by tyler | Oct 26, 2023 | CNN, media
Most news organizations seem eager to sweep last week’s negligent coverage of the Gaza hospital explosion under the rug, moving on from the low moment covering the Israel-Hamas war without admitting any mistakes.
While The New York Times and BBC — both of which faced enormous scrutiny for their coverage of the blast — have in recent days issued mea culpas, the rest of the press has remained mum, declining to explain to their audiences how they initially got an important story of such great magnitude so wrong.
On Monday, I contacted the major news organizations that amplified Hamas’ claims, which immediately assigned blame to Israel for the blast that it said had left hundreds dead. Those organizations included CNN, the Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera, and The Wall Street Journal.
Did these outlets stand by their initial reporting? Was there any regret repeating claims from the terrorist group? Since the explosion, one week ago Tuesday, Israel and the U.S. have assessed that the rocket originated in Gaza, not Israel. Additional analysis from independent forensic experts, including those contacted by CNN, have indicated that the available evidence from the blast was inconsistent with the damage one would expect to see from an Israeli strike.
But if there was even a morsel of contrition from news organizations that breathed considerable life into Hamas’ very different version of events, it hasn’t been shown. A spokesperson for The WSJ declined comment. Meanwhile, spokespeople for the AP and Al Jazeera ignored my inquiries.
Reuters, which initially reported that Israel had struck the hospital, citing a “civil defense official,” stood by how it covered the unfolding story, conceding no blunders in the process. A spokesperson told me that “it is standard practice for Reuters to publish statements and claims made by sources about news in the public interest, while simultaneously working to verify and seek information from every side.”
“We make it clear to our readers that these are ‘claims’ made by a source, rather than facts reported by Reuters,” the spokesperson for the wire service told me. “In the specific instance of the fast-breaking news about the attack on the hospital in Gaza, we added precise details and attribution to our stories as quickly as we could.”
CNN went even further. Not only did the outlet amplify Hamas’ claims on its platforms at the outset of the story, but its initial rolling online article definitively stated — with no attribution to any party — that Israel was responsible for the lethal explosion. The story was later edited, but the error was never acknowledged in a correction or editors’ note. While it is common for news outlets to update online stories as new information becomes available, when errors are made, standard practice is to acknowledge them in formal corrections. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment specifically on the online story when reached Monday.
In response to my larger inquiry on the network’s broader coverage, the CNN spokesperson pointed me to the forensic analysis it published over the weekend indicating the explosion was inconsistent with an Israeli strike. Like Reuters, CNN admitted no fault in its coverage of the blast.
Which makes what the BBC and The Times have done in recent days stand out. While the rest of the press has sought to move on from the journalistic fiasco, the British broadcaster and Gray Lady have charted a different course.
The BBC said in a statement posted online last week, “We accept that even in this fast-moving situation it was wrong to speculate in this way about the possible causes and we apologise for this, although he did not at any point report that it was an Israeli strike.”
And The Times published a lengthy editors’ note on Monday, confessing its early coverage “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified.”
“The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was,” The Times added.
Bill Grueskin, a renowned professor at Columbia Journalism School, told me Monday that he believes that each outlet that gave credence to Hamas’ version of events should put out similar notes explaining to their audiences precisely how things went awry behind the scenes. (I should note that Grueskin didn’t believe that The Times’ note went far enough, questioning, among other things, why it took almost a week to issue its mea culpa.)
“The notes should be signed; they should provide a more detailed understanding of how their newsroom managed to not just get it wrong at the first moment but why it took so long to scale back; and they should be more explicit about what they got wrong since most readers can’t be expected to recall all the details,” Grueskin said.
Indeed, one of the crucial differences between newsrooms and less reputable, unreliable sources of information is that newsrooms issue corrections and accept fault when it occurs. When news organizations err, it is expected that they own up to their mistakes.
Grueskin pointed out, however, that “newsrooms often find it easier to correct a misspelled middle name than a collapse in verification standards on a major, breaking-news story.”
“It’s easier to address a simple, common mistake than one that goes to the heart of how a news organization is built to handle breaking news in a contested environment,” Grueskin added.
That might be true. But it doesn’t mean that it should be acceptable.
by tyler | Oct 18, 2023 | CNN, media
Hundreds of civilians killed in an airstrike on a Gaza City hospital. Israel did it. No, Islamic Jihad did it.
A series of high-stakes claims emerged Tuesday amid the roiling Israel-Hamas war, presenting one of the thorniest challenges yet to newsrooms trying to make sense of the chaos and provide clarity to the world as it watches the deadly conflict unfold.
In the immediate aftermath of the deadly hospital explosion, some of the world’s biggest and most reputable news organizations uncritically echoed claims from the Hamas-run Palestinian government, which assigned fault for the carnage on Israel. Some news organizations even definitively stated that Israel was responsible in their first reports.
But, soon after those reports, a more complex picture emerged. The Israel Defense Forces flatly denied having struck the hospital and causing the devastating civilian casualties. Instead, the IDF laid blame for the tragic incident squarely at the feet on a rival Islamist group in Gaza, which it said had struck the hospital with an errant rocket.
News organizations quickly moved to reflect the IDF’s statement — and the sudden ambiguity — in coverage. Cable news chyrons were tweaked. Ledes rewritten. Headlines changed.
The turnabout prompted the IDF to scold the press.
“Media outlets around the globe were quick to run Hamas’ headlines—without fact checking,” the IDF said on social media.
And in an appearance on the BBC, an IDF spokesperson scolded the network for its reporting on the blast, saying the network is “taking Hamas information and displaying that as the truth.”
But, even in the wake of Israel’s vigorous denial, news organizations are still unable to definitively say what transpired, putting them in a difficult position and leaving audiences confused.
War sows chaos all around, including for the journalists tasked with covering its calamities. In the heat of a battle, and in the rush to quickly get information out to the public during rapidly developing situations, mistakes can be made. The first draft of history is not always perfect. The fog of war is very real.
At the same time, there is little room for error. Reports on serious matters involving civilian deaths carry enormous weight, often resulting in immediate consequence. In this case, not long after reports claimed Israel had bombed the Gaza hospital, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas canceled his meeting with President Joe Biden. And protests were ignited across the Middle East.
There is no perfect solution. And hindsight is always 20/20. But it is worth repeating that it is of paramount importance for news organizations to remain in a heightened state of vigilance — especially during moments of breaking news when the stakes could not be higher and the situation remains fluid.
Failing to do so runs the risk of confusing and actively misinforming the public, with warring factions retreating even deeper into their respective corners, pointing fingers at one another with civilians caught in the middle.
by tyler | Oct 18, 2023 | CNN, media
Netflix announced Thursday that its founder Reed Hastings is stepping down as co-CEO at the company and will serve as executive chairman. Hastings will be replaced by co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters.
“Our board has been discussing succession planning for many years (even founders need to evolve!),” Hastings wrote in a blog post on Thursday. “As part of that process, we promoted Ted to co-CEO alongside me in July 2020, and Greg to Chief Operating Officer — and in the last 2½ years I’ve increasingly delegated the management of Netflix to them.”
Hastings founded Netflix
(NFLX) in 1997 and changed the way countless households watched movies and shows, first with its DVD-by-mail business and later with its streaming video service.
Under Hastings’ leadership, Netflix disrupted legacy movie rental companies like Blockbuster and helped shake up Hollywood by kicking off an arms race investing in original content. It also survived a notable misstep in 2011 when the company briefly planned to spin off its streaming service from its DVD business, with the latter to be re-branded as Qwikster.
Last year, however, Netflix saw its stock and reputation take a hit after losing subscribers amid heightened competition from rival streaming services. In response, Netflix introduced a lower-priced, ad-supported tier for the first time in its history.
Those changes may be paying off. In its earnings report on Thursday, the streamer said it added more than 7.6 million subscribers during the final three months of last year, well above the 4.5 million additions it had projected, for a total of more than 230 million paying subscribers worldwide.
The company said the quarter’s results indicate that its growth is reaccelerating, thanks in part to popular original programming like “Wednesday” and “Harry & Meghan.” It also said that its ad-supported subscription offering, which launched in November, has gained traction.
“It’s still early days for ads and we have lots to do,” the company wrote in a letter to shareholders. But it noted that engagement is better than what it had expected and “we believe the lower price point is driving incremental membership growth.”
Netflix also said it plans to “start rolling out paid sharing more broadly” later this quarter, as part of its effort to crackdown on people who share passwords rather than pay for their own accounts.
The company posted December quarter revenue of more than $7.8 billion, up just 1.9% from the prior year but in line with Wall Street analysts’ expectations. For the current quarter, Netflix is forecasting revenue growth of 4%, driven in part by a modest increase in paid net subscription additions, a reversal from the slight decrease in subscriptions during the first quarter of last year.
Shares of Netflix rose around 6% in after-hours trading following the Thursday report.
“Reed Hastings stepping down from his current role raises a lot of questions about Netflix’s future strategy,” Jamie Lumley, analyst at investment firm Third Bridge, said in a statement. “While the subscriber growth numbers are encouraging, revenue growth is sluggish with the backdrop of a potential recession looming on everyone’s mind.”
While Hastings’ move away from the CEO spot represents the end of an era of sorts, Netflix said the leadership change “makes formal externally how we have been operating internally.” And Hastings added in his blog post that Sarandos and Peters have “complementary skill sets, deep knowledge of entertainment and technology, and proven track record at Netflix.”
Sarandos has led Netflix’s content operations since 2000, and pioneered the company’s transition into producing original content in 2013. In the process, he has emerged as not just a key leader at Netflix but a power player in Hollywood.
Peters worked both as the COO and the chief product officer for Netflix prior to Thursday’s promotion. He previously served as the streaming giant’s international development officer, helping to expand the company’s overseas distribution.
“Since Reed started to delegate management to us, Greg and I have built a strong operating model based on our shared values and like-minded approach to growth,” Sarandos said in a statement. “I am so excited to start this new chapter with Greg as co-CEO.”
by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, media
In his first public comments since Fox Corporation’s historic settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, Viet Dinh, the network’s top lawyer, blasted the judge who oversaw the election defamation case, saying Monday that he issued “illogical” rulings that “hamstrung” the right-wing network and undermined the “fairness and integrity” of the legal system.
Dinh, the outgoing chief legal and policy officer at Fox Corporation, lashed out at Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who presided over the historic case, which ended with Fox paying a $787 million settlement to the voting technology company.
“We knew we were right in the law, (but) the trial judge put us in a situation increasingly where it was very obvious that we were not able to win the trial, but we were very confident we would prevail on appeal,” Dinh said at a Harvard Law School event.
He continued, “As the judge compounded error upon error, we would get more and more confident in our ultimate chances of prevailing on appeal — because at some point, it became not just a matter of reversible error, it called into the fundamental fairness and integrity of the Delaware civil justice system.”
Dominion sued Fox News and its parent corporation in 2021 after Fox News hosts and guests repeatedly – and falsely – claimed on-air that Dominion voting machines rigged the 2020 election by flipping millions of votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Fox denied wrongdoing and said its coverage was protected by the First Amendment.
Four months after the settlement, the network announced that Dinh would be leaving his post at the end of the year, though he would stay on as a “special adviser.” Dinh was reportedly a vocal advocate for not settling the suit, and his exit is a significant shakeup for Fox after criticism of how he handled the case.
Dinh said Davis issued “really illogical” rulings in the pretrial phase, which “hamstrung” Fox’s defense strategy. Davis’ decisions meant the trial would have been “three to four months of utter pain” for Fox and its employees, who would be called to testify, Dinh said, and therefore, it was a “business decision” to settle the case at the last second.
The judge ruled that none of Fox’s on-air statements about Dominion were true and rejected Fox’s attempts to throw the case out. He also decided that Fox couldn’t argue to the jury that it gave airtime to these election lies because they were “newsworthy.”
Dinh took issue with how Davis handled the discovery process, where both parties are required to turn over documents to the other side, issuing decisions that marked a turning point in the litigation. Dominion made many of these messages public through court filings, and they painted an incredibly damning picture of Fox News.
The private communications revealed that Fox executives, on-air hosts, producers and internal fact-checkers did not believe the 2020 election conspiracy theories that were being promoted on their channel. There were also embarrassing revelations, including a text from ex-Fox News star Tucker Carlson saying that he “passionately” hated former President Donald Trump.
At the Harvard event, Dinh criticized Davis for not imposing tighter restrictions on what Fox needed to give to Dominion, arguing that at least half of the materials that the right-wing network was ultimately forced to produce were “completely irrelevant to the case.”
That paved the way for Fox employees’ private emails to be “exposed to the world” and pored over by “navel-gazing” journalists who wanted to “feed the gossip beast,” he said.
“The court lost control of the media circus, to our detriment,” Dinh said.
The Delaware Superior Court declined to comment about Dinh’s remarks.
Fox is still fighting a separate defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic, another voting machine company that was accused of rigging the 2020 election and is seeking more than $2 billion in damages. That case is still in the discovery phase.
by tyler | Oct 17, 2023 | CNN, media
Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni called for an investigation into the death of Issam Abdallah, the Reuters video journalist who was killed Friday when he was struck by a shell that originated in Israel while filming cross-border fire between Israel and Lebanon.
“I am reiterating my call to the Israeli authorities who have said they are investigating to conduct a swift, thorough and transparent probe into what happened,” Galloni said in a video posted on X. “By transparent, I mean an investigation with clear evidence and explanation.”
Galloni called on the Israel Defense Forces to clarify the terms of engagement in the Israel-Hamas war and asked Lebanon, which claims to have gathered evidence on the attack, and any authorities with information to provide it.
“I urge all parties in this conflict to respect and work with all media to ensure the safety of journalists reporting in the region,” Galloni said. “Reporting on world events with accuracy, integrity, independence and freedom from bias is core to what we stand for at Reuters. and it is critically important for our journalists to be able to do so safely.”
Abdallah, 37, was killed while providing a live video signal for broadcasters, according to Reuters. In its obituary for Abdallah, Reuters reported that he was buried Saturday in his hometown of Khiyam in southern Lebanon and was survived by his mother, two brothers and a sister.
Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh, the two other Reuters journalists wounded in the incident, have been released from a hospital, Reuters reported.
Prior to the Friday incident, at least 10 journalists had been killed since the onset of the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
by tyler | Oct 2, 2023 | CNN, media
Comedian John Oliver returned to his HBO show “Last Week Tonight” on Sunday, becoming the latest late night host to air a new program following the end of the writers’ strike.
“We missed so much that it would take a whole new version of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ to cover it,” Oliver joked following a 15-minute recap of everything his show missed since going off air in April. (Oliver’s show airs on HBO, which like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)
“I wish so much that I could have told you these jokes at the time, but I couldn’t because our writers — the people who wrote those jokes — were forced to strike for a fair contract for the last five months, and it was an immensely difficult time,” he said. “Not just for them, but for everyone else working on this show and many others who could no longer do their jobs.”
Oliver said that the strike happened for “good reasons” and said the writers “thankfully won” after being “severely squeezed in recent years” referencing reports that some writers don’t make enough for health insurance.
“So the writers’ guild went on strike and thankfully won, but it took a lot of sacrifices from a lot of people to achieve that, and while I am happy that they eventually got a deal, and I’m proud of what our union accomplished, I’m also furious that it took the studios 148 days to achieve a deal that they could have offered on day f–king one.”
He continued that he hopes the success of the writers’ strike encourages others, including auto workers and Starbucks employees, to “find power in each other.” Oliver said that actors, who are also currently on strike, are “able to take what the writers achieved and leverage it to win fair contracts too because the truth is it takes many people working really hard to make film and TV, all of whom deserve a piece of the pie.”
“For the actors’ guild, in particular, they can not come back to work soon enough, especially as we’ve all now seen what happens when non-professionals are trusted with the written word,” he said.
Last week, the Writers Guild of America unanimously voted to authorize its members to return to work following a 148-day strike with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that paralyzed the industry and halted production of several shows, including Oliver’s. Bill Maher returned to his show last Friday and the network hosts, such as Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon, will air new programs Monday.
The contract, which will expire in May 2026, includes pay increases, better benefits, protections against the studios’ use of artificial intelligence, guarantees for streaming compensation, longer-duration employment terms and other perks.
Now the focus turns to negotiations between SAG-AFTRA, the union representing about 160,000 actors, and the AMPTP. The two sides are expected to begin negotiating again Monday and hopefully get closer to ending their strike, which has been happening since mid-July.
