"While it’s about the Israel-Hamas conflict, one would expect to see more Palestinian voices being given a platform than Dr. Amal Ismail as they are the main beneficiaries of a ceasefire and are also central to the negotiations for a ceasefire."
February 28, 2024
To:
Mike Drolet, Correspondent, Global News Toronto
Briana Carnegie, Regional Managing Editor, Online & Radio, Global News Toronto
Dawna Friesen, Anchor & Executive Editor, Global News
Dear Mike Drolet, Briana Carnegie, and Dawna Friesen,
I am writing to express concerns about the video segment: “Israel-Hamas conflict: Negotiators work on potential hostage deal in Gaza, as ceasefire hopes rise” published on February 25 on Global News.
First, the video segment was deeply one-sided, as it was centered around Israeli people and their reactions in the hope of a hostage deal.
While it’s about the Israel-Hamas conflict, one would expect to see more Palestinian voices being given a platform than Dr. Amal Ismail as they are the main beneficiaries of a ceasefire and are also central to the negotiations for a ceasefire.
Your video segment predominantly focuses on the Israeli side by including:
- Images of Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv asking for the release of hostages
- A segment of actor Michael Rapaport’s speech
- A commentary from Aurel Braun, a professor at the University of Toronto, saying: “The goals that Israel has and the goals that Hamas has are very, very different. Israel, as well as just any democratic state, understands that there cannot be peace in the Middle East unless Hamas is removed. Hamas wants an agreement that somehow will allow them to rebuild and stay in power and those two goals are not compatible.”
- A segment of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech saying: “Hamas has started out with crazy demands, but if they come down to a reasonable situation, then yes, will have a hostage deal.”
- A commentary from Aurel Braun, saying: “[Hamas] [has] not in the past respected any ceasefire.”
- The correspondent, Mike Drolet, saying: “But there is hope whatever faint that the basic contours of a hostage deal and ceasefire is close despite the fundamental differences between the two sides.”
While many issues can be raised about the comments cited above, I take foremost issue with the huge absence of Palestinian voices.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) ethics guidelines states, “Diversity recognizes the essential dignity and human rights of individuals who experience the world in different ways through their ethnicity, culture, religion, gender identity, political views […].” The CAJ’s guidelines state, for example, that news organizations must:
- “seek to include views from a wide cross-section of people, including those who have been historically underrepresented.” In case you are not aware, Palestinians would be considered a people who have been “historically underrepresented.”
- “encourage our organizations to make room for the interests of all: minorities and majorities; those with power and those without it; and holders of disparate and conflicting views.” Of course, your broadcast very much amplified dominant voices and narratives in Canada.
The journalism in this video segment clearly wasn’t concerned about diversity.
I, therefore, ask you to add Palestinian voices and perspectives in your future reporting on the discussions around a ceasefire in Gaza. In fact, given that you have already broadcast the current segment, I insist that you do a separate broadcast dedicated to Palestinian perspectives on the ongoing negotiations.
Second, there was no relevant context regarding Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. There is no mention of the number of Palestinians whom Israel has killed nor the dire conditions that Israel has fostered in Gaza. Drolet cannot simply reduce what has been ruled by the ICJ as a plausible genocide as “a humanitarian crisis.” These words undermine entirely the gravity of Israel’s actions and responsibility and further the one-sidedness of the video segment.
I, therefore, ask you to add more detailed information about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in future reporting of related-unfolding events.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East