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"We are not reminded, continually and emphatically, that this strife comes about because of occupation. Occupation. Occupation. This should be a word never far from a reporter’s lips, stated firmly and repeatedly as the permanent backdrop to and living reason for every act of violence on either side." -- from Why the BBC Ducks the Palestinian Story, by ex-BBC Middle East correspondent Tim Llewellyn
Online Media Sources


Web sites

    Palestine Media Watch
    PMWATCH was established in October of 2000 to promote fair and accurate coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the US mainstream media. They (1) identify, report on, and protest clear journalistic failures by the US media in covering the conflict, and (2) help media outlets with access to pro-Palestinian points of view and voices for interviews, op-eds, or background discussions, whether in the United States, in Israel, or in the Occupied Territories. verified: 4Feb2007

    Jerusalem Media & Communication Centre
    CJMCC was established in 1988 by a group of Palestinian journalists and researchers to provide information on events in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. JMCC's Jerusalem and Gaza offices provide a wide range of services to journalists, researchers, international agencies, individuals and organizations interested in obtaining reliable information on the Palestinian territory. verified: 4Feb2007

    Independent Media Center - Palestine
    Founded to record and explore the current practices of the Israeli occupation and the real background to the conflict. verified: 4Feb2007

    Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)
    FAIR, a U.S.-based media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. They advocate for greater diversity in the press and scrutinize media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. See especially their 2001 report, The Illusion of Balance. verified: 4Feb2007

    If Americans Knew
    This organization has done several statistical studies of U.S. media coverage of the conflict, which are available in their media section. verified: 4Feb2007

    Institute for Public Accuracy
    At the core of the Institute for Public Accuracy are two central elements: a wide range of expertise from highly credible policy analysts and a process of sustained outreach to media professionals across the country. IPA's "roster of experts" represents extensive knowledge and insights that routinely go untapped in the mass media. Reachable on short notice, these policy analysts include experts from academia, public-interest groups, and grassroots organizations. verified: 4Feb2007

    medialens
    Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media. British. medialens is a response to the unwillingness, or inability, of the mainstream media to tell the truth about the real causes and extent of many of the problems facing us, such as human rights abuses, poverty, pollution and climate change. There is a section on Israel/Palestine. verified: 4Feb2007

    National Association of Arab American Journalists
    Promotes the professions of journalism, communications, and public relations among the Arab and the Muslim American community.

    CMF MENA
    The Centre for Media Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa (CMF MENA) is an independent regional non-governmental organisation dedicated to the defence of journalists and the promotion of media freedom in the Middle East and North Africa. It was founded in November 1998. There is a small section on Palestinian media. verified: 4Feb2007

    "Caught in the Crossfire"
    Article from the Jun/Jul 04 issue of the American Journalism Review. "As hard-line supporters of Israel and the Palestinians wage a proxy war via e-mail, threatening phone calls and demonstrations, correspondents and news organizations find themselves the targets of condemnation, often highly personal." verified: 4Feb2007

    IWPR: Institute for War and Peace Reporting
    The Institute for War & Peace Reporting strengthens local journalism in areas of conflict. By training reporters, facilitating dialogue and providing reliable information, it supports peace, democracy and development in societies undergoing crisis and change. verified: 4Feb2007

Sites that claim anti-Israel bias
    CAMERA
    Founded in 1982, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is a media-monitoring, research and membership organization devoted to promoting accurate and balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East. verified: 4Feb2007

    Honest Reporting
    Founded by British university students in 1991 to counter what they perceived as bias against Israel. verified: 4Feb2007

    Palestinian Media Watch
    PMW claims to document the contradictions between the image the Palestinians present to the world in English and the messages to their own people in Arabic. verified: 4Feb2007

    Palestine Facts
    Media Bias against Israel 1991 to present. Contains numerous links to other sites. verified: 4Feb2007

Books

    Framing The Struggle: Essays on the Middle East and the US media by Ahmed Bouzid
      bookcoverIf your knowledge about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is fed primarily from the mainstream media from your local newspaper, the Associated Press wire, or maybe the New York Times or the Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, or FoxNews - chances are that you are sadly mislead and gravely misinformed about the Middle East crisis. The short essays in this book will open your eyes to some basic realities that have been safely kept away from you by a timid media unwilling to show you the harsh realities daily suffered by the Palestinian people and will illustrate through some startling examples how the media has repeatedly and systematically downplayed Palestinian suffering. The book will help you gain a better understanding of the subtle ways your opinions, feelings, and perceptions of the conflict are manipulated, and hopefully put you on guard next time you open your newspaper or turn on your radio or television. Dr. Ahmed Bouzid is founder and president of Palestine Media Watch (PMWATCH.org), and head of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Arab American Journalists Association (NAAJA.org).

    Al Jazeera: How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East by Mohammed El-Nawawy and Adel Iskandar
      bookcoverSheds light on the background of the Al-Jazeera network, how it started, how it operates, the kinds of programs it broadcasts, its effects on Arab viewers, the reactions of the West and Arab states, and its implications for the future of news broadcasting in the Middle East and its struggle for public opinion in the Arab world.

    The U.S. Media and the Middle East: Image and Perception by Yahya R. Kamalipour
      bookcoverIn this thought-provoking volume, experts explore the disturbing ramifications of portrayal of the Middle East by the U.S. media; analyze the stereotypes and misconceptions that Americans have of Arabs, Iranians, and other Middle Easterners; and discuss the far-reaching political and cultural impact of the United States on the Middle East. Focusing on the U.S. media (books, magazines, newspapers, motion pictures, television) coverage and portrayal of Arabs, Palestinians, the Intifada, Middle Eastern women, Iran, Islam, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf War, the book also examines the impact of motion picture classics on young children and the perceptions of American students relative to the Middle East.

    Epic Encounters: Culture, Media, and U.S. Interests in the Middle East, 1945-2000 by Melani McAlister
      bookcoverIn this innovative book, Melani McAlister explores the cultural history of political interests, arguing that U.S. encounters with the Middle East were influenced by both the presence of oil and the religious symbolism of the region. McAlister's richly textured study shows how culture functions as a social and historical force in shaping politics and identity. She skillfully weaves lively and accessible readings of popular culture with a rigorous analysis of U.S. foreign policy and the domestic politics of race.

    Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People by Jack G. Shaheen
      bookcoverShaheen (mass communication, Southern Illinois Univ.) has written a meticulous, passionate, and very articulate description of the persistent and prolonged vilification of Arab peoples in mainstream Western movies. Offering primarily reviews of the 900 films he has seen or researched over 20 years, he documents a century of offensive stereotypes and shows how the image of the "dirty Arab" has reemerged over the last 30 years, even as other groups have more or less successfully fought to eliminate the use of racist stereotypes. The appendixes include lists of the best and worst depictions of Arabs in popular films, alternate titles, a list of epithets thrown at Arabs in films, and a list of the fictional locations used in films.

    Covering Islam by Edward Said
      bookcoverAn unusually sharp look at the way in which the U.S. press and experts have dealt with the crisis in the Middle East and Iran.

Videos

    Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land: U.S. Media & the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
      bookcoverExposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites—working in combination with Israeli public relations strategies—exercise a powerful influence over news reporting about the Middle East conflict. Combining American and British TV news clips with observations of analysts, journalists, and political activists, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides an historical overview, a striking media comparison, and an examination of factors that have distorted U.S. media coverage and, in turn, American public opinion. Interviewees include Seth Ackerman, Mjr. Stav Adivi, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Hanan Ashrawi, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Dr. Neve Gordon, Toufic Haddad, Sam Husseini, Hussein Ibish, Robert Jensen, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Karen Pfeifer, Alisa Solomon, and Gila Svirsky.
    Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies A People
      video box photoThis groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged form the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs--from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists"--along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today. Shaheen shows how the persistence of these images over time has served to naturalize prejudicial attitudes toward Arabs and Arab culture,