The Israel News Agency monitors all leading media outlets screening for bias, unbalanced and distorted news. Recently many complaints have arisen over CNN's reporting from the Middle East.
Today on Israel's 53rd Independence Day, CNN's assignment editor's chose to ignore Israel's 20,906 fallen soldiers and acts of terrorism against it's population and once again focused upon the "Palestinian Plight". They aired a "reaction piece" to Israel's Independence by interviewing "suffering Palestinians" with a closing, threatening comment that "time was running out before more acts of terror by Palestinians were to take place". The INA asked CNN in Jerusalem for comment regarding the above report, they stated: "we have two reports from Gerald Kessel in the system and one from Gaza". When asked about why only the Gaza report was aired? They replied by asking for our editor's name - we gave it. Then the INA asked for the name of today's CNN producer - their response was arrogant: "It's not important" a man with a British accent stated and hung up the telephone. CNN's coverage on this particular occasion was irresponsible and may have contributed to more acts of terrorism by the PLO and PA.

INA Editor's Note: It should be noted - that we have witnessed fair and balanced reporting by CNN over the years, but with a few CNN reporters and anchors deviating as with the reports mentioned above and below. We believe, in general, that CNN maintains some of the highest, most respected standards in journalism. Our purpose here, is the same as any editor's responsiblity - striving for objectivity, balance and accurate reporting in our content and in the content of all responsible global media outlets.

Is CNN's Reporting Balanced?


By Michael Fern (April 24)
The Jerusalem Post

Having tuned in to CNN's recent coverage of the Middle East, I have gained a renewed sense of appreciation for the "off" button on the television set.

While the 1991 Gulf war may have brought the network a variety of honors for news reporting, the current intifada seems destined to yield it a cluster of literary awards, given some of the fictional reports it has produced. Granted, covering the Middle East is no easy task, as journalists must contend with an array of complex issues. And it is hard to complain about foreign coverage of Israel when much of the Israeli media itself seems overly sympathetic to the Palestinian side. But even so, there is simply no justification for CNN's egregious record of bias and distortions. Somehow, Israel always seems to emerge as the aggressor, while the Palestinians are depicted with compassion and understanding.

A recent case in point was the April 16 CNN program Insight hosted by Jonathan Mann, who quickly dispensed with any pretense of objectivity and instead assumed the role of an opinionated, anti-Israel partisan. After blaming Israel for the impasse in the peace process, Mann suggested that Israel might not at all be interested in peace since, in his words, "If all of this drags on for years, Israel will become stronger and more affluent, and its Arab neighbors will become poorer and weaker." Mann then went a step further, asking his guest: "Does Ariel Sharon really care about a better future for all the people in the region?" - with the tone in his voice clearly indicating what he thought the answer to be. Perhaps realizing he had gone too far, Mann added, "or is the peace that he looks at more of - at the risk of being unfair - a peace where Israel succeeds and is secure but essentially subjugates the peoples around it?" If Mann were a guest on the show, his comments would be understandable, as ridiculous as they might be. But he is the anchorman and host of the program. His job is not to take sides, but to question the sides, something he utterly failed to do.

Other CNN correspondents are no less guilty of editorializing. When asked in October to describe Israel's closure of the territories, Hula Amin said: "This kind of siege is creating a feeling that they are in a big jail." The Palestinian Ministry of Information could not have said it any better. Unfortunately, such bias is rampant at CNN and permeates its Middle East coverage. A glance at the CNN Web site makes it abundantly clear that the Cable News Network is worthy of being renamed the Fable News Network. In a biographical sketch, CNN's Web site describes Yasser Arafat, who is personally responsible for more Jewish deaths in the past 50 years than anyone else, as "a student of Jewish life." Applying the same standard, perhaps they would label Slobodan Milosevic a "scholar of Bosnian emigration patterns."

CNN's Web site describes the 1987 intifada as "the largely nonviolent Palestinian protest against Israeli occupation," despite its having killed hundreds of innocent Israelis and wounded thousands of others. But if you think that's bad, check out CNN's description of Hamas: "a grass-roots Palestinian organization known in Gaza and the West Bank for humanitarian efforts." It almost makes you want to organize a parlor meeting on the group's behalf. You might be wondering whether all of this really matters. Unfortunately, it does. Despite declining ratings, CNN still plays an important role in shaping public opinion. By failing to accurately present the Palestinian Authority's depravity and wrongdoing, CNN enables it to escape public censure, something that only encourages Arafat to continue the violence and terror. But like any business, CNN is sensitive to its reputation and mindful of its ratings. A television station's primary product is not its programming - it is the quantity and quality of viewers it can deliver to advertisers.

Thus, each of us holds the key in our hands to countering this blatant assault on the Jewish state. Our weapon: the remote control. By pushing one button, you can banish CNN from your television screen. With a couple of postage stamps, you can let CNN and its sponsors know how you feel. With a couple of phone calls, you can get your friends, in Israel and abroad, to do the same. Whether or not this will work ultimately depends on the number of people who get involved. CNN will likely cry foul, self-righteously invoking the public's right to know. But the public has another, equally precious, right. The right to say no. No to biased reporting. And no to CNN.

(The writer served as deputy director of communications and policy planning in the Prime Minister's Office from 1996 to 1999.)