Opinion
Are journalistic ethics dead?
Tamar Sternthal
Published: 06.02.12, 12:45
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41 Talkbacks for this article
1. Israeli journalists not much better.
rebecca ,   Modiin   (02.06.12)
They regularly put out pieces that are inflammatory, incomplete, un-researched etc. How much is just laziness and how much is done on purpose?
2. PALLYWOOD AGAIN! AND THEY LOVE IT
Eran ,   Singapore   (02.06.12)
3. The question would be better...
Gideon Reader   (02.06.12)
...positioned for an honest and more accurate answer IF it were reworded to be,...Has there EVER been a credible and ethical journalistic standard? Possibly Michael Yon in the present day and Stephen Crane in an earlier time/
4. Thomas Friedman <- No morals, no standards - no ethics
Talula ,   Israel   (02.06.12)
He loves to spray high octane fuel on Israel's problems. He's another loser no-body.
5. It's like Churchill said...
Arn ,   Yehud, Israel   (02.06.12)
It's like Churchill said... "A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth gets it's pants on."
6. #1
israel israeli ,   tel aviv   (02.06.12)
In Israel it started when Abramowich said he regretted publishing the fact that Avishai Raviv, the best friend of Yigal Amir, was a GSS agent. It reached its worst when all the Israeli press decided together to "etrog" the corrupt Sharon gang in order to assist with the ethnic cleansing of Gush Katif.
7. the damage is done
Mike ,   London, UK   (02.06.12)
so what is Israel going to do about it? Its all very well disproving the lies, but hundreds of thousands of people have believed the lie and not seen the truth. Israeli PR agencies and global media outlets should be publishing the truth in full page adverts. When is Israel going to understand that it needs to take the war to these anti-Semitic hateful liars of the media and beat them at their own game. Teach the world's public the truth. Education, education, education!!!
8. The real question
Marianne Blume ,   Belgique   (02.06.12)
is: "Why nobody will believe this picture if it was happening in France, Belgium or...?" The answer is clear because we don't have an army known for human rights violations. Even if the picture was a fake, it could be true and it's enough.
9. Are journalistic ethics dead?
John   (02.06.12)
Did they ever truly exist?
10. @7 we can help - facebook, email blogs etc
rebecca ,   Modiin   (02.06.12)
Israel is in a difficult position. Even when the french channel was fined in France for how they reported an incident here, international news only carried that on "back pages". So it's partly up to us to pass on the truth, thru talking about it, writing into news media, commenting, using our personal facebooks, emails and blogs.
11. #8 epic FAIL
israel israeli ,   tel aviv   (02.06.12)
Sorry Marianne, you have FAILED. First of all, remind me of "human rights violations" that the IDF did? I don't mean things like killing terrorists, I mean something that would be considered a crime by the US or UK army. While you are looking, look up the heroic deeds of the Belgian paratroops in Somalia back in 1993. I don't know which is worse: that you really don't know your own history or that you don't think Somali children are human.
12. It a good news, I suppose.
leo ,   usa   (02.06.12)
The more credibility these guys lose the easier it will be dismiss them in the future.
13. There is rarely "journalistic ethics" involving Israel
Carl ,   USA   (02.06.12)
You'd think France would have learned to verify truth after their Muhamad al-Durah story was proven a Pallywood hoax. And the statement that this latest story must be true simply because so many Palestinian media are present defies all logic - these are the very groups who spread Pallywod lies!
14. Does it matter?
Henry from New York ,   USA   (02.06.12)
All the truth in the world can't get rid of a lie if only a few people know it. Anti-Israel stuff sells. It's a known fact. If you don't take an anti-Israel stance in the media then they scream bloody murder if you report a story about them in a balanced way. The public, of course, eats it up. What a sad world we live in.
15. Go take pictures in Syria!
Yossef   (02.06.12)
16. Journalism Then and Now
Eli ,   Nahariya, Israel   (02.06.12)
I spent 4 years at Washington and Lee University majoring in Journalism in the 1970's. W&L was the first School of Journalism in the U.S., founded in 1865. I remember getting papers back marked with D's and F's with big red notes "I asked for Journalism, not your opinion." Today we're all so Facebooked and Twittered and are clueless on how to get to the facts.
17. (7) Mike in London
tiki ,   belgium   (02.06.12)
"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" The damage is done? Absolutely, to the 'biased Newspapers, the 'lying Journalists & the 'fake fotographers. The media has been lying so many times that nobody takes them seriously anymore. They have fouled their own nest & degraded wat was once an honorable profession.
18. (8) Marianne Blume
tiki ,   belgium   (02.06.12)
That's a clear 'Belgique answer....., synonymous for stupid!
19. Could the motive be anti-Semitism?
Steve   (02.06.12)
Let's face it, the dominant mainstream media is left-leaning. At least in the U.S. it is. There is plenty of racism and anti-Semitism on the right, especially in the Congressman Ron Paul camp, but today's left is the repository of Jew-hatred. Visit most any left-leaning news sites and read the vitriol aimed at Israel. Even left-leaning The Jewish Daily Forward is full of anti-Israel / anti-Semitic posts from its readers.
20. Palestinians Fake Violence to Trick Media
Dan Kelso   (02.06.12)
Remember in Jenin in 02 where the Palestinians said hundreds of Palestinians were killed. When only 56 were killed, the majority of whom were terrorists. Then the Pals were having a fake funeral for a this supposedly dead Palestinian after they said he was killed by Israel. Then ofcourse you see this dead Palestinian come back to life after he gets off the strecher. This is classic Pallywood. Do a youtube search for, Palestinian funeral Pallywood.
21. So the pic was just an example of hysterical theatrics?
Cameron ,   USA   (02.06.12)
Hope the troops picked that old woman up and put a foot in his Arab arse. Ridiculous.
22. Media Bias
DavidM ,   USA   (02.06.12)
The elite media has opened the door for this biased reporting. At the New York Times Thomas Friedman accuses American Jews of buying Congress but ignores the Saudi lobby or any others. His colleague Roger Cohen has portrayed Iran as a fine place for Jews to reside.With bias like this it is no surprise that so many others feel free to distort.
23. The Way to Deal with This
Aryeh ,   Brooklyn, USA   (02.06.12)
Israel should sue each and every site that published these lies for libel. Only multi-million dollar awards will force them to check their facts before they continue this blood libel against Israel and the Jews.
24. #23 - How can a country sue for libel?
Henry from New York ,   USA   (02.06.12)
25. The Future is Here!
Tom ,   USA   (02.06.12)
With the WWW malicious, politically motivated hate pieces will multiply exponentially. There is nothing can be done to stop it: the number of antisemites overwhelms the small Jewish state. Nothing is credible anymore: remember the Reuters photoshop scandal a short while ago and other Western leftist media faking. #8. The Belgian poster is the personification of pure Evil: NATO - bombed to death civilians in Libya, the Belgian atrocities --mutilating humans in Congo -- are well documented. But for these scum, only the Jews are the bad boys.
26. the left's position
al-kafir al-yahudi ,   usa   (02.06.12)
is only supported through lies and deception. by definition, we've already won. we are better than they can ever hope to become. let them stew in their atheistic, liberal "utopia". they are inferior, and they know it.
27. Perhaps the way to deal with this ....
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (02.06.12)
... would be for Israel to show pictures of the aftermath of a suicide bombing. Arms, legs and even heads detached from bodies. Jews screaming in agony or strewn about dead in the streets. Perhaps then the lunatics that control international media outlets might finally SHUT UP.
28. Israel has no one to blame but themselves...
PK ,   Asia   (02.06.12)
...if they're unwilling to take strong actions against the offending news outlets. For far too long Israel has allowed them to get away with distorted/erroneous reporting. IMHO, if the outlets refuse to issue a substantial* retraction/clarification, then that outlet, especially if a habitual offender, should be banned! The news outlet itself would then have to explain (to their readership and beyond) why they can no longer report from Israel, one of the most important global news gathering venues out there. The banning itself would be a major news story and would help spread the word/start a conversation as to the distorted treatment which Israel has had to endure for years. *A small retraction buried in the middle or back of a newspaper, etc. would not suffice; they should be made to grovel
29. Yes, they are.
Moshe Grinch ,   Los Angeles, CA, USA   (02.06.12)
30. journalistic ethics
yosef ,   williamsburg   (02.06.12)
I am sure thes will not be posted but you must be keding me - YNET is posting an article about journalistic ethics as if it is on the outside looking in??
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