Nika Soon-Shiong said LA Times endorsement was blocked over Gaza war support

Nika Soon-Shiong said LA Times endorsement was blocked over Gaza war support

    Sunday, October 27, 2024   No comments

CNN and other media outlets reported that "the daughter of Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong suggested on Saturday that herfather’s decision to block the newspaper’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris was made over Harris’ support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Nika Soon-Shiong, a 31-year-old activist who has no official role at the newspaper but has previously been accused of meddling in its coverage, told The New York Times that she and her father made the decision not to endorse Harris. Nika Soon-Shiong reportedly said:

“Our family made the joint decision not to endorse a Presidential candidate. This was the first and only time I have been involved in the process... As a citizen of a country openly financing genocide, and as a family that experienced South African Apartheid, the endorsement was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children.”

Before Biden dropped out, it was argued that Gaza Genocide will be for Biden what Covid-19 was for Trump. Harris, not making a clear shift in Biden's policies and approach made her inherit his legacy and that will likely sink her bid for the presidency. Young Americans, especially, are not willing to look past the atrocities in Gaza and now Lebanon happening under Biden's watch and by his support.

Media review: What does CBS's handling of Ta-Nehisi Coates' interview tell us about US media when it comes to telling the story of Palestininas?

Media review: What does CBS's handling of Ta-Nehisi Coates' interview tell us about US media when it comes to telling the story of Palestininas?

    Wednesday, October 09, 2024   No comments

News stories about Palestine cannot be covered by news media like any other news subject. That is the main point of the recent controversy surrounding CBS's interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Coates response to the challenge tells the full story: Dokoupil accusing Coates of leaving some information out is not the real issue. The real issue is that Western media outlets have already set the standard for the plight of Palestinians: They should not be given any space, not an equal space, not enough space... they should be given any space at all. And that is the main point in Coates' response. 

The story of Palestinians is not told enough, and when it is, those attempting to tell it, are accused of "supporting terrorism" and of being anti-Semitic. Even Semitic persons--Jews who survived (or who are children of survivors of) the European crime against humanity inflicted on Jews, who object to a genocide committed in their name or the name of their religion or their identity, are attacked as sympathizers with terrorists.

So Dokoupil was not interested in pushing back against unbalanced "reporting", he pushed back because Coates was telling a story that no one is willing to tell for the reasons that were playing out before him live and where he was living the true experience of doing so. There is no record of Mr. Dokoupil pushing back against those who come to tell the Israeli point of view, telling them that they left out the story of Palestinians being subjected to apartheid system, the stories of Palestinians' rights to self-determination being denied by Israel for more than 75 years...

“Why leave out that Israel is surrounded by countries that want to eliminate it?” Dokoupil asked. “Why leave out that Israel deals with terror groups that want to eliminate it?”

“There is no shortage of that perspective in American media,” Coates replied. “I am most concerned, always, with those who don’t have a voice.”

This exchange says it all.

Media Review: Washington Post | The Israeli army is "exhausted to the core" and the invasion of Lebanon is a trap for an endless war

Media Review: Washington Post | The Israeli army is "exhausted to the core" and the invasion of Lebanon is a trap for an endless war

    Monday, July 15, 2024   No comments

 The American newspaper "Washington Post" reported on Monday that the Israeli "army", exhausted by the war in the Gaza Strip, is now looking with caution at the war on the northern front with Hezbollah.

The newspaper said that Israeli leaders say that they "do not want a war in Lebanon, but they are prepared for any scenario," but now that their resources have been depleted in the war against the Gaza Strip, the soldiers are "exhausted and unprepared for a new front in the north."

The newspaper pointed out that the Israeli war against Hamas "did not lead to its defeat, and Netanyahu is politically besieged and has not yet determined his exit strategy from the war."

The Washington Post also noted that Hezbollah is professional and that "Israel" will face from Lebanon "an enemy that is larger, better armed and more professional than Hamas in the Gaza Strip." The northern settlements remain deserted as pressure from displaced Israelis increases on the government to move to return them.

Israeli military leaders have been developing plans to attack Lebanon for months. Earlier, outgoing War Cabinet member Benny Gantz and others had asked Netanyahu to allow an Israeli incursion into Lebanon in March, but Netanyahu was hesitant.

Media review: CNN faces pressure from its employees because of its bias towards Israel

Media review: CNN faces pressure from its employees because of its bias towards Israel

    Monday, February 05, 2024   No comments

The Guardian newspaper said that the American CNN network is facing violent reactions from its employees over editorial policies that they say adopt the Israeli narrative, while censoring the viewpoints of Palestinians in the network’s coverage of the war on Gaza.

Journalists in CNN newsrooms in the United States and abroad say the broadcast was skewed by administration rules and a topic approval process that resulted in very partial coverage of the October 7 attack and the Israeli war in Gaza.

“Most of the news since the war began, no matter how accurate the initial reporting, has been skewed by systemic and institutional bias within the network toward Israel,” a CNN employee said, adding that CNN’s coverage of the Israeli war on Gaza amounts to journalistic malpractice.

According to accounts from six network employees in multiple newsrooms, and more than a dozen internal memos and emails obtained by The Guardian, daily news decisions are shaped by a flow of direction from CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, which sets strict guidelines on coverage.

They include severe restrictions on quoting the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and conveying Palestinian views, while Israeli government statements are taken at face value. In addition, every war story or news item coming from the Jerusalem office must be deleted.

The American network's journalists say that the tone of the coverage was set by its new editor-in-chief and CEO, Mark Thompson, as some employees are concerned about Thompson's willingness to tolerate external attempts to influence coverage, as Thompson previously served as director general of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and was accused of caving in to government pressure. In a number of positions, including calling for the dismissal of one of the network’s most prominent correspondents in Jerusalem in 2005.

In early November, David Lindsay, the network's director of news standards and practices, issued a directive banning the publication of most Hamas statements, describing them as "inflammatory speech and propaganda."

CNN sources admitted that no interviews had been conducted with Hamas and its leaders since the October 7 attack. CNN correspondent Sarah Synder faced criticism for repeating the alleged Israeli story that Hamas beheaded 40 children at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. The correspondent later apologized for the story.

One of the network's journalists told the Guardian that there are selected individuals who edit all reports with an institutional pro-Israel bias, and often use language and phrases to absolve the Israeli army of responsibility for its crimes in Gaza, and downplay the number of Palestinian deaths and Israeli attacks.

While other employees said that some journalists with experience covering war and news in the region are avoiding assignments related to Israel, as they believe that they will not be free to tell the whole story.

One employee said there is a lot of internal conflict and opposition within the network, and some employees are looking to leave.

The Washington Institute: Hezbollah's popularity and support for Hamas have risen in Lebanon

The Washington Institute: Hezbollah's popularity and support for Hamas have risen in Lebanon

    Wednesday, January 10, 2024   No comments

The American "Washington Institute" conducted an opinion poll in Lebanon, and found that there was an increase in Hezbollah's popularity compared to the last poll conducted in November 2020, and that support for Hamas was more widespread in Lebanese society.

The Institute conducted this survey in the aftermath of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” saga and the escalation between the Israeli forces and Hezbollah, during the period extending from November 14 to December 6.

The Washington Institute poll showed that 79% of the Lebanese express a positive opinion of Hamas, while perceptions of a military solution to the conflict with the occupation, rather than a “political solution,” are much more widespread in Lebanon than in other Arab countries.

As for the position on the United States of America, the poll found that most Lebanese, specifically 71%, do not agree with the idea that Washington “is still in the best position to help end the war in Gaza.”

The institute also noted that there is “a noticeable shift in Lebanese society, away from the United States and towards other powers,” as the percentage of those who agree that their country “cannot rely on the United States these days, and therefore must look more to Russia or China.” As partners, it rose by 17 points.

Media review: Western warning against use of the term “Gaza genocide” despite the continued killing and displacement of people

Media review: Western warning against use of the term “Gaza genocide” despite the continued killing and displacement of people

    Tuesday, December 26, 2023   No comments

The New York Times: There is no food or water... Two million displaced people are living in a difficult crisis in southern Gaza

The American newspaper "The New York Times" revealed that the residents of the Gaza Strip are suffering from a lack of food or water, as well as from a lack of sanitation, with the Israeli aggression and siege continuing for the 81st day, noting that the humanitarian crisis has worsened since the end of the temporary truce, and because the occupation forced the population to evacuate some Regions.

The newspaper explained that more than 1.7 million displaced people were registered in shelters in the southern regions, including several hundred thousand people who cannot be accommodated within their walls, and who sleep along roads and in open spaces.

According to analysis of satellite images, damage caused by Israeli air strikes was identified in the vicinity of almost every shelter in the southern areas of Gaza, and in some cases the shelters were directly bombed, doubling the suffering of the displaced.

The newspaper confirmed that the Israeli bombing, especially which “was relentless during the first 6 weeks of the war,” also affected the areas “to which the occupation asked the residents of Gaza to move.”

She indicated that Rafah is the area most crowded with displaced people in the Strip, as data indicates that the United Nations shelters in Rafah host, on average, more than 15,000 registered people each, although most shelters are designed to accommodate only 2,000 people.

On the other hand, officials of relief organizations said that the region is not equipped to provide basic services to the displaced, noting that its 3 hospitals are only partially functioning, and people in shelters and camps live in difficult conditions with little food or water, and approximately 500 people share a toilet. One.

According to the World Food Programme, 93% of Gaza's population currently suffers from "severe food insecurity," and the UN Security Council issued a resolution calling for "large-scale" humanitarian aid to be delivered to the Gaza Strip.