The Jerusalem bureau has long reviewed all CNN stories relating to Israel and Palestine. Now, it’s helping shape the network’s coverage of the war.

Archive https://archive.ph/W6JCV

Every CNN journalist covering Israel and Palestine must submit their work for review by the news organization’s bureau in Jerusalem prior to publication, under a long-standing CNN policy. While CNN says the policy is meant to ensure accuracy in reporting on a polarizing subject, it means that much of the network’s recent coverage of the war in Gaza — and its reverberations around the world — has been shaped by journalists who operate under the shadow of the country’s military censor.

The CNN staff member described how the policy works in practice. “‘War-crime’ and ‘genocide’ are taboo words,” the person said. “Israeli bombings in Gaza will be reported as ‘blasts’ attributed to nobody, until the Israeli military weighs in to either accept or deny responsibility. Quotes and information provided by Israeli army and government officials tend to be approved quickly, while those from Palestinians tend to be heavily scrutinized and slowly processed.”

  • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
    1139·
    11 months ago

    This is such outrage bait. This is pretty much every news desk’s policy.

    Omg, imagine waiting to report responsibility for a bombing until the defense agency holds a briefing? Imagine relying heavily and approving the copy quickly on, checks notes, official statements from the government?

    “Operates under the shadow of”? Wtf does that mean?

    Press have to sign agreements before being issued a press pass? Omg no way? Is that not true everywhere?

    • skhayfa@lemmy.worldOP
      231·
      11 months ago

      Is it that common? They do the same when reporting from China or Russia? Get a story approved first by officials and only picking one side of the story?

        • CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world
          11·
          11 months ago

          Whether reporting from the Middle East, the United States, or anywhere else across the globe, every CNN journalist covering Israel and Palestine must submit their work for review by the news organization’s bureau in Jerusalem prior to publication, under a long-standing CNN policy

          • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
            27·
            11 months ago

            Yes, the news organization’s own desk in Israel.

            If the city desk at WaPo picks up a political story, they run it by the politics desk.

            If a NYT reporter in NY picks up a story about a royal, does the London office of the NYT not weigh in on the reporting?

            They aren’t running it by the Israeli government as the headline suggests. They are running it by themselves. You can fault CNN for legitimate things, and this story is a bunch of innuendo with zero substance. It’s true reporting strung together with buzzwords to sound nefarious. That’s called a hit piece.

            Edit: Israel has a government censor. Many countries do. They would say it prevents situations like Brexit or Donald Trump, where a large segment of the domestic population gets tricked by a foreign misinformation campaign.

    • Deceptichum@kbin.social
      111·
      11 months ago

      Why would anyone wait to hear the words of liars? Who cares what propaganda angle Israel wants to make “official” from their end.

    • BrerChicken @lemmy.world
      62·
      11 months ago

      Umm, no there is not a government agency in this country (US) that provides “oversight” of journalists in order to ensure “responsible” reporting. Some organizations put up with that as a way of operating in certain countries, but you should definitely always be looking for sources that DO NOT. That is not a free press.

      But in this case CNN is requiring this themselves. reputable news organizations don’t have the regional bureau okay the stories.