"I challenge you, therefore, to include Ms. Abu Daqqa’s nationality in the article, along with additional context around what Palestinian civilians in Gaza face. I also insist, just as you have done for the hapless and tragic Israeli victims of the recent fighting, that you include dramatically more details and examples of Palestinian victims."
October 9, 2023
To:
Jeff Semple, Senior Digital Broadcast Journalist
Howard Goller, Global News Desk Editor
Dear Mr. Semple, Mr. Goller,
I’m writing to you to point out a serious imbalance in Global News’ article today entitled, “How an Israeli ‘love and peace’ music festival ended in massacre after Hamas attack”
There is a huge imbalance in the coverage of the two peoples – Israeli and Palestinian – in this piece. While on Saturday, it may have been appropriate to highlight the Israeli victims of the recent violence, by Monday morning 6:00 a.m. EDT when the article was published, the numbers of victims in the most recent cycle of violence had started to equalize – 700 Israelis as compared to 400 Palestinians, according to a caption on a photo with the article.
For example, a search of the article, title and captions indicates that there are 14 mentions of “Israeli” yet only one mention of “Palestinian” (in a caption, not even in the article.) Only three paragraphs of the 26-paragraph article make mention of Palestinian victims. When you actually do mention a Palestinian – Sabreen Abu Daqqa – in the two paragraphs that you allocate to her, you don’t even mention that she is Palestinian.
This one-sidedness is a discredit to your professional journalism.
I challenge you, therefore, to include Ms. Abu Daqqa’s nationality in the article, along with additional context around what Palestinian civilians in Gaza face. I also insist, just as you have done for the hapless and tragic Israeli victims of the recent fighting, that you include dramatically more details and examples of Palestinian victims.
Finally, I think it is extremely important that you mention Hamas’ motives for launching its attack on Israel. CBC/Reuters reporting on Saturday cited Hamas and Saudi officials assertion that Israel’s occupation is the core motivation for Hamas’ attack. An article from CBC/AP today also mentioned 1) that legal experts consider Israel to still effectively occupy Gaza, despite its disengagement in 2005, and 2) that legal experts consider the blockade of Gaza to be collective punishment against Palestinians.
Please update your piece with these important corrections and additions. Should you wish, feel free to contact me at 438-380-5410.
Sincerely,
Thomas Woodley, MPA
President, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East