Media Coverage
of what has been termed the "2006 Israel-Lebanon War," a little to grandiose a description for my tastes.
The Hartford Courant and the CBS evening news have been the primary sources for my information on the incursion, and the difference in coverage was not all that surprising. The Courant has shown a remarkably even-handed approach to the conflict, devoting entire articles to the suffering of the Lebanese people and the violence of the attacks. They also had articles on the rocket attacks on Haifa and northern Israel, as well as Israeli government statements, but those are always present in American coverage. CBS, however, was notably less balanced in coverage. The word "Hezbollah" only appeared as an adjective for the word "terrorists" during the broadcasts, and the vast majority (85-90%) of the coverage from Lebanon focused on the fleeing foriegners, especially Americans. There would be a fifteen second spot showing a group of bombed-out "Hezbollah terrorist centers"/apartment buildings, then a ten minute piece on the rocket attacks on Haifa. I don't mean to discount and dismiss the suffering of Israeli civilians, but the proportion of death and destruction between the two sides is tremendous. There is nearly a 20:1 ratio of Lebanese civilian deaths to Israeli civilian deaths, and the humanitarian crisis caused by the constant air bombardment makes it extremely difficult to treat the thousands of wounded.
By the end of the week, however, CBS began to do more stories on the toll on Lebanese civilians, and by today Bob Schieffer had replaced "terrorists" with more neutral words like "militants" or "fighters." They even covered the Israeli bombing of Red Cross convoys, and their subsequent refusal to guarantee the safety of such groups, which has been going on throughout the conflict but was not noted until today.
The importance of balanced and truthful coverage on the part of the media cannot be understated. The American government is refusing to force the Israelis to stop the bombardment and accept a ceasefire, instead making vague calls to "limit civilian casualties" that, from the daily tolls, seems to have not been heeded. Most of the rest of the world wants a ceasefire with the intent to stop hostilities and insert a peacekeeping force so the sides can get together and hash out a more permanent agreement (even Syria has called for such action), but the Bush administration refuses to apply any pressure on Israel to accept. Without the proper information, the American people cannot understand the immense suffering of the people of Lebanon and call for an end to the invasion.
The Hartford Courant and the CBS evening news have been the primary sources for my information on the incursion, and the difference in coverage was not all that surprising. The Courant has shown a remarkably even-handed approach to the conflict, devoting entire articles to the suffering of the Lebanese people and the violence of the attacks. They also had articles on the rocket attacks on Haifa and northern Israel, as well as Israeli government statements, but those are always present in American coverage. CBS, however, was notably less balanced in coverage. The word "Hezbollah" only appeared as an adjective for the word "terrorists" during the broadcasts, and the vast majority (85-90%) of the coverage from Lebanon focused on the fleeing foriegners, especially Americans. There would be a fifteen second spot showing a group of bombed-out "Hezbollah terrorist centers"/apartment buildings, then a ten minute piece on the rocket attacks on Haifa. I don't mean to discount and dismiss the suffering of Israeli civilians, but the proportion of death and destruction between the two sides is tremendous. There is nearly a 20:1 ratio of Lebanese civilian deaths to Israeli civilian deaths, and the humanitarian crisis caused by the constant air bombardment makes it extremely difficult to treat the thousands of wounded.
By the end of the week, however, CBS began to do more stories on the toll on Lebanese civilians, and by today Bob Schieffer had replaced "terrorists" with more neutral words like "militants" or "fighters." They even covered the Israeli bombing of Red Cross convoys, and their subsequent refusal to guarantee the safety of such groups, which has been going on throughout the conflict but was not noted until today.
The importance of balanced and truthful coverage on the part of the media cannot be understated. The American government is refusing to force the Israelis to stop the bombardment and accept a ceasefire, instead making vague calls to "limit civilian casualties" that, from the daily tolls, seems to have not been heeded. Most of the rest of the world wants a ceasefire with the intent to stop hostilities and insert a peacekeeping force so the sides can get together and hash out a more permanent agreement (even Syria has called for such action), but the Bush administration refuses to apply any pressure on Israel to accept. Without the proper information, the American people cannot understand the immense suffering of the people of Lebanon and call for an end to the invasion.
posted by Jimmy at 9:05 PM
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