Media and Bias

I disagree with what you say, but I defend your right to say it.

Truth takes a back seat to favoritism

News items:

   TV journalists in Maine lose their jobs for not covering news as management prefers.
   TV journalists in Gaza lose their lives for not covering news as government prefers.

   In Maine, the TV anchors resigned on the air without giving reasons, but history shows a pattern of the general manager pressuring the news director regarding which stories to cover and how.
   In Gaza, members of a TV crew affiliated with a Hamas-owned station were blown up by a missile fired by the Israeli military. A spokeswoman for the military defended the attack because of what she called "relevance to terrorist activities."
   Read: Do things our way or else.

   It may well be that the Gaza crew and Hamas television endorsed the Palestinian cause, even to the level of being propagandists. But that does not mean that propagandists for one side are to be supported, while those who report the news and views of the other side are to be killed.
   It also may well be that terrorists sometimes deploy in the guise of journalists to get better access to their targets. If so, they are indeed legitimate targets, and they are to be treated as terrorists, not as journalists. But in the Gaza case, where is the evidence? The Israeli government has an obligation to present it.
   One could make the case that in America, many news outlets slant their coverage to one side or another. Conservatives are fond of blasting what they call "media elite liberals" for their alleged favoritism toward Democrats. Favoritism toward Republican conservatives is, of course, admirable and to be encouraged.
   However, the right of free speech and a free press is a universal right, and the opposition deserves to be heard. And the right of reporters to present the news and views without interference must be respected, whether in Maine or in Gaza.