have repercussions upon politics and xenophobia.

Manipulation of public opinion is the power all media wields. Journalists would do well to show a little humility before it.

NB. The author recognises the potential irony of damning the unedited proliferation of blogs, whilst using the medium herself.

International Media Awards 2011

2010-09-30T16:16:00.004Z

Nominations Now Open to the Public. Close on 30th November.

The International Media Awards 2011 will take place in April of next year and the Next Century Foundation welcomes nominations now. The International Media Awards is hosted yearly by the NCF to show our appreciation for those journalists, TV producers, Broadcasters and those in that area who have worked to improve the understanding of the issues both of and within the Middle East.

The current list of those already nominated can be found here: http://www.ncfpeace.org/drupal/node/572.

Nominations close before November 30th with shortlisting taking place on the 8th December.

Please send your nominations, and if possible a short biography of them and why you are nominating them, to NCFPeace@aol.com and we will include them in the long list as soon as possible.

Media Myths: Does the US control the Arab Media? By Nehad Ismail

2010-09-02T13:08:00.001Z

Following the publication on July 21st of an interview about "Arab Satellite Television" that I gave to Elaph (the most influential Arabic News Website), I received a number of phone calls advising me that Aljazeera Programme "Opposite Direction" (A sort of "Cross-Fire" heated debate) would be hosting two guests to discuss the "Arab Satellite Media" on Tuesday July 27th. Here I focus on the conspiracy theory that was the main theme of the 56 minute Aljazeera Flagship Programme.

One of the guests insisted that the Arab Satellite media is an American imperialist conspiracy that aims to dominate the Arabic mind and cancel out the Arabic identity.

Familiar Platitudes

The conspiracy theorist adamantly adhered to his rigid view that the Arab Satellite media is an imperial conspiracy. He explained this by insisting that the role of the Satellite media is to distort the national identity and to obliterate the Arab culture. The Satellite media he argued is a weapon used against the Arab people and the increasing number of Satellite channels is not an innocent phenomenon. It is a kind of new imperialism that threatens our culture and civilization through the use of media power to serve American and Zionists interests.

This skewed thinking is not new. Haven't we heard such malicious accusations about Al-Arabiya and Aljazeera Channels? Objective observers of the Pan-Arab media scene know very well that the media is sometimes used to achieve certain political ends or to promote a particular viewpoint. The media is also used to incite against a minority or a religious group. The Iraqi arena is the most flagrant example of this. It can therefore be argued that certain satellite channels have their own agenda but to put the blame exclusively on America or any other state is gross over-simplification and is unfair. This is not to say that the US Administration is not interested in what the Arabic media is saying or doing, but this interest is due to geo-political and economic reasons and not the classic sort of conspiracy people talk about.

Why the US is interested in Arab media

As a major strategic player in the Middle East, the US Administration takes interest in the Middle East Media scene but it does not control it. We all reject channels and programmes that incite hatred or violence. We all welcome programmes that promote peace and democratic values. If the USA promotes such values, this does not make it wrong or a conspiracy of some sort.

The launching of Al Hurra Satellite TV Station in 2004 by the US Administration underlined the importance of the media in influencing Arab public opinion. The US Congress considered Al-Hurra as an extension of US Foreign Policy in the Middle East. The main purpose of Al-Hurra was to explain the American position, advance the US views and to improve its image in the Middle East. Nothing wrong with that I would say. There was no conspiracy, no secret funding or hidden agenda. However, despite an annual spend of 100 million US Dollars, it is widely recognized that it has not achieved its objectives.

But the idle talk of a conspiracy is yet another excuse by the Arabs to hide their own failure.

The Accusations Against Aljazeera for Example

Didn't we hear back in 2005 that Aljazeera was a CIA tool, an agent of Israel and other similar baseless exaggerations? At one time, the accusations reached the pinnacles of absurdity when Aljazeera was labelled as agent for the Al-Qaeda, the Iraqi Resistance, the CIA, the Mossad, Hezbollah and Hamas all at the same time. To be an agent for one party and its allies may be plausible, but to be an agent for 10 parties some of whom are at war with each other is ridiculous and lacks logic. It also demolishes the conspiratorial myth altogether. Besides Qatar does not need external funding.

In this respect it is appropriate to refer to Hugh Miles' book "Al-Jazeera, How Arab TV News challenged the world" 2006. In my review of the book in 2007 I explained how the author debunked the lies and myths woven around Al-Jazeera. The logical conclusion was that Al-Jazeera was not a tool of the CIA and the Mossad. Israel still holds the view that the Station is a mouth-piece for Arab terrorism. Didn't Tony Blair talk President Bush out of bombing Al-Jazeera HQ in friendly Qatar in the spring of 2004? Wasn't Al-Jazeera office in Kabul bombed in 2001 and the Baghdad offices in 2003?

This leads us to ask has the CIA or the Mossad any connection with Russia Today, France 24, and the BBC Arabic Service which are broadcasting to the Arab world via satellite. The religious stations and jihadist channels are not financed by the USA; they are locally funded and managed. The USA is naturally against any hostile news media that it consider harmful to US interest. What's wrong with this? Aren't we all against anything that is hostile and harmful to our interests?

What About Other Channels?

We often hear the accusation that this channel or that has a hidden agenda. It is not new to state that every newspaper and every TV channel has its own view and policy whether we are talking about CNN, Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Times, The Washington Post, the BBC or Aljazeera. I am for any agenda that aims to educate the viewer, to promote tolerance and moderation. Any agenda that exposes human rights abuses is to be welcomed. Only dictatorial tyrannical regime would oppose such agenda.

Entertainment, music, films and dramas were often criticised for polluting the mind of youths. I would say if such programmes succeed in keeping the youth away from the radicals who brainwash them into hating the West and committing suicide-bombing, I am for such programmes and the more the better.

We ought to welcome programmes that promote democratic principles, love and co-existence, the rejection of violence, the condemnation of terrorism, the respect of human and animal rights and exposing abuse of such rights. This is what we need in the Arab world. It is not a conspiracy.

The Muslim Council of Britain

2010-07-13T11:12:00.003Z

A furore has emerged regarding the Muslim Council of Britain’s advice for state schools during the month of Ramadan. It recommends that schools reschedule swimming lessons during the month of Ramadan “as the potential for swallowing water is very high”. The report which also cautions against Muslims involvement in dance lessons can be seen in full below:

See Page 31-32:

http://www.mcb.org.uk/downloads/Schoolinfoguidancev2.pdf

Given the current climate in the United Kingdom at the moment, the suggestions have attracted criticism from all quarters of the British media. It is interesting, however, to note the way in which different new outlets are critiquing the MCB’s recommendations.

The BBC’s online report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/stoke_and_staffordshire/10596808.stm

The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7884040/Council-tells-schools-to-rearrange-exams-and-cancel-swimming-for-Ramadan.html

Daily Express: http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/186387/Schools-forced-to-delay-exams-to-avoid-insulting-Muslims-at-Ramadan/

Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1293833/Council-forces-schools-rearrange-exams-cancel-lessons-avoid-offending-Muslims-Ramadan.html

Also, fascinating is the comment sections on the respective articles by readers. This news report is hardly sensational; it follows on from countless other reports where it seems that the perception is that Muslims dictate much of the agenda in Britain. Of course this is silly. This report is after all, guidance. However, having made several trips to the Middle East over the last twelve months it is clear that MCB’s guidance is overbearing. Many commentators in the Middle East have spoken out, stating that in places like Damascus regulations such as avoiding swimming simply don’t exist. What then is the relevance of this article, apart from the cheap headlines it generates? Well, it does seem to suggest that the Muslim Council of Britain’s vision of Islam in Britain is not as adaptive as they would have us believe. The makeup of the MCB’s executive board has attracted much scrutiny in recent years, in particular, its Deputy Secretary-General made inflammatory remarks regarding Israel’s military (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/23/muslim-council-britain-gaza). The MCB does itself no favours. They continue to write reports that attract criticism, which in turn feed into the feeling of “Islamaphobia”. Nevertheless, whilst some of the negativity the MCB receives in unwarranted – recommending that primary schools pupils avoid swimming during Ramadan is ridiculous.

Sad little CNN story

2010-07-11T11:32:00.000Z

"In case you missed this" writes Colin Bickler who forwards this item about the sacking of a CNN editor. Sad really. Sacked for an indiscreet tweet. We live in a Western World where media freedom is much impaired. Perhaps we should put our own house in order:

CNN Drops Editor After Hezbollah Comments - Media Decoder Blog - NYTimes.com:
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/cnn-drops-editor-after-hezbollah-comments/?hp

Mid East Broadcasting

2010-05-27T16:30:00.002Z

For the International Media Council's latest discussion on Mid East Broadcasting click here:

http://vimeo.com/user3896624/videos

International Media Awards 2010

2010-05-11T13:20:00.002Z

The International Council for Press and Broadcasting Sixth International Media Awards

The International Media Awards ceremony was held at a gala night in central London on Saturday 8^th of May. Western, Israeli and Arab journalists from across the Middle East gathered for the 6^th International Media Awards.

The International Media Award winners for 2010:

Outstanding Contribution to Peace Award

MOSSI RAZ & MAYSA SINIORA joint Israeli and Palestinian winners for All For Peace Radio, a joint Israeli-Arab radio station.

The Peace through Media Award

IAN BLACK Middle East Editor of the Guardian

SAMIA NAKHOUL is the Reuters Middle East Editor

AKIVA ELDAR is the Chief Political Columnist for Haaretz

PATRICK COCKBURN, Foreign Correspondent Independent and contributor to London Review of Books

Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award

BEN WEDEMAN is CNN’s Senior International Correspondent based in Cairo.

The Cutting Edge Award:

ITAI ANGHEL is a senior correspondent for the weekly current affairs program “UVDA” on Israel’s Channel 2 television

MOEEN AL HILOU is currently Gaza Producer for Israel's Channel 10 TV, as well as being a director for the Hebrew News Department at Palestine TV

The Breakaway Award:

RANJ ALAALDIN is a Middle East political and security risk analyst based at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He writes for the Guardian columnist and numerous other print and online publications.

Outstanding Contribution to New Media (The Bloggers’ Award)

BENNY ZIFFER has been the literary editor of Haaretz since 1987. More recently his blogs “Lo BeBeit Sifrenu” and “Dressed to Provoke” have risen to prominence in the Hebrew blogosphere.

MBI Lifetime Achievement Award

JIM MUIR is BBC Middle East Correspondent. Having begun his involvement with the region in Beirut in 1975, he is now based there again, focusing on issues both within Lebanon (particularly Hezbollah) and in the wider Middle East, traveling regularly to cover Iraq.

The Annual International Media Awards were established in 2005 and are one of the projects run by the Next Century Foundation. The awards celebrate the work of journalists covering the Middle East, whose high standards of analysis and reporting have helped break down barriers and promote better understanding of the people and politics of the region. The awards also recognise the skill, courage and determination of individual journalists when reporting from areas of conflict or political repression. The Awards honour and encourage journalists who have advanced our understanding of the Middle East through their outstanding journalism.

Speaking on behalf of the International Council for Press and Broadcasting, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, the Patron of the International Media Awards said “It is a great pleasure to be able to sponsor these Awards”.

Ms Dalia Salaam of the Next Century Foundation, convener of the awards along with Lord Stone of Blackheath, stated, “We are all ourselves honored to be able to honour these outstanding journalists on this special occasion.”

Lord Stone of Blackheath told reporters, “The Media Awards are awarded to journalists and broadcasters who, through the consistently high standard of their work, promote better understanding of the people and politics of the Middle East. All those journalists honoured are worthy recipients.”

Ambassador Mark Hambley said, “These awards demonstrate anew the positive role which media, in all its varied forms, is playing to increase understaning and reduce conflict in the Middle East. The award winners are to be congratulated for their persistence and courage, often under fire.”

Mid East Broadcasting Conference - London 8 May

2010-05-03T10:25:00.002Z

The State of Broadcasting in the Middle East: Saturday 8 May 2010

e-mail: ncfpeace@aol.com
A conference organised by the International Council for Press and Broadcasting. Held at Initiatives of Change, 24 Greencoat Place, London, SW1P 1RD. Registration 9:15 am

10:00 Session One Middle East Satellite Television: Objective coverage or media myopia? Chair William Morris Next Century Foundation. Panel: Jim Muir - BBC, Beirut Zaki Chehab – LBC Adel Zanoon - Agence-France Presse and ANN Gaza Adnan Abu-Hasna – Voice Radio project, Gaza

11:30 Session Two Political Interference - censorship, intimidation and assassination Chair Robin Williamson - International Communications Forum. Panel: Bahielden HZ Elibrachy – Ibrachy & Dermarkar, Cairo. Soran Aziz APTN (Alirqiya TV). Moeen al Hilou, - Gaza Channel Ten Itai Anghel – Channel 2

2:00 Session Three The consequences of jamming and of the deportation of journalists Chair Louisa Brooke - Senior World Affairs Analyst, the BBC. Panel: Salah Hamza – Chief Technical Officer, Nilesat. Adel Darwish – Broadcaster Ribal Al Assad – ANN Issam Abdullah – formerly MBC and BBC Arabic

3:15 Session Four Ethics of Broadcasting – the impact of xenophobia and disinformation
Chair Russell Twisk – Editor at Large, The Reader’s Digest. Panel: Maysa Baransi-siniora and Mossi Raz - Peace Radio Israel Abdalrahman Dheyab Abdullah- Al Sharqiyah Jeena Al Ammo – Oman TV, formerly Al Hurra

DAY TWO Sunday 9th May – What Can be achieved? Policy working groups in cooperation with Innovation Arts. Working Discussion Groups 11.00 am - 4.00 pm (working lunch 1pm)

1. Government and Broadcasting: The way forward for a freer press. Led by Hon. Mark Hambly - Former Ambassador to Lebanon former US Spokesman for the Middle East: How do broadcasters respond to censorship, jamming, intimidation and deportation?

2. Broadcasting Organisations in a safer world: Mechanisms to foster balanced press coverage. Led by Adel Darwish - Broadcaster: How do broadcasting organisations maintain integrity around disinformation and political bias?

3. The Individual Broadcaster: Ensuring ethics in journalism are not compromised. Led by William Morris - The Next Century Foundation: How do broadcasting organisations reinforce peace and not hatred?

4. The Mission of Satellite Television: Governments have been challenged by satellite TV is that its purpose or is the BBC approach of attacking social taboos more pertinent? Led by David Powell – Deputy Head of Media Outreach, US State Department

An informal, creative atmosphere to allow you as participants, the main actors in the session, to work together as peers. Discussion Leaders encourage participation and share experiences.

Thoughts on Poppies

2009-11-20T15:55:00.003Z

Like millions of Britons, I wore a red poppy in the run up to Remembrance Day last week. I believe it’s important to show respect and gratitude to the war dead; there are few, I suspect, who would disagree. However, there are aspects of the poppy tradition that I have found unsettling. This year’s advertisements have seemingly tied the red poppy to current conflicts that Britain is involved in overseas. Many of these ads depict images of union jack draped coffins being loaded aboard transport aircraft in Afghanistan or Iraq. The caption reads: “For his Family’s sake, wear a poppy.” Not “remember our dead” or “support the British legion,” but “wear a poppy.” Make your support visible. Show it.

You can purchase a white poppy if you can find one (I could not this year). However the white poppy can cause problems, as the head of the BBC Editorial Policy stated in 2007, white poppies make a political statement (i.e. pacifism). Presumably the reason you do not see white poppies on television. White poppy sellers have been victims of abuse in certain circumstances. Schoolchildren have been told to remove them for Remembrance Day services. The London Fire service committed a “gaffe” by featuring white poppies on their Remembrance Day invitations. The Royal Canadian Legion successfully mounted enough legal pressure on Canadian peace groups to prevent the sale of white poppies.

Likewise, not wearing a red poppy can cause problems. England football coach Fabio Cappello was recently lambasted in the media for not wearing one and Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow annually attracts criticism for not having one affixed to his lapel when he reads the news (along with any other political, charitable or social symbol).

One constant in politics and society in general, is that it is extremely bad form to criticise a war when one's troops are fighting in it. Logically, a far more effective method of helping servicemen would be to question why wars are fought and hopefully prevent more soldiers being sent to die. Unfortunately, in modern times, there is confusion between remembering those who die in war and supporting war.

This confusion has amounted to a form of propaganda. Distribution of propaganda and disinformation is not always a conscious process. Often, messages with noble intention can be imbued with subtle undertones that have broader consequences. The poppy appeal focuses on exclusively on injured soldiers from our side. It ignores the casualties and injuries inflicted upon soldiers from the other side and the civilian population. It also has the unintended consequence of attaching moral legitimacy to current wars that Britain is involved in by associating them with the wars like world war one and two (which are held in absolute moral terms in Britain today).

The poppy appeal is ostensibly to raise money for serving and ex-servicemen. In which case, the question is raised; should the state not be doing more to help servicemen who it demands travel to a far off place, risk their lives, for ill-thought out wars without clear objectives? The government is asking soldiers to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to support various foreign policy objectives and in return the government’s leaders attend some parades and wear a paper flower a couple weeks per year.

BNP gets onto the BBC

2009-09-12T20:12:00.002Z

Sad isn't it - that the BBC should have sunk so low as to give a platform for racism. Nick Griffin of the BNP believes that Hindus should be treated as guest workers and that Moslems should be encouraged to leave the UK. But the BBC has few standards these days - and the jury is no longer out - the BBC has truly lost its credibility with this invitation to Nick Griffin to appear on Question Time.

VOA and its attempts to silence the critics of the Islamic Republic

2009-09-01T15:00:00.006Z

Voice of America Persian Service editors have refused to allow regular commentator Mohsen Sazegara to give advice on air that might have helped demonstrators to be more effective in resisting the government intelligence forces.

Sazegara, who was a founder of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and who joined the opposition against the regime in the 1990s, would have been an appropriate person to give useful advice to the Iranian people. However, VOA banned him from broadcasting. This is not the only time VOA has inexplicably refused prominent opposition figures air time. Roozbeh Farahanipour was refused an interview under similar circumstances in July this year.

So the question is, why is VOA refusing to allow the voices to be heard of those who appear best placed to further the organisation's stated mission??!!

Israel ignores Palestine

2009-05-21T11:48:00.004Z

This is really something. For years Israel has been complaining about Palestinians ignoring the existence of Israel in schoolbooks etc. They have had a campaign about it. But now the Israel government slaps up a poster campaign on London Underground ignmoring the existence of Palestine. Bizarre really.

Talk about the pot and the kettle.

Bloggers and Journalists gather for the Annual International Media Awards at the London Athenaeum, Monday 11th May 2009.

2009-05-13T14:54:00.003Z

Journalists and Bloggers from the across the Middle East and the West gathered on Monday evening for the 5th International Media Awards ceremony hosted by Lord Stone of Blackheath. The awards were founded by The Next Century Foundation which works principally to support peace initiatives across the Middle East. This year the Awards also included a category for bloggers to acknowledge the growing influence of the blogosphere on the reporting of events.

The Next Century Foundation established the awards in 2005 to publically recognise journalists whose work has contributed to a better understanding of conflict zones, in particular the Arab/Israeli conflict, and of the Middle East region as a whole. The awards recognise the work of journalists whose high standards of analysis and reporting have helped to break down barriers and promote understanding. They also recognise the efforts and courage of individual journalists and bloggers, who are often placed at risk when reporting stories from areas of conflict or political repression.

The categories were as follows:

Four Peace through Media Awards. Each winner received an olive tree for their individual outstanding contribution to understanding.

Dr Badrakan Al-Sindi, Editor in chief of Al-Ta’akhi Newspaper ( Iraq )
Mark Urban, Diplomatic Editor, Newsnight, BBC.
Mick Fealty, Editor and writer of Slugger O’Toole Blog ( Ireland )
Paul Staines, aka Blogger Guido Fawkes.

Two Peace Through Media Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Khaled Kishtainy, Iraqi journalist of Sharq Al Awsat newspaper.
Kamran Karadaghi, Iraqi journalist of Al Hayat newspaper.

Four Cutting Edge Awards. Each winner received a £1000 cash prize for their oustanding coverage of events in the Middle East .

Oren Yakobovich of Israel's B'Tselem's "Shooting Back" programme.
Shlomo Eldar of Israel's Channel 10 whose live broadcast many believe contributed to the end of Israel’s recent Gaza campaign.
Faisal Abbas Saudi Arabian journalist of Sharq al Awsat and blogger for the Huffington Post.
Jaafar al Ahmar Lebanese journalist of Al Hayat.

Two Breakaway Awards for most promising new talent.

Abdulrahman Abdulla, Al Sharqiya Satellite TV.
Potkin Azarmehr, Blogger for a secular democratic Iran .

It is with much regret, and for a second year running, that several award winners were unable to attend and receive their awards due to border closures. Four winners, all of whom were based in Gaza, received accolades for their work. It is hoped that next year they will be able to pick up their awards in person.

The awards are given by The International Council for Press and Broadcasting part of the Next Century Foundation. It has worked in cooperation with the International Communications Forum, St Brides Forum, and The Department of Journalism at City University.

The Award Patrons: The Patrons of the International Media Awards this year were: Mr Ribal Al Assad of ANN Satellite TV; Ms Dalia Salaam Rishani of Hood Hood Books; Mr Walid Issa Taha of Taha Associates in Baghdad ; Ms Annie Henschal of Olives et al.

For further information contact Ms Deborah Pout, the convenor of the awards ceremony, on d.pout@btinternet.com

VOICES ONLINE: BLOGGING CONFERENCE

2009-05-04T20:21:00.004Z

Monday 11th May
Venue: City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 4DB

The Next Century Foundation in association with the Department of Journalism at City University London is holding a one day conference on Monday 11th of May entitled Voices Online: Blogging Conference. The conference is looking at the role of blogging and micro-blogging and will bring bloggers from the Middle East to debate and interact with their Western counterparts in a series of panel discussions.

Speakers to include:

Professor Adrian Monck - Head of Journalism and Publishing at City University.
Guido Fawkes - Political blogger of the day - received wide recognition for breaking the news of leaked e-mails from Damian McBride.
Karim Arafat - Co-founder of Watwet, the Arabic twitter and Tootcorp.
Slugger O'Toole - Northern Ireland Politics Blog and Head of Political Blogs, Telegraph Group.
Badrakhan Al-Sindi - Editor in Chief of Iraqi Al -Ta'akhi newspaper.
Andrew Miller - Political Editor and Bagehot columnist, The Economist.
Mark Jones - Reuters Global Community Editor.
Mona Eltahawy - Egyptian/US Columnist, Analyst & Blogger.
Andrew Sparrow - Senior Political Correspondent, Guardian website & Orwell Prize 2009 shortlisted Blog.

Session 1 9.30am - 10.30am - State of the Art Technology.
Session 2 10.45am - 11.45am - Blogger to Blogger - The Political Blog.
Session 3 11.45am - 12.45pm - Journalist Bloggers.
Lunch 12.45pm - 13.30pm
Working Groups 13.30pm - 15.30pm

The Conference is open to all but if you wish to secure a place please e-mail:
ncfpeace@aol.com or PowellDR@state.gov or Deborah Pout at d.pout@btinternet.com

Organised by The Next Century Foundation and held with support from The US Media Outreach Centre at the US Embassy.

New BBC Persian Channel a "threat" to Iran security

2009-03-06T13:28:00.008Z

Iran voiced its "dismay" of the launching of the new BBC Persian service by claiming that it was "detrimental" to Iranian national security.

Information minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejeie told reporters that the launching of the BBC Persian would not be good for national security and Tehran would take “necessary measures” to thwart the plan.

The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad-Hossein Safar-Harandi, went one step further by brandishing the activity of the BBC Persian channel as "illegal" in Iran. Mohammad Karim Abedi, a member of the Foreign Policy and National Security Committee of the Iranian parliament, furthermore, added that the BBC was intent on setting up an intelligence network under the cover of journalistic activities to create potential "spies".

A BBC spokesman in London, England, said the corporation is breaking no laws in Iran.

But Safar-Harandi argued, “the BBC has a long history of sowing discord among nations and disturbing their national solidarity through its news programs,”. He added that the British news company had “no good reputation” among regional states. The minister also called on those working in Iranian media “to avoid cooperating with the BBC Persian.”

The BBC and Gaza

2009-01-31T15:45:00.002Z

Ricard Burden MP contiues to campaign against the BBC decision not to publish the Gaza appeal. He sent us the text o his early day motion in parliment which goes:

‘That this House is astonished by the refusal of the BBC and Sky to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza Crisis Appeal; considers that the explanation given for this decision by BBC spokespersons are both unconvincing and incoherent; and draws attention to the fact that people wishing to contribute to the Gaza appeal can contact the DEC by visiting www.dec.org.uk.’

Mr Burden, a member of the International Development Committee and Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, said:

‘The fact that well over 100 MPs from different parties have signed this Commons motion shows the breadth of concern about the position which the BBC and Sky are taking. The arguments that BBC managers have been putting forward in defence of their refusal to screen this appeal have shown themselves to be even more even unconvincing and contradictory as time has gone on.

Seminar on Media and Immigration isues

2008-08-21T12:47:00.002Z

THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COUNCIL

Venue: St Brides Church, Fleet St , London EC4Y 8AU, Thursday 11th September 2008

The International Media Council, in partnership with the St Brides Forum, is holding a half day seminar on the seven year anniversary of 9/11. The seminar will be held at St Brides’ Church in Fleet Street, the traditional spiritual home of the UK press. Discussion will be wide ranging and will compare the US and UK views on the immigration issue and the development of an integrated society. Discussion will further address racism, and xenophobia. The conference aims to discuss the effectiveness the United States’ policy of integration and lessons to be learned from the British model with its emphasis on multiculturalism. Participants will examine efforts at social cohesion and their relative success in incorporating immigrant communities of different ethnic background. Discussion will also focus on the degree to which these communities participate in the political process.

Issues Raised by Journalists: More on al-Dura:

2008-06-30T23:31:00.001Z

Issues Raised by Journalists: More on al-Dura:

The link above will take you to more on the extraordinary al-Dura story. On September 30 2000, two days after Ariel Sharon, then the leader of Israel's opposition Likud Party, went for a walk on Temple Mount, Palestinians mounted a demonstration at Gaza's Netzarim Junction. A 55-second piece of video footage of that demonstration, transmitted that day by the French TV station France 2, was to cause unprecedented violence in the Middle East and throughout the world.

FOR FULL ORIGINAL BACKGROUND STORY CLICK HERE

International Media Council Awards

2008-06-30T21:21:00.002Z

The Next Century Foundation International Media Councils Awards 2008 The Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall, Wednesday 7th May.

Journalists and editors from the Arab World, Israel and the UK were given a special prize in London for producing consistently balanced reporting on the Middle East. The presentation of the awards was unusual in itself in that it brought together journalists from all sides in this troubled region. The award ceremony was hosted by Lord Stone of Blackheath and Ms Dalia Salaam Risani. The ceremony was attended by senior figures from the Arab, Israeli and British media as well as diplomats.
The annual award ceremony was first launched in 2005 by the International Media Council, a body set up by the Next Century Foundation. This NGO works in support of peace initiatives in the Middle East. The award is in recognition of the vital role that the media can play in contributing to understanding, without which no peace process is possible. Each year the Next Century Foundation honours editors and journalists in this way.

WINNERS
The Peace Through Media Awards (Honorary) Each winner was presented with an olive tree.
Yehuda Litani, Editor, Al Usbua, Channel 2 and Columnist, Yedioth Aharanoth and Haaretz, In recognition of his tireless work for rapprochement and peace. Prize presented by Ian Black, Middle East Editor, The Guardian.
Roula Khalaf, The Financial Times. In recognition of her high standards of reporting and the quality of her news analysis. Prize presented by Ms Annie Henshaw, Director of Olives et al.

Lifetime Achievement Award (Honorary)
Bernard Josephs, Political Editor, the Jewish Chronicle. In recognition of his efforts to improve understanding of the Middle East as well as his work against disinformation and incitement to hatred. Prize presented by Rabbi Herschel Gluck.

The following winners each received a Cash Prize of 1000 pounds
Special Award for an outstanding contribution to broadcasting
Damien Charton, France 24, for reporting during fighting in Gaza in 2007. Prize presented by William Morris, Secretary General The Next Century Foundation.
Zeina Fayadh, Program editor and Presenter, ANB Satellite Television. Prize presented by Mrs Ibtisam Auchi

Cutting Edge Award
Adel Darwish, columnist, Daily Mail; TV commentator. Prize presented by Louisa Brooke, BBC
Robert Tait, Iran Correspondent, The Observer. Prize presented by David Gardner, Financial Times.
Mina al Oraibi, Sharq al Awsat. Prize presented Mrs Ibtisam Auchi.

Breakaway Award
Sharif Nashashibi, Arab Media Watch, Prize presented by Jihad Al Khazan Editor at large of Al Hayatt Newspaper.
Wijdan Mahdi Ali Alsalih, columnist in Friendship magazine; freelance journalist based in Basrah. Prize presented by William Morris, Next Century Foundation

Two Awards were not presented this year but postponed until next year. The winners were prevented from leaving the war zones on which they report.
Reporters working in War Zones
Mr Sami Abdul Shafi, Gaza Correspondent, The Independent and The Guardian.
Saif Al-Khayat, Correspondent, Elaph, Baghdad.
Photographs are available by request direct to ruthsk@gmail.com

Hamas Presents Protocols of Elders of Zion

2008-04-28T17:08:00.004Z

This disturbing news item from an Hamas run TV station broadcasting from a secret location in Gaza was sent to us by Felix Posen who comments, "Another rerason why one cannot do business with these people - except of course Jimmy Carter":

The following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas Culture Minister 'Atallah Abu Al-Subh. The interview aired on Al-Aqsa TV on April 9, 2008

The Protocols... is The Faith that Every Jew Harbors in His Heart: "I return to this book – The Protocols of the Elders of Zion – time and again. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is the faith that every Jew harbors in his heart. This book was published by Al-Nafiza publishers in Cairo."

The Introduction to the Study Was Written by Egypt's Mufti: "The research was conducted by Ahmad Hijaz Al-Saqqa and Hisham Khadhr, and the introduction was written by Dr. 'Ali Gum'a, who later became, and still is, the Mufti of Egypt. Al-'Aqqad once called this [i.e. the Protocols] a 'hellish' book, in his introduction to the translation by Mahmoud Khalifa Al-Tunisi, which is the most famous translation, which fate had me read in 1971 or 1972.

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE

An extreme view?

2008-03-20T12:11:00.003Z

This cartoon comes from a blog highlighted by Felix. It is almost too controversial to comment on. But some of you may have thoughts you wish to express. It certainly qualifies as thought provoking - and provokative. As does the blog it comes from which you can find if you click here. You may find it shocking. Your comments are welcome.

Munich comes to Oxford

2008-03-13T23:47:00.003Z

Are the Oxford Union promoting a racist agenda and advocating the obliteration of Israel? Felix sends this item:

The response to the decision by the student union of the London School of Economics to launch a campaign to boycott Israel is instructive. Britain is so teaming with boycotts and boycott attempts that the news of the latest one barely rated mention in the Israeli media.
After the Oxford Union debating society invited Hizbullah champion Norman Finkelstein, of all people, to represent the pro-Israel stance in a debate about whether Israel has a right to exist, not much more could surprise me.
However, the Oxford Union's decision, is significant because the subject of the planned debate did not revolve around opposition to settlements in the occupied territories, but rather something else completely.

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE

Forum for combating anti-Semitism in London

2008-02-27T00:30:00.001Z

Jane writes: I note that "MP John Mann mentioned that the government of Britain proposes to host next year's conference of the Forum for combating anti-Semitism in London", and wondered if the Media Council might be able to do something as part of this? With so much of the pan-Arab press in London, it could be a useful event if pitched right - might possibly reach an audience who wouldn't pay attention to this year's event in Israel.

At the end of the annual conference of the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism, which was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 24-25 February 2008, two delegates announced their intention to establish an international coalition for combating antisemitism. The announcement, made by Irwin Cotler, Canadian MP and former Minister of Justice, and John Mann, British MP, won the support of the conference's co-chairs, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and Minister Isaac Herzog, who is also Minister of Diaspora Affairs and the Fight Against Antisemitism.
MP Mann mentioned that the government of Britain proposes to host next year's conference of the Forum in London.

BBC aggrevating Islamophobia?

2008-02-09T23:55:00.000Z

The BBC have had to apologise to Mpac over something - was it an issue? A serious issue? What do you think? Did it do as much to aggrevate Islamophobia as the recent comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury?

TO VIEW THE COMPLAINT CLICK HERE

Laughing at Terror

2008-02-04T20:52:00.000Z

Adel sends this link to the U-tube video "Ahmed the Dead Terrorist" by Jeff Dunham. Is it merely amusing - or is it crude Islamophobia?

CLICK ON THIS LINK

Holocaust Inversion

2008-01-28T11:36:00.000Z

By MANFRED GERSTENFELD - The Wall Street Journal
January 28, 2008

Solemn ceremonies around Europe marked yesterday's Holocaust Memorial Day. But 63 years after the liberation of Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945, one of the most perfidious forms of contemporary anti-Semitism is Holocaust inversion -- the portrayal of Israelis and Jews as modern-day Nazis. The charge is that Israel supposedly behaves toward the Palestinians as Germany did to the Jews in World War II.

This distortion of history is particularly widespread in the Muslim world. But it is also gaining currency in the West, where it is no longer just the domain of the extreme Left. Last year, a German bishop visiting Israel compared Ramallah to the Warsaw Ghetto. Portuguese Nobel laureate for literature José Saramago in 2002 compared Ramallah even to Auschwitz.

Cartoons are a particularly popular medium to express such distortions. Portraying Jews as Nazis, Israeli prime ministers as Hitler and the Star of David as equal to the swastika is almost routine in the Arab world. This trend has also reached Europe, where during the anti-Iraq war protests, for instance, many demonstrators held placards depicting similar images. In the Netherlands you can now buy T-shirts and greeting cards showing Anne Frank wearing a kaffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian headdress, wrapped around her neck like a scarf. In other words, the Palestinians are the new Jews, which makes the Israelis the new Nazis.

Holocaust-inversion caricatures appear also occasionally in Western mainstream papers. In July 2006, the Norwegian daily Dagbladet carried a drawing showing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as SS Major Amon Göth, the commander of a Nazi death camp depicted in Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List." A 2002 cartoon in the Greek daily Ethnos showed two Jewish soldiers dressed as Nazis, with Stars of David on their helmets, thrusting knives into Arabs. Its caption reads: "Do not feel guilty, my brother. We were not in Auschwitz and Dachau to suffer, but to learn."

Many Western Holocaust inverters may simply aim to bolster the Arab and Palestinian cause by demonizing Israel. The most extreme, though, aim at the destruction of Israel by first undermining its moral legitimacy. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki explained it at a December 2006 conference in Tehran of Holocaust deniers and minimizers: "If the official version of the Holocaust is thrown into doubt, then the identity and nature of Israel will be thrown into doubt."

Whatever the motives, Holocaust inversion has made major inroads in Europe. In a 2004 poll conducted by the University of Bielefeld, 51% of German respondents agreed with the statement that: "What the state of Israel does today to the Palestinians, is in principle not different from what the Nazis did in the Third Reich to the Jews."

Holocaust Memorial Day should not only be a day of commemoration. Its meaning is undone when at the same time new versions of the old anti-Semitic demonizations are gaining ground.

Mr. Gerstenfeld is chairman of the board of fellows of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

On Antisemitism

2007-12-24T15:03:00.000Z

An excellent essay on Antisemitism from the Chief Rabbi of the UK. With thanks to Felix.

We face a new kind of hatred

15 November 2007

By By Sir Jonathan Sacks

On January 27, 2000, heads of state or senior representatives of 44 governments met in Stockholm to commit themselves to a continuing programme of Holocaust remembrance and the fight against antisemitism. Barely two years later, synagogues and Jewish schools in France and Belgium were being firebombed and Jews were being attacked in the streets.

The distinguished Chief Rabbi of France, Rabbi Joseph Sitruk, advised Jews not to wear yarmulkas in the street. The French Jewish intellectual Alain Finkielkraut wrote: “The hearts of the Jews are heavy. For the first time since the war, they are afraid.” Shmuel Trigano, professor of sociology at the University of Paris, openly questioned whether there was a future for Jews in France. Never again had become ever again.

On February 28, 2002, I gave my first speech on the new antisemitism. Never before had I spoken on the subject. I had grown up without a single experience of antisemitism. I believed, and still do, that the whole enterprise of basing Jewish identity on memories of persecution was a mistake. The distinguished Holocaust historian Lucy Dawidowicz reached the same conclusion at the end of her life. She warned of the danger of a whole generation of children growing up knowing about the Greeks and how they lived, the Romans and how they lived, the Jews and how they died. I wrote Radical Then, Radical Now, specifically to focus Jewish identity away from death to life, suffering to celebration, grief to joy.

The return of antisemitism, after 60 years of Holocaust education, interfaith dialogue and antiracist legislation, is a major event in the history of the world. Far-sighted historians like Bernard Lewis and Robert Wistrich had been sounding the warning since the 1980s. Already in the 1990s, Harvard literary scholar Ruth Wisse argued that antisemitism was the most successful ideology of the 20th century. German fascism, she said, came and went. Soviet communism came and went. Antisemitism came and stayed.

Click here to read on

Losing the War of Ideas?

2007-12-14T18:41:00.000Z

Farid of RPS sent over this interesting item about Karen Hughes' failure in her job. I have to say that he has a point. Setting up so many "regional hubs" has diffused effort rather than improved things. Things were better before Karen messed them up. But we did tell her. We were part of the consultative process. Anyway - the article is interesting - and at least they have a good man in charge currently under Dan Sreebny - lessons need learning though.

TO VIEW THE ARTICLE CLICK HERE

The Hijacking of British Islam

2007-11-19T23:57:00.000Z

Felix sent this disturbing item round on the kind of printed material being distributed at some mosques:

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE

Tutu And St. Thomas

2007-11-15T06:11:00.000Z

Rfai Dajani of ATFP sent this interseting item. It shows how easy it is for disinformation to spread - EVEN WITHOUT MEDIA CULPABILITY. Mind you, some might say "Only in America". The Christian Century looks at the recent banning of Archbishop Desmond Tutu from speaking at the University of St. Thomas based on his criticism of Israeli occupation policies:

The University of St. Thomas is the largest private institution of higher learning in the state of Minnesota, a school "inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition." Recently, the university found itself in the embarrassing position of having failed to do some basic research; it did not check its sources. The story behind this development began innocently enough in April, when a staff member from St. Thomas's Justice and Peace Studies program informed his colleagues that he had booked South African archbishop Desmond Tutu for a campus appearance.

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE

J'accuse, Sort Of

2007-10-05T22:04:00.000Z

Rafi Dajani of ATFP send this item in which "Slate" founder Michael Kinsley explores the paradox of how right-wing pro-Israel organizations in the U.S. perpetuate the very anti-Semitic stereotypes they object to by touting their own political influence publicly:

By Michael Kinsley, In Slate , Opinion October 3, 2007
Rep. James P. Moran of Virginia, already a locally famous foot-in-mouther, went national last week by declaring at an anti-war rally that "if it was not for the strong support of the Jewish community," the war against Iraq would not be happening. He said that Jewish "leaders" are "influential enough" to reverse the policy "and I think they should."

The thunderous rush of politicians of all stripes to denounce Moran's remarks as complete nonsense might suggest to the suspicious mind that they are not complete nonsense. Moran himself almost immediately denounced his own words as "insensitive." He said he was using the term "Jewish community" as a shorthand for all "organizations in this country," which would certainly be a first if it were at all plausible.

FOR FULL STORY CLICK HERE

Syria set to reject peace talks offer

2007-09-26T11:00:00.000Z

SOMETIMES THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN DISINFORMATION AND MISSUNDERSTANDING:

This (below) came in from Davis with the comment: "I just cannot believe it. Bitter as I am, I must say, it's time to revise views, I think... NCF always held the US responsible, even setting up a conference with the Syrians, in lieu of their attendance... AND SYRIA HAS THE AUDACITY TO DECLINE?"

My response was, "This article quoting an ANNONYMOUS source is dissinformation. Leastways that's my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong but I SERIOUSLY DOUBT IT. Ian Black was probably chatting to SOME SYRIAN over a glass of wine and that's his "SENIOR SOURCE" - When was Ian last in Damascus? could the Syrians really be that stupid? No for goodness sake:

Syria is expected to rebuff an invitation from the US to attend a grand Middle East peace conference later this year because it does not believe that either the Bush administration or Israel wants to reach a comprehensive regional settlement. President Bashar al-Assad has made no comment on Sunday's call by Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state. But diplomats said yesterday that the Syrian foreign minister, Walid al-Mouallem, will decline the offer when he holds talks at the UN this week - unless he receives ironclad assurances that the event will be more substantial than currently appears likely.

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE

Television: London Media Event

2007-09-14T09:42:00.000Z

This comes in from Dorothy at the Media Society who comments: We have a strong kick –off to the Autumn Season and it’s free. Don’t miss the trial of Can We Still Trust TV - The Box in the Dock. Full details below:

The media society in conjunction with the LSEMedia Group and Polis CAN WE STILL TRUST TV? THE BOX IN THE DOCK 6.30 – 8.00pm TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25th THE OLD THEATRE, THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, HOUGHTON STREET, LONDON WC 2 This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

Telly has had a torrid 2007. Under fire for fake competitions, phones ins that are scams and documentaries that are ‘fakes, public trust has plummeted, the audience relationship sorely tested. Examine the issues in forensic detail with the best brains in the business: join us as we put TV on Trial.

Chair: ROGER BOLTON, Presenter ‘Sunday’ and ‘ Feedback’ BBC Radio Four. Former Presenter ‘Right to Reply’ Channel Four and former editor ‘Panorama’

Counsel: MARK STEPHENS, Media Lawyer Finer Stephens Innocent
Witnesses: DAVID ELSTEIN, Former Chief Executive Channel Five, Former Controller Programmes Thames Television; LAURIE FLYNN, Investigate journalist, ex-Guardian and World in Action; ROGER GRAEF, Documentary Maker; PHIL HARDING, Former Head of News, BBC World Service; NEIL MIDGLEY, TV Editor, The Daily Telegraph; STEPHEN WHITTLE, Former Controller Editorial Policy, BBC; Former Secretary Broadcasting Complaints Commission. Currently Chair of the Broadcast Training and Skills Regulator; PAUL WATSON, Documentary Maker. ‘Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s farewell’.

Jewish leader says Islam is being demonised

2007-09-03T22:48:00.000Z

Have asked Davis to substantiate his unsubstantaited allegation that MPAC donates money to Irvine - have also asked MPAC to comment. Meanwhile, whilst neither ante-up, we withold judgement. Here's another MPAC item:

The president of the Union for Reform Judaism accused American media, politicians and religious groups on Friday of demonising Islam.
Addressing the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America, Rabbi Eric Yoffie said Muslims have been turned into "satanic figures."

"There exists in this country among all Americans, whether Jews, Christians, or non-believers, a huge and profound ignorance about Islam ... there is no shortage of voices prepared to tell us that fanaticism and intolerance are fundamental to Islamic religion, and that violence and even suicide bombing have deep Koranic roots," he said.

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE

The Israeli Lobby

2007-08-14T20:21:00.000Z

The Moslem Public Affairs Council is a controversial and sometimes racist organisation according to at least one of our members - though we await the evidence he has promised to support his contention. Meanwhile we publish this MPAC complaint without comment:

Sunday, 12 August 2007
Mearsheimer and Walt’s long awaited book goes on sale on the 4th of September. Here the lobby seems to have launched a preemptive strike. Wall Street Journal reports:
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has canceled a September speech on U.S.-Israel relations and Washington’s pro-Israel lobby by two prominent U.S. political scientists.

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE

Sudan: Gross disinformation

2007-08-05T21:11:00.000Z

This Al Qaidah story is probably one of the crudest pieces of disinformation around at the moment:

Sudan: Gross disinformation

TO VIEW ORIGINAL FRAUDULENT ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Jihadi Websites

2007-07-31T23:42:00.000Z

Many thanks to Felix for pointing me to this link. This is a highly important issue, since Jihadi websites play a key part in the information operation with which Islamists attempt to poison minds:

Extremist Islam makes extensive use of the Internet. One can hardly imagine the growth of radical Islam and its jihadi organizations in recent years without the immense reach, impact and capabilities of the Internet. The threat posed by Islamist websites has recently been demonstrated by three cases: the case the New Jersey group that planned a terrorist attack on FortDix; the planned terrorist attack on JFK; and the attempted car bombings in the UK. According to media reports, the terrorists in all three cases were inspired by jihadist websites. There were also two recent court cases in Britain and Switzerland in which terrorists were convicted of using Internet sites to promote terrorist activities.

The National Intelligence Esitmate recently published by the U.S. National Intelligence Council stressed the following, "We assess that the spread of radical - especially Salafi - Internet sites, increasingly aggressive anti-US rhetoric and actions, and the growing number of radical, self-generating cells in Western countries indicate that the radical and violent segment of the West’s Muslim population is expanding, including in the United States. The arrest and prosecution by US law enforcement of a small number of violent Islamic extremists inside the United States - who are becoming more connected ideologically, virtually, and/or in a physical sense to the global extremist movement - points to the possibility that others may become sufficiently radicalized that they will view the use of violence here as legitimate..."

The jihadist terrorist organizations utilize the Internet for two main purposes: for operational needs, and for indoctrination and da'wa (propagation of Islam).

See full briefing here

Muslims and Anti-Semitsm

2007-07-30T11:58:00.000Z

Davis has long been offended by the output of MPAC which he has regarded as quasi-racist. So for once they seem to be behaving better - anyhow, this piece dated 29 July seemed worthy of blogging:

The responsibility of the Muslims and the Jews in the West is tremendous: living together, both citizens of the same countries, they should raise their voices in the name of justice and mutual respect. In France, for example, one finds a unique situation; namely, the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe living together. In America, we find the same situation with two important religious communities sharing the same citizenship. That itself should be an ideal opportunity for people to learn to live in harmony. However, the reality is that problems are on the rise. While tensions have been incidental in the past, the situation has been exacerbated during the second intifada, and more recently, during the upsurge of violence in the Middle East. The trend appears to be that the Muslim immigrants as well as native European and American Muslims are becoming extremely sensitive to the events occurring in Palestine and are demonstrating their frustration quite overtly.

TO VIEW FULL ITEM CLICK HERE