HonestReporting.ca is a site which promotes fair and accurate Canadian media coverage of Israel and the Middle East. They monitor the media, recognize excellence and expose unfair and inaccurate reporting on the region.
And they do this with a staff of less than 3,000?!
Here’s a dynamite example of their good work just from today:
At its core, journalism is about using words and images to convey meaning. But words must be handled with care: a single word can change the meaning of an entire news report. The recent bombings in Britain and Israel have highlighted the subtle but powerful ways in which the news media’s choice of words affects the way people understand the world.
“Retaliation”
Announcing a military operation in response to the deadly July 12 bombing in Netanya, the Israel Defense Forces said:
“The IDF conducted a pinpointed arrest activity against the Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in the area of Tulkarm, in order to disrupt and thwart the execution of terror attacks.”
But in its July 13 article by freelancer Carolynne Wheeler, “Suicide bomber kills 4 in Israeli mall,” the Globe and Mail reported:
“In a predawn raid today, Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian policeman during a raid in Tulkarem in the West Bank, witnesses said, in what the army called retaliation for the suicide bombing.”
If the Israeli army called its operation a “pinpointed arrest activity,” how did the Globe and Mail come to inaccurately paraphrase the army as calling its operation a “retaliation”?
HonestReporting Canada contacted the Globe and Mail to correct the inaccuracy. A Globe and Mail editor explained that the “retaliation” reference was inserted into Ms. Wheeler’s finished article by a copy editor, who took the information from a report by the Reuters news agency.
The Globe and Mail published this clarification today (July 14):
(Click for full-size)
HonestReporting Canada commends the Globe and Mail for publishing a clarification promptly upon being notified of the error. However, the clarification should have specifically identified and corrected the erroneous claim that the Israeli army called its activity in Tulkarm “retaliation.”
UPDATE:
The folks at HonestReporting.ca e-mailed to clarify:
I just wanted to bring to your attention that we do not have a staff of less than 3,000, instead we have a membership of over 10,000 Canadians who monitor the media to ensure fair and accurate coverage of Israel and the Middle East by the Canadian media.
Excellent! Go to their site and sign-up —add to their numbers!
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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