Opinion & Comment
Observations: "Israeli" Footage Photographed by Palestinians and Censored by PA

The vast majority of filmed material on Intifadah events broadcast by the Israeli media is selectively photographed and edited by Palestinians, reveals reporter Nachum Barnea.

In an article appearing in Ha'ayin Hashivi'it, a journal on the media published by the Israeli Institute for Democracy, Barnea writes that the race for scoops among the television channels leads them to broadcast material selectively edited by interested parties, and which do not meet the criteria for reliable and balanced journalism.

In the article, Barnea asks how Shalom Kitel, news director at Channel Two, fails to include a short acknowledgement in the reports broadcast by reporter Saliman el Shafa'i of Gaza, reading, "Under the direction and censorship of the Palestinian Authority," despite the fact that the Public Complaints Commissioner and the spokeswoman at Channel Two have indicated that the clips are filmed and censored under Palestinian supervision.

Barnea writes, "Kitel and his competitors at Channel One face the dilemma of what takes priority: revealing sources or protecting their egos. Not surprisingly, the ego takes precedence. Because of their egos, to this day the Israeli television viewer is unaware that the vast majority of footage shown over the past eight months from the Intifadah battlefields were selectively filmed by Palestinians, with the camera lens carefully aimed."

He concludes, "For the sake of comparison, the Prime Minister's Office has employed a film crew for years. The three-man crew films the Prime Minister during his trips abroad and at various events in Israel. Both channels, as a matter of principle, have refused to broadcast a single clip filmed by this crew--not even with an explanatory subtitle-- claiming that they do not report on behalf of any outside organization. Who says they have no principles?"

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