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Proof of inaccuracy and bias in Media!
Accuracy in Israel/Palestine Reporting
San Francisco Chronicle
September 29, 2000 - March 31, 2001
The San Francisco Chronicle reported 150% of Israeli children�s deaths and only 5% of Palestinian children�s deaths in headlines and/or lead paragraphs.
Abstract
This study consists of a statistical examination of the San Francisco Chronicle�s news coverage of the first six months of the current Palestinian uprising: Sept. 29, 2000 through March 31, 2001. The categories examined were coverage of deaths and injuries in general; children�s deaths; and the U.S. connection to this conflict, U.S. aid to Israel/Palestine.
Our findings indicate significantly inaccurate coverage by the San Francisco Chronicle of these topics. We found a vast disparity in the likelihood of a death receiving coverage based on the ethnicity of the person killed. For the first six months of the current uprising, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on 111% of Israeli deaths and only 38% of Palestinian deaths in the headlines and/or the first paragraphs of the 251 articles on the topic.
This discrepancy was even more exaggerated in the Chronicle�s coverage of the killing of children. During the six- month study period, Palestinian children were being killed at a far higher rate than Israeli children � 27 % of Palestinians killed were under 18 (93 children), while only 6 % of Israelis killed were minors (4 children). Yet Chronicle headlines and/or first paragraphs reported the killing of only 5 Palestinian children, while headlines and/or first paragraphs reported 6 Israeli children killed (one Israeli teenager�s death was reported three times).
In other words, the Chronicle covered 150 % of Israeli children's deaths and only 5 % of Palestinian children's deaths, giving readers the impression that approximately equal numbers of youths had been killed on both sides. Thus, while the death of an Israeli child was prioritized above the killing of an adult, the killing of a Palestinian child was de-prioritized, despite the abnormally high percentage Palestinian children made up of the casualties. One would expect the fact that Palestinian children constituted such a high percentage of deaths to have been considered newsworthy in itself, not the reverse.
Regarding Chronicle coverage of cumulative totals, information that would have at least somewhat ameliorated the above misimpressions, we found that only 12 stories (or 4.8 %) of 251 news stories on this topic contained cumulative totals of deaths on both sides somewhere in the article. There was not a single report on the total number injured.
Finally, only 1.2 % of stories about Israel/Palestine contained information about U.S. aid to Israel and the Palestinians, despite the fact that such aid is an integral factor in the current conflict, and that aid to Israel accounts for approximately 30 percent of total U.S. international aid expenditures.
We are providing our findings to the San Francisco Chronicle in the hope that it will help them to fulfill their goal of accurately reporting the news. We are also providing this study to readers to help them evaluate the Chronicle as a source for understanding the Israel/Palestine conflict in all of its complexities.
Introduction
Beginning in 2003, If Americans Knew1 began issuing a report card to major media across the country on their coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This study of the San Francisco Chronicle covers the first six months of the current uprising (September 29, 2000 through March 31, 2001). We chose this particularly significant period because it set the context within which all subsequent reporting on the conflict is viewed.
Given that the media have a desire and a responsibility to cover this topic accurately, we provide these reports in the hope that our analyses can assist them in this goal.
In addition, we are making these reports public, as a way to help readers evaluate for themselves the reliability of their sources of information on this issue.
The goal of this report is to
Establish agreed-upon standards for assessing accuracy in reporting
Provide, in a consistent format, an assessment of the publication�s accuracy in reporting on the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Methodology
We recognize that reporting on Israel/Palestine has been an exceptionally controversial topic. Therefore, while there are many potential yardsticks for measuring accuracy, we chose criteria that would be universally acknowledged to be highly significant and not be construed as at all subjective.
1. Coverage of Casualties
We counted the number of Israeli and Palestinian deaths the San Francisco Chronicle reported on:
In absolute numbers, and
As a percentage of total deaths for Israelis and Palestinians respectively. We broke these numbers down into three specific categories:
All headlines and/or first paragraphs
Front-page headlines and/or first paragraphs only
Children�s deaths reported in all headlines and/or first paragraphs. (No children�s deaths were reported on the front page).
The number of times that cumulative totals of deaths and injuries were reported
We chose this yardstick because it is simple, quantitative and relatively immune to subjective interpretation. In addition, we wanted to discover whether the San Francisco Chronicle demonstrates even-handed respect for human life, regardless of ethnic or religious origin. Finally, because headlines are often among the most prominent aspects of coverage that the reader absorbs, we believe they play a disproportionate role in generating an overall impression about the conflict and the relative consequences for Israelis and Palestinians.
Additionally, we chose to count the number of times the Chronicle provided its readers with the total number of Israelis and Palestinians killed and injured because, given the ongoing nature of daily news reporting, an understanding of the overall context may be lost without such cumulative totals being periodically reported as accurately as possible.
2. U.S. Connection
Finally, we looked at how often the specific American connection to the conflict � U. S. aid to Israel/Palestine � was covered fully and accurately. We counted the number of times such aid was mentioned, and then evaluated whether the sum reported was accurate; for example, whether aid to Israel reported both major segments of U.S. assistance � military and foreign aid � as well as additional subsidies such as loan forgiveness programs (see Appendix B).
Coverage of Casualties
For the first six months of the current uprising, 72 San Francisco Chronicle headlines and/or first paragraphs reported on Israeli deaths. During this time, there had actually been only 65 Israelis killed (the discrepancy is due to the fact that a number of Israeli deaths were reported multiple times).
During the same six-month period, 129 reported on Palestinian deaths were reported in headlines and/or first paragraphs. During this time, 343 Palestinians had actually been killed. 2
The total numbers of Israeli and Palestinian deaths were obtained from the Israeli human rights organization B�Tselem.
Figure 1
(visit link below for figures)
In other words, 111% of Israeli deaths and only 38% of Palestinian deaths were reported in San Francisco Chronicle headlines and/or the first paragraph of relevant articles.
Figure 2
Front-Page Coverage of Deaths
For the first six months of the current uprising, 12 Israeli deaths were reported in the headlines and/or first paragraphs of the San Francisco Chronicle articles on the Israel-Palestine conflict. This constituted 18% of Israeli deaths.
Twenty-eight Palestinian deaths, or 8% of the total Palestinians killed, were reported in front-page headlines and/or first paragraphs.
In other words, Israeli deaths were given front-page prominence at a rate over twice that of Palestinian deaths.
Figure 3
Coverage of Children�s Deaths
For the first six months of the current uprising, 6 Israeli children�s deaths were reported in the headlines and/or first paragraphs of the San Francisco Chronicle articles on the Israel-Palestine conflict, compared with 5 Palestinian children�s deaths. (Children are defined as those that are 17 and below).
Figure 4
According to B�Tselem, during this time, there were actually 4 Israeli and 93 Palestinian children killed.3 Based on these totals, it is clear that, during this period, Palestinian children were being killed at a much higher rate than Israeli children. Children�s deaths accounted for 27% of the Palestinians killed, while children�s deaths accounted for only 6% of Israelis killed during this period.
Figure 5
The next chart summarizes the reporting of children�s deaths for the whole six months. It compares the number of deaths reported in headlines and/or first paragraphs to the number of deaths omitted, for Israelis and Palestinians respectively. While only 4 Israeli children were killed during the study-period, every one received prominent coverage, and one received such coverage twice. In contrast, the killings of almost 90 of the Palestinian children merited no such headline coverage.
Figure 6
* There were actually only 4 Israeli children killed during the first six months of the current uprising. One Israeli child�s death was reported in three different headlines.
In other words, 150% of Israeli children�s deaths and only 5% of Palestinian children�s deaths were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle in headlines and/or the first paragraph of relevant articles.
Figure 7
Coverage of Cumulative Totals
During the first six months of the current uprising, the San Francisco Chronicle reported the total number of Israeli and Palestinian deaths in 12 out of 251 news articles (or 4.8% of news articles) on the Israel-Palestine conflict. During this period, Palestinians were being killed at a rate approximately 5.3 times greater than Israelis.
The Chronicle never reported the total number of injuries broken down by who was injured. Only once did the paper venture into this territory: in an article nine days into the conflict, paragraph 15 stated that there had been �...more than 2,000 injured, the vast majority of them Palestinian.� [Oct. 8, 2000, �Barak: �This is a turning point�: Israel prime minister threatens to use greater force, issues warning to Arafat�]
Figure 8
Coverage of the US Connection
During the six-month study period, the San Francisco Chronicle reported partial information about U.S. aid to Israel/Palestine three times out of 251 articles (or in 1.2% of the stories) on the conflict. Never was the information provided full and accurate (see Appendix A - Tally Sheet B, and Appendix B).
Figure 9
Conclusion
We are concerned about the results of this examination. We believe the readers of the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as all Americans, are entitled to full and accurate reporting on all issues, including the topic of Israel/Palestine.
Given that the Chronicle had ample coverage of this issue (251 stories), it is troubling that so much critical information for American readers was so minimally reported. Further, our findings suggest a pattern of distortion in San Francisco Chronicle coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict inconsistent with normal journalistic standards.
Such a pattern of distortion, in which readers were given the impression that the Israeli death rate was greater than it was, and that the Palestinian death rate was considerably smaller than its reality, may serve to misinform readers rather than inform them.
In particular, our study showed immense distortion in the coverage of children�s deaths. By covering nearly identical numbers of Israeli and Palestinian children�s deaths in headlines and/or first paragraphs, the paper suggested an equivalency in death rates for the two groups, when in actuality over twenty times more Palestinian children had been killed during this period, over 90 percent of them before the first Israeli child�s death.
Such coverage, in which virtually equal numbers of Israeli and Palestinian children�s deaths were given prominence, may give Chronicle readers an impression of balanced reporting that an examination of this six-month period does not justify.
We assume that the San Francisco Chronicle is as disturbed as we have been to find these shortfalls in its quest to provide excellent news reporting to its readers. Now that it has been alerted to these distortions in its Israel-Palestine coverage, we encourage the Chronicle to undertake whatever changes necessary to provide accurate news coverage of this vital issue. We hope that our next report will show an improvement. We will be pleased to report this to the public.
Endnotes
If Americans Knew is dedicated to providing full and accurate information to the American public on topics of importance that are underreported or misreported in the American media. Our primary area of focus at this time is Israel/Palestine.
These numbers do not include Palestinians civilians who died as a result of inability to reach medical care due to Israeli road closures, curfews, etc. The figure for Palestinian deaths is extremely conservative given that it was difficult for this organization to report on deaths in the Palestinian territories. Palestinian medical organizations report a higher number for this period. For example, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, internationally respected for its statistical rigor, reports that 409 Palestinians were killed during this time.
These numbers do not include Palestinians children who died as a result of inability to reach medical care due to Israeli road closures, curfews, etc. The figure for Palestinian deaths is extremely conservative given that it was difficult for this organization to report on deaths in the Palestinian territories. Palestinian medical organizations report a higher number for this period.
http://www.ifamericansonlyknew.org/...ron/report.html
Everything you post about the IP issue seems to be from that site.
Regardless, does this report take into account the number of Palestinian children that either killed themselves in suicide attacks or provoked attacks from soldiers by throwing rocks or molotovs or firing used guns? I wonder what the death toll would be like if you cut those out?
Here's a thought, maybe they don't report on Palestinian children's deaths because half of them are due to suicide bombings that didn't kill any Israeli civilians, and every time a newspaper reports on a suicide bombing the rest of the world goes "how dare you, where is the reporting on Israel's terrorism!"
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| Originally posted by DigiNut Everything you post about the IP issue seems to be from that site. Regardless, does this report take into account the number of Palestinian children that either killed themselves in suicide attacks or provoked attacks from soldiers by throwing rocks or molotovs or firing used guns? I wonder what the death toll would be like if you cut those out? Here's a thought, maybe they don't report on Palestinian children's deaths because half of them are due to suicide bombings that didn't kill any Israeli civilians, and every time a newspaper reports on a suicide bombing the rest of the world goes "how dare you, where is the reporting on Israel's terrorism!" |
this is clearly a pathetic attempt at a scholary paper.
Goes to show you can find great dribble on the internet. Next time, try and give us something published in a newspaper (anywhere in the world for that matter.. even Arabic newspaper have higher standards than the internet) or a jourbal.
here from the article:
* There were actually only 4 Israeli children killed during the first six months of the current uprising. One Israeli child�s death
was reported in three different headlines.
make your own conclusions
Altough I have to interject: This is proof of inaccuracy and bias in ifamericaonlyknew.org Media!
(I'll venture to guess the three headlines were on that child that was killed in his home where terrorist crept into their village and house and killed him and his family with no mercy during the night. Sadly this report makes no attempt in documenting its findings so we will never know 
)
Actually...if you could read properly..it is from a Newspaper you croc...it is written by a newspaper journalist..please try again
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| Originally posted by sufee_b Actually...if you could read properly..it is from a Newspaper you croc...it is written by a newspaper journalist..please try again |
Its the newspaper name...then check archives....not to hard
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| Originally posted by sufee_b Its the newspaper name...then check archives....not to hard |
Yuck Yuck yuck
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| Originally posted by sufee_b Its the newspaper name...then check archives....not to hard |
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| Originally posted by Izzy please, help me out too edit: btw i think we've just found melech_mikes polar opposite - the "anti- honest reporting" thread poster |
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| For 2,000 years there was no such conflict. The land of Palestine was inhabited by Palestinian Arabs. In 1850 these consisted of approximately 400,000 Muslims, 75,000 Christians, and 25,000 Jews. For centuries these groups had lived in harmony: 80 percent Muslim, 15 percent Christian, 5 percent Jewish. Zionism But then in the late 1800s a group in Europe decided to colonize this land. Known as "Zionists," this group consisted of an extremist minority of the world Jewish population. They wanted to create a Jewish homeland, and at first considered locations in Africa and South America, before finally settling on Palestine for their colony. At first this immigration created no problems. However, as more and more Zionists immigrated to Palestine � many with the express wish of taking over the land for an exclusively Jewish state � the indigenous population became increasingly alarmed. Eventually, there was fighting between the two groups, with escalating waves of violence. |
first things i check before i read a article:
1. author
2. source
3. journal name
i dont see any of those. I say 'journal name' because it starts with an abstract.
for all i know, its some people(s) that are just expressing free speech.
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| Originally posted by Izzy please, help me out too edit: btw i think we've just found melech_mikes polar opposite - the "anti- honest reporting" thread poster |
So if I choke on a pretzel and it doesn't make global news, can I blame it on media bias?
I'll tell you why Israeli deaths are reported more vigorously than Palestinian deaths. It isn't because of "bias", it isn't a media conspiracy to cover up Israeli "atrocities," it's just common sense.
Let me dumb it down for you: if you were the owner of a news organization interested in making as much money as possible, what criteria would you use to determine what to publish?
If you had any sense in you, you'd publish what your readers were most interested in. Now, what makes people interested in some given news story:
1. It has a direct effect on them or someone they're familiar with.
2. It's highly unusual.
3. It is emotionally powerful.
An abbreviated list, I'm sure, but enough to make the point. Israeli deaths, as shown in the statistics provided by this "expose," are much more unusual than Palestinian deaths, equally emotionally powerful, and approximately equally directly affecting the reader or someone they're familiar with.
"DING!"
If something happens every single day, no matter how tragic it may be, people aren't going to want to read an article about it every day. That's just common sense. People want something new and different. Israeli deaths are much less frequent, and therefore more interesting. It has nothing to do with the "value of the lives." I hope these morons feel good about themselves for putting together this report. It was really enlightening - about the authors' inability (or perhaps just unwillingness) to see the obvious.
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| Originally posted by DigiNut No shit, that site is some of the worst anti-Israel propaganda I've ever seen. Just read the first few paragraphs of their "history": Clearly this site is anything BUT objective journalism. How about we start off by realizing that there WAS no Palestinian state 2000 years ago, or even 60 years ago? |
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| Originally posted by Cyrus King Denial denial denial.. "there was no palestinian state 2000 years ago"... Of course there wasnt.. there were NO STATES 2000 years ago..empires, regions, and kingdoms existed instead The REGION of PALESTINE was there longer than there was a state of Israel. That region has been known as Palestine even by the Zionists who wanted to create the state of Israel on top of it. ITs been there for centuries. ITs so funny how zionists tend to bring up "States" as a legitimate way of denouncing a people and their indeginous home. That this is the only way people can justify a claim to a land, even if that means removing the indeginous population. |
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| Originally posted by Yoepus wtf? So the land of Judea has been there even longer so there! I don't care if the Romans tried to rechristian the land after they got their asses handed to them, it doesn't fly. Come on, anyone who uses historic arguments that date back more thant a 100 years is a phony. |
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| Originally posted by Cyrus King And what was it before "judea" was ackowledged? A band of tribes with Israelites as ONE of them feuding for lands... |
[/QUOTE] 
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| Originally posted by Yoepus Yea but we united 5000BC, you guys never could, can, or will |
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Because its called Iraq? |
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| Originally posted by Cyrus King No... i think those of us who can trace our lineage back to mesopotamia, even if you are from eastern europe and you think you have a connection to that land becuase you beleive in the same faith of those that lived in mesopotamia (diaspora).... should go onto iraq.. remove hundreds of thousands of those people from their land, and make it our own country! ONLY US MESOPOTAMIANS!!!!!!!!! Although these "iraqi's" have been there for centuries... the mesopotamians were there first...even though it existed for a short while until actual kingdoms and rulers started to divide that land. Like Judea, mesopotamians should unite and claim their land back!!!!! |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Cyrus King Denial denial denial.. "there was no palestinian state 2000 years ago"... Of course there wasnt.. there were NO STATES 2000 years ago..empires, regions, and kingdoms existed instead |
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| Originally posted by DigiNut Yeah... 2000 years ago there were no states at all. 60 years ago there were, and Palestine wasn't one of them. I don't see how the "region" argument holds any water. We might as well say that Iraq and Iran are all the same historical region so we should merge them into one country. P.S. Don't blame me for the post whoring in the political forum, sufee's just been posting a lot of articles in here that need to be debunked. |
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| Originally posted by Cyrus King So what if there was no actual border/nation drawn around palestine??? It was still palestine with people who were living there for centuries, most of the Palestinian. Even if it were still a region TODAY... would it still be okay and remove them from their land to make a nation out of the blue for people who are not even realy from there??? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Cyrus King Denial denial denial.. "there was no palestinian state 2000 years ago"... Of course there wasnt.. there were NO STATES 2000 years ago..empires, regions, and kingdoms existed instead The REGION of PALESTINE was there longer than there was a state of Israel. That region has been known as Palestine even by the Zionists who wanted to create the state of Israel on top of it. ITs been there for centuries. ITs so funny how zionists tend to bring up "States" as a legitimate way of denouncing a people and their indeginous home. That this is the only way people can justify a claim to a land, even if that means removing the indeginous population. |
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| Originally posted by mps242 Yeah but here's the kicker... Q: What were Jews living in Palestine called in the 1800's to early 1900's? A: Palestinians Q: What were the people now known as Palestinians called? A: Arabs The idea of a "Palestinian" people is a modern construct, it has no basis in historical ethnic divisions... |
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