Bad News from Israel
Abstract
Exposes major media bias in the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the impact this has on public opinion.
... Various studies also which analysed the BBC's reporting of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict generally find the BBC's English service lacking context and historical explanation (Llewellyn, 2004;Philo and Berry, 2004), and have a tendency to mislead audiences about the nature and actions of perpetrators in the conflict (Amer, 2022;Barkho, 2007Barkho, , 2008Barkho, , 2011. Greg Philo and Mike Berry's seminal book on this topic, Bad News from Israel (2004), in its analysis of BBC coverage and viewer perceptions on the conflict, finds rampant inadequacies and inaccuracies in reporting on events in the Occupied Territories. ...
... Neither, crucially, that their actions are illegal under International Humanitarian Law, and have resulted in the creation of the largest refugee population in modern history (Barghouti, 2018). Philo and Berry (2004) attribute this to the 'simply absent' Palestinian view in mainstream news (Philo and Berry, 2004: 398) and the BBC's policy of 'balance' , which is typically manifested in images of Palestinian casualties 'balanced' by an Israeli perspective on the cause of conflict, resulting in the misunderstanding, or omission, of a Palestinian perspective. Their updated book, More Bad News from Israel (2011), which analyses the BBC's footage and bulletins following the 2008-9 Israeli blitz on Gaza, found that the Israeli viewpoint was widely accepted by the BBC and conveyed as fact. ...
... Israel's media machine and discourse manufacturing It has been argued by various scholars that Western media plays a large role in constructing and moulding discourse, controlling the flow of information audiences receive and therefore influencing their attitudes and beliefs regarding different actors (Fowler, 1991;Poole, 2004;Rezaei and Salami, 2019;Said, 1984). The neglect in providing accurate and elaborate historical context regarding this conflict, corresponding to a deeply under-educated British public on this topic (see Philo and Berry, 2004), suggests general reluctance by Western media to paint Israel as a 'villain' . Furthermore, the overwhelmingly negative Islam-related news coverage Philo and Berry analysed across two years of BBC recordings, and neglecting to counterbalance with positive stories on Islam, cumulatively helps reinforce violent stereotypes that Western media have a tendency of propagating (Poole, 2004: 47). ...
The attempts to evict Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah in May 2021 caught the attention of the world. While this small Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem had long been central to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the planned expulsions pushed the situation back into the spotlight. This book discusses the complexity of the media war that took place at the same time. Across twenty chapters, it compares Israeli, Western, Palestinian and Arab media to understand how different narratives were discussed, supported and challenged. In particular, the book captures how social media became a site of online activism and alternative war narratives. The volume is unique in focusing on a specific event from many different perspectives and with material from different countries and media platforms. Case studies include the Spanish press; the African press; the BBC; Al-Jazeera English; TRT World Television; and digital media such as TikTok and Facebook, as well as the impact of social media activism. In doing so, the book also comments on the extent that citizen journalists challenge the propaganda war.
... Terminology likewise reflected this, with "disputed territories" rather than "occupied" and "terrorists" over "freedom fighters" (Plaw, 2016). Furthermore, different scholars have attributed this in part to practical factors like the majority of journalists being based in Israel with limited access to the occupied territories(Bolton, 2024) (Philo and Berry, 2004;). Linguistic barriers and reliance on Israeli government minders further constrained diverse sourcing. ...
... This affirms the notion that proportionately representing an array of societal perspectives through respectful, nuanced coverage can cultivate cohesion over polarization by acknowledging interwoven interests towards collaborative problem-solving above sectarian posturing in a pluralistic democracy. Practical challenges like access limitations and reliance on government minders partly explain disproportion in Israeli-Palestinian conflict coverage (Hagopian, 2004;Philo & Berry, 2004). However, routine pressures from editors and advertisers also shape decisions giving voice mainly to authorities over grassroots actors (Entman, 2000). ...
Israeli media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often accused of bias that skews public discourse in ways favoring hardline Zionist policy goals. This study analyzes news articles from the Times of Israel, Israel Hayom, and Jerusalem Post covering October 2023 violence to understand how language and framing shape understandings and political dynamics. A critical discourse analysis of 34 selected news articles published between October 7-30, 2023 was conducted using the CDA framework to uncover underlying ideological elements and their potential effects. The findings illuminated how certain outlets strategically frame information to reinforce unilateral policy preferences over collaborative solutions. By normalizing disproportionate responses to acts of resistance and denying the humanity of those contesting Zionist territorial ambitions. The Times of Israel and Israel Hayom frame narratives to consolidate unilateral Zionist control and normalize militarized policies. Jerusalem Post aims to build a pro-Israel narrative through political language and ‘us vs. them’ framing. Strategic omissions deny Palestinian grievances and legitimacy, while emotive reporting justifies disproportionate force. The studied media construct narrow nationalist discourses that delegitimize Palestinian perspectives and fuel intractability. Reforms are needed to diversify sourcing and fact-check distortions to curb biases exacerbating political polarization rather than reconciliation.
... W drugim przypadku preferencje uczestników okazały się niemal dokładnie odwrotne. 22% uczestników wybrało pierwszą, a 78% drugą opcję (Tversky, Kahneman, 1981 (Lefever, 1975 Zaprezentowane trzy formy stronniczości według członków grupy z Glasgow zniekształcały rzeczywistość, promując konkretny model relacji społecznych i wykluczając z dyskursu inne perspektywy (Stevenson, 2002, s. 27 (Eldridge, 1993;Philo, 1999;Philo i in., 2013;Philo, Berry, 2004;. ...
... The role of the media in shaping public perception is critical in maintaining these double standards. Media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for instance, often lacks balance, with disproportionate emphasis on Israeli perspectives (Philo & Berry, 2011). This biased reporting shapes public opinion and political discourse, making it difficult for the general populace to understand the complexities of the conflict. ...
Abstract: The article explores the abuse of globally good "terms" like "democracy" and redefines "terrorism" in the context of Middle Eastern affairs, arguing that such language manipulation undermines genuine democratic principles and human rights. It highlights the contradictory use of "democracy" to describe Israel, despite its policies often being at odds with democratic values, and the redefinition of "terrorism" to delegitimize legitimate resistance movements. The article underscores the role of the United States in this narrative, noting its extensive military actions globally while labeling its adversaries as terrorist threats. This hypocrisy disheartens Iranian peace activists and reformists, who find their struggle for civil rights marginalized in favor of geopolitical alliances with Israel. The piece delves into various democratic theories-classical liberal, participatory, deliberative, and radical democracy-illustrating how each offers distinct perspectives on governance and citizen engagement. It also contrasts Western democratic models with non-Western approaches like Ubuntu in Africa and Confucian democracy in Asia, which emphasize community and harmony over individualism. Further, the article critiques media portrayals, highlighting Edward Said's and Noam Chomsky's arguments on biased reporting and propaganda. It discusses how media narratives shape public perception, often demonizing Muslim populations and justifying aggressive foreign policies. The article calls for a critical examination of these narratives and support for grassroots movements and human rights organizations striving for justice and peace in the Middle East. It concludes by reaffirming the need to uphold true democratic values and human rights, challenging the dominant, often misleading, political discourse.
... Traçar essa narratividade, consequentemente, "permite-nos ponderar e explicar eventos em vez de apenas listá-los, transformar uma série de proposições em uma sequência inteligível sobre a qual podemos formar uma opinião" (Baker, 2006, p. 67). Um padrão interessante de narratividade causal, gerado pelas narrativas que circulam na mídia britânica recentemente com ligação ao conflito da Palestina/Israel, é relatado pelo Grupo de Mídia de Glasgow (Philo & Berry, 2004), que entrevistou uma amostra grande de 800 adultos britânicos e descobriu, entre outras coisas, que as pessoas que apenas veem notícia pela tevê e que não têm aparentemente grande interesse no assunto eram mais propensas a acreditar que o número de vítimas era mais ou menos igual ou que tudo havia sido patrocinado por Israel [ênfase adicionada] (Philo & Berry, 2004, p. 236). ...
A construção e disseminação de ‘conhecimento’ sobre comunidades e sobre regiões consideradas uma ameaça à segurança tornou-se uma grande indústria. Grande parte dessa indústria se apoia em várias formas de tradução e, em alguns casos, é gerada por uma equipe de tradutores envolvidos com programas já instituídos e financiados cujo objetivo é selecionar, traduzir e distribuir vários tipos de texto que são provenientes de países árabes e muçulmanos: artigos de jornal, clipes de filmes, transcrições de shows de televisão, excertos selecionados de material educacional, sermões nas mesquitas. Este artigo recorre à teoria narrativa e usa exemplos de instituições que constroem esse tipo de conhecimento no intuito de argumentar que são falhas as tentativas de menosprezar esses esforços pelo questionamento da ‘exatidão’ de traduções. Ao contrário, faz-se necessária uma compreensão mais detalhada dos dispositivos sutis usados para gerar narrativas desumanas dos árabes e dos muçulmanos por meio de programas de tradução com planejamento cuidadoso e com financiamentos robustos.
... In the wake of the research carried out by Roger Fowler et al. (1979), Robert Hodge and Gunther Kress (1988), Roger Fowler (1991), N. Fairclough (1995, Eric Alterman (2003), Teun van Dijk (2008), Teun van Leeuwen (2008, and others, we launch our analysis from the hypothesis that news is a product which is to be consumed in terms of semiotic and social values and its primary ingredient is the language. Although, in practice, it is the more obvious cognitive aspects of the news stories that attract sociolinguists rather than the language of the media itself; whenever bias could be detected from a linguist's point of view, thematic analysis would prevail, wavering between competing ways of analyzing events from the media outlets' and journalists' own perspectives and interests (Fowler 1991), (Philo and Berry 2004), (Konnikova 2020). Thus our approach will focus on the language and on tracing any reappearing discoursal features that might form a pattern. ...
This article researches the biased content of the propagandistic channel RT through the prism of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). It attempts to uncover the linguistic means of creating biased content in RT headlines that cover the Venezuela’s post-coup crisis of 2019-2020. It offers a CDA approach to the systemic bias in the headlines of 375 news stories featured on one of the most tendentious webcasters, the Russian state news provider RT. The current CDA focuses on presuppositions and implicatures, back- and fore-grounding, agency, lexis, punctuation, and briefly on other figurative linguistic means in the headlines and traces their relative recurrence that might form a pattern.
... Sirhan (2021) along with Hamid and Morris (2021) highlighted a consistently pro-Israeli bias in British press coverage. Philo and Berry (2011) showed through a thematic analysis a bias in favor of Israel in the news coverage during the outbreak of the Second Intifada by BBC and ITV. Similarly, in a critical discourse analysis, Richardson and Barkho (2009) identified how the BBC enforces "gate-keeping" practices on Palestine/Israel and imposes limitations that reflect "the hegemony, power and control of one side" on the ground in the media representation as well (p. ...
Introduction. The purpose of journalistic style guides is to provide media practitioners with guidance on language to convey a neutral and objective presentation of information. This paper investigates thematic style guides published with a focus on Palestine and analyzes how these style guides construct media bias. Literature Review. In the literature reviewed a structural media bias against Palestinians that favors Israeli narratives is documented in research as an integral part of anglophone mainstream media through the reproduction of Orientalism, Zionist narratives, and anti-Palestinian racism. Methodology. A comparative content analysis was conducted on four thematic style guides, sampling common terms through a grounded theory approach. Results. The results show similarities and differences in the style guides’ definitions, sourcing, and explanations of key terms related to Palestine and its historical, legal, and geographic contexts. Discussion. The style guides notably differ in their content with some perpetuating anti-Palestinian bias in various implicit and explicit ways, such as Nakba denial, questioning Palestinian history, and reproducing Israeli sources and narratives. Conclusions. Our analysis concludes that anti-Palestinian bias and racism are an integral part of some anglophone newsroom policies and practices as implemented in style and editorial guidelines. Thematic style guides on Palestine thus can further perpetuate colonial conquest and anti-indigenous violence.
When corporate or political interests influence or control news content, it is known as media capture and undermines journalistic independence. This phenomenon, especially commercially induced capture, is becoming more common in Pakistan, where a few numbers of corporations control a large portion of the media landscape due to considerable media market concentration. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the PML-N, and corporate businessmen are key actors in this scenario. Though the effects for public trust and democratic debate are dire, the ways in which economic interests shape media practices and content are still largely unstudied. By evaluating the challenges faced by individual journalists, their approaches to managing corporate influences, the public's understanding of media capture, and its effects on public confidence in mainstream media, this study seeks to close this knowledge gap. Additionally, it looks into the dynamics of stakeholders where business and political interests converge, thereby putting pressure on public officials. This research uses a mixed-methods approach to explain the intricacies of media capture in Pakistan and its wider consequences for journalistic integrity and democratic government. It includes qualitative interviews with journalists and quantitative surveys of public perception.
Background: Experts are a favorite source of information in the news media as they have the ability to provide balanced and authoritative comments on important issues. However, two factors cast doubt on the extent to which such experts can actually provide balanced information: conflicts of interest and areas of expertise. In this paper, we analyze the use of expert voices during the COVID pandemic in two Austrian broadsheet papers. Methods: We examine the use of reporting verbs employed to indicate the journalists' stance towards the expert comments as well as the relationship of those comments to the experts' fields of expertise and to any potential conflicts of interest. Results: Our analysis shows that the media uncritically reported experts that had considerable conflicts of interest, while others were permitted to comment on topics far outside their particular fields. Conclusions: In the absence of journalistic scrutiny, distance, and context, both of these practices are likely to have led audiences to take the experts' comments at face value and therefore to have embraced unbalanced information that amplified official narratives, to the exclusion of alternative voices.
The 1948 war led to the creation of the state of Israel, the fragmentation of Palestine, and to a conflict which has raged across the intervening sixty years. The historical debate likewise continues and these debates are encapsulated in the second edition of The War for Palestine, updated to include chapters on Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. In a preface to this edition, the editors survey the state of scholarship in this contested field. The impact of these debates goes well beyond academia. There is an important link between the state of Arab-Israeli relations and popular attitudes towards the past. A more complex and fair-minded understanding of that past is essential for preserving at least the prospect of reconciliation between Arabs and Israel in the future. The rewriting of the history of 1948 thus remains a practical as well as an academic imperative.