L bjornsen what obstacles do palestinian journalists face
1. What barriers do Palestinian
journalists face in their work?
‐ A screening report of the
professional obstacles of
journalists in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories
September, 2011
By Lena Bjornsen for the Media Development Center at Birzeit University
2. Index
Scope of the Report 3
IntroducEon 5
Foreword: The media landscape of PalesEne 6
Which barriers do PalesEnian journalists meet in their work? 7
1. Security issues 7
Harassment by the Israeli OccupaEon Forces (IOF) 8
Harassment by the PalesEnian Security Forces (PSF) 9
2. DifficulEes in accessing informaEon and sources 10
Ge[ng the necessary papers 10
Physical barriers ‐ checkpoints 10
Technological obstacles 11
3. PoliEcal censorship and self‐censorship 12
PoliEcal bias and sympathies of the journalists 15
4. Social issues and taboos 16
5. Unemployment and wages 18
6. Lack of professional and adequate educaEon and training 19
7. Lack of independent and influenEal unions 20
8. Financial obstacles and corrupEon 21
9. Legal obstacles 22
Israeli law 22
PalesEnian law 22
Media culture in PalesEne ‐ journalisEc ideals and values 24
Conclusion 26
Bibliography 28
Annex 1: Journalism EducaEon and Training in PalesEne 30
Annex 2: PalesEnian Media Outlets 31
4. ‐ Editor at Alhayat Aljaeeda Newsaper
‐ Former reporter at WAFA
‐ Media RelaEons Administrator in public insEtuEon/freelancer
‐ Chief editor of the Al Hal newspaper and director of the Media Development Center at Birzeit
University
‐ A group of 10 Journalism students at the Media Department at the Birzeit University
Based on the surveys and the interviews the report is centered around selected issues which significantly
influence the work environment of PalesEnian journalists and which therefore also potenEally affect the
implementaEon of conflict sensiEve journalism in the PalesEnian media industry.
• Security issues
• Censorship and self‐censorship
• Social issues and taboos
• Work condiEons, including:
o Unemployment and wages
o EducaEon and training
o Access to informaEon and sources
• Financial obstacles and corrupEon
• Legal obstacles
• Media culture and journalisEc ideals
To clarify, the aim of the report is to be a source of insight to the area‐specific obstacles faced by
PalesEnian journalists. It’s an analysis of how the conflict with Israel as well as the internal poliEcal and
social culture present barriers for journalists’ ability to carry out their professional duEes and thereby also
how these barriers will also potenEally affect the implementaEon of conflict sensiEve journalism.
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5. Introduc0on
The work environment of PalesEnian journalists is deeply affected by the poliEcal tension caused by the
conflict between PalesEne and Israel and the occupaEon of the PalesEnian Territories by Israel since 1967. The
problemaEc relaEonship between Israel and PalesEne has led to much bloodshed over the years ‐ not least
during the two inEfadas in the 1980’s and 2000’s ‐ which has created a tense atmosphere in the region. And
though, the situaEon has been relaEvely quiet the past couple of years, clashes between PalesEnians and
Israeli occupaEon forces (IOF) happen on a weekly basis causing a conEnuously difficult poliEcal relaEonship
which again has a significant effect on the work condiEons for local PalesEnian journalists.
Also, the internal poliEcal situaEon affects the PalesEnian media industry. Internal poliEcal disagreements
between the leading parEes of Hamas and Fatah led to a violent conflict starEng in 2006, which caused a more
or less official divide of the PalesEnian Territories where Hamas ruled the Gaza Strip and Fatah the West Bank.
This divide had a direct effect on the PalesEnian media by causing significant restricEons in press freedoms as
well as it has led to formal censorship enforced by PalesEnian authoriEes and informal self censorship among
journalists and media houses due to the fear of aiacks, arrests or other forms of harassment.
Decades of internal and external conflict have led to a present situaEon of tension and mistrust among the
PalesEnian people. A Near East ConsulEng (NEC) survey of the ‘PalesEnians‘ PercepEon Towards PoliEcs and
Religion’ from November 2010 showed that 90 percent of the PalesEnians are ‘concerned about the situaEon
in general’. It is likely that this general mood of concern as well as the direct restricEons caused by the Israeli
occupaEon and the internal poliEcal parEsan divide also affect the PalesEnian journalists.
According to a survey of the PalesEnian media in the spring of 2011, also conducted by the NEC, 53 percent of
the PalesEnian media organizaEons said that they had suffered restricEons in the past such as closure, threats
and aiacks on staff or property.
MADA – the PalesEnian Center for Development and Media Freedoms – registers violaEons against journalists
operaEng in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and in Gaza. In 2010 218 violaEons were reported, averaging at 18
violaEons a month ranging from physical aiacks, detenEons, arrests, and summonses for invesEgaEons,
destrucEon of property (e.g. slashed Eres of vehicles), threats, and restricEons in moving freely.
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6. Foreword: The media landscape of Pales0ne
Quick stats based on NEC’s ‘Survey of PalesEnian Media’ from 2011 and Internews’ ‘PalesEnians and the
media’ from 2006:
• There are 192 media organiza0ons in the Occupied PalesEnian Territories (OPTs). The majority is based
in the West Bank.
• About one fimh of the TV staEons and one fimh of the radio staEons claim to broadcast throughout the
OPTs. The rest are local media outlets.
• Four of five media outlets said their funding comes mainly from private sources such as adverEsing,
16 percent said internaEonal NGOs and four percent said government funding.
• 42 percent of the PalesEnians said interna0onal satellite TV is their main source of informaEon
compared to 24 percent from local TV, 20 percent from the Internet, eight percent from the radio and
three percent from newspapers.
• Most watched TV staEons in the OPTs are: Al Jazeera (Qatar based), PalesEne TV (PA staEon), MBC
entertainment channels, Al‐Arrabiyah news channel (Dubai based connected to MBC), and Abu Dhabi
TV.
• 88 percent of the Pales0nians follow the news on a daily basis.
Prior to the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel denied any publicaEon of newspapers, or broadcasEng of radio and TV.
Only the Arabic newspaper Al‐Quds, which is based in East Jerusalem, has been published since 1951. Since
1993 the media industry has blossomed in the OPT though the second inEfada in the early 2000’s put serious
economic pressure on many media outlets and caused them to close down. SEll, today close to 200 more or
less independent media organizaEons exist in the OPTs.
With one fimh of the PalesEnians claiming the internet as their primary news source, online media is naturally
expanding. Israel regulates the Internet access in the OPTs. SEll, access to internet is rapidly growing. In 2006, it
was esEmated that nearly 243,000 PalesEnians, about 13 percent of the populaEon, had access to the Internet.
In 2011 this number has climbed to 70 percent ‐ 85 percent of these have internet access in their homes.
Worth noEcing is, that there’s a wider access to the Internet in Gaza (76 percent) compared to the West Bank
(67 percent).
Major electronic media outlets include PalesEne News Network (PNN), PalesEne News Agency, PalesEne
Media Center (PMC), Maan News Agency, Ramaian ‐ Ramallah News Agency, Qods News Agency, Sama News
PalesEne, and Al‐Zaitona News Agency.
Also social networks have been rapidly expanding in recent years. In the spring of 2011, 60 percent of the
PalesEnians use social networks according to a NEC survey ‐ one quarter of the people in the age group of
18‐24 said they used social networks extensively.
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7. Which barriers do Pales0nian journalists meet in their work?
Working in a country under occupaEon presents daily limitaEons for PalesEnian journalists. They meet
harassment and are prevented from free movement thereby restricEng their access to events, informaEon,
and sources. But also issues of culture, educaEon, and socioeconomic concerns can hinder journalists from
being able to carry out their duEes professionally. This report examines the work condiEons of PalesEnian
journalists and seeks to list the major obstacles they face.
According to a survey by the NEC in May 2011 three out of four of the PalesEnian media organizaEons find that
the occupaEon present the main restricEon, but the report also reveals that journalists feel that the PA in the
West Bank and Hamas in Gaza are restricEng their work.
RestricEons are to a high degree due to physical harassment making security issues one of the most important
topics in this report. But the interviews with local journalists also pointed to other important issues which
present noteworthy barriers for a free and open PalesEnian press. These issues include poliEcal parEsanship,
patrioEsm, self‐censorship due to fear of societal sEgma and exclusion, social and cultural taboos, corrupEon
and bribery, lack of educaEon and training, and legal restricEons.
Several of the listed issues are naturally closely linked; security risks are likely to cause self‐censorship, lack of
educaEon makes it hard to overcome the fear of societal sEgmaEzaEon etc. SEll, the different issues will be
discussed separately in the following analysis as a way to get a beier overview. The analysis is backed by
quotes from the four respondents as well as quotes from respondents in other qualitaEve surveys. To ensure
the safety of the respondents, all names and informaEon that will idenEfy the respondents are lem out of the
report. The names are known by the author and by the Media Development Center. Names of businesses and
corporaEons menEoned by the respondents are also lem out, as the focus of this report isn’t to accuse specific
businesses, poliEcians etc. SEll, names of media houses are lem in as it is seen as relevant for the
understanding of the PalesEnian media industry.
1. Security issues
MADA’s Annual ViolaEons Report of 2010 registered 218 cases of violaEons against journalists during 2010. By
far, the most of these ‐ 99 cases – were physical aiacks on journalists. Of these 89 were commiied by the
Israeli OccupaEon Force (IOF) and 10 by PalesEnian Security Forces (PSF).
When a group of journalism students were asked whether they knew anyone who had been physically
aiacked the answer was: “Every journalist has tried it.”
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8. Other violaEons included detenEons, arrests, threats, prevenEon of coverage and prevenEon of traveling. The
amount of these violaEons was almost the same among the IOF and the PSF.
Whether it’s the risk of physical aiack or other kinds of harassment, it is likely that it will prevent journalists
from covering certain areas and issues where they know there’s a risk of ge[ng aiacked, imprisoned, or in
other ways harassed.
“You just try to cover it in a way so you don’t get jailed.” Journalism students
Harassment by the Israeli Occupa0on Forces (IOF)
Throughout 2010 89 physical aiacks on journalists by IOF were reported. The risk of physical harassment is
bigger in certain areas. Hebron, with its high density of soldiers due to the presence of seilements inside the
city, is the area with the most reports of violaEons against journalists.
“Journalists here are subjected to frequent aTacks because the Israeli army does not want them to report
on the ongoing seTler aggression: they seek to punish us in order to placate the seTlers” Agence France
Presse photographer (from MADA Annual Viola6ons Report: 2010)
Also in Ramallah and its surrounding villages as well as in Jerusalem, aiacks by IOF are frequent and omen
occur while journalists cover demonstraEons or clashes.
“The IOF don’t want journalists to print daily updates on the reality of the situa6on in Jerusalem. The
violence against Jerusalem‐based journalists is con6nual and brutal, they want to stop our work and
prevent us from reaching areas where aTacks and clashes are taken place. I was subjected to many aTacks
in 2010, I was beaten unconscious many 6mes, waking up on the ground or in hospital with no memory of
how I got there.” Al Quds Net reporter (from MADA Annual Viola6ons Report: 2010)
If journalists risk physical harassment it will naturally lead to the risk of journalists not pursuing certain stories
which will limit the coverage of sensiEve stories. The interviews revealed, though, that the fear of aiacks and
arrests don’t necessarily keep journalists away from the fire. In the interviews journalists explain that
harassment is almost expected and also not something worse than what they go through when they are not
working:
“Journalists are targeted the way any Pales6nian is targeted, they are not respected.” Editor at Alhayat
Aljaeeda Newsaper
“Many Pales6nians – especially young men – risk being beaten up at checkpoints going to visit their
mothers, or when coming home from work or something like that. So they are used to it. The aTack might
be more harsh, but many don’t care: ‘yeah, I got beaten up, but then I got a really good story, unbiased
and balanced. Most of the journalists who get physically harassed are the ones with a camera and if you
have a camera then you have a fool‐proof story.” Former reporter at WAFA
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9. Though the physical threat of the IOF doesn’t necessarily seem to deter all PalesEnian journalists from ge[ng
the stories they seek, it is likely to affect the angle of the original story as well as the journalist’s ability to be
unbiased. In the above statement footage of IOF harassment is seen as a ‘bullet‐proof’ story in itself which
both means that the harassment take away focus from whatever the original story was and potenEally
overexpose aiacks on journalists. Also it will likely lead to a biased story as the journalist become the
vicEmized source instead of the observing third party making it harder for the journalist to find the line
between journalist and civilian.
Harassment by the Pales0nian Security Forces (PSF)
The MADA report on press freedom violaEons of 2010 counts fewer incidents of physical harassment by the
PSF ‐ 10 out of 99 reported incidents. SEll, the amount of arrests and detenEons were at the same level as the
IOF in 2010 and the PSF to a higher extent use means of raids and summons for invesEgaEon. According to
MADA’s mid‐year report, 14 journalists have been interrogated by the PalesEnian AuthoriEes throughout the
first six months of 2011.
The internal poliEcal division between Hamas and Fatah has amplified the limitaEons of journalists ability to
work and their right to free speech. In Gaza City violaEons are mainly commiied by the PSF (24 compared to
one incident by the IFO). In their 2009 report the UN refugee agency, UNHCR concludes: “Since Hamas took
power in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, journalists have been trapped in the middle of a power struggle between
Fatah and Hamas in the PalesEnian Territories.”
The UNHCR also writes: “Journalists with links to Hamas are summoned, quesEoned and arrested on the West
Bank by the security forces of the PalesEnian Authority, while pro‐Fatah journalists are regularly threatened by
Hamas police.”
During the spring of 2011 MADA has registered 68 violaEons of press freedom by the PSF. The large amount of
violaEons is likely a consequence of the March youth rallies demanding an end to the internal poliEcal divide.
Alone in March 30 violaEons were commiied, the majority occurring in Gaza.
Both the actual physical aiacks, but also threats and the fear of being subjected to harassment are likely to
affect the journalists’ willingness to cover events in a free and unbiased way causing self‐censorship. And while
there’s a feeling of naEonal obligaEon when it comes to going against the occupaEon, there doesn’t seem to
be the same degree of willingness to risk one’s life when it comes to covering sensiEve internal poliEcal
stories.
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10. 2. Difficul0es in accessing informa0on and sources
The difficulEes PalesEnian journalists face when it comes to obtaining informaEon and accessing sources are
both at an administraEve level by not being able to acquire press cards, at a physical level in the form of
checkpoints and being prohibited from entering certain areas, and at a technological level by not having access
to certain technologies and tools that are becoming more and more common among their colleagues in other
countries.
GePng the necessary papers
A press card is issued by the Ministry of InformaEon, but the card does hold much value for the journalists as it
isn’t recognized by the Israeli authoriEes. The PalesEnian press card thereby doesn’t grant access into Israel or
to Israeli sources such as poliEcians or authoriEes, or to any official press conferences held in Israel. The Israeli
authoriEes only effecEvely recognize the press card issued by the Government Press Office (GPO) at Beit Agron.
According to the InternaEonal FederaEon of Journalist’s ‘ReporEng PalesEne: Journalism’s Uncertain Future In
the Danger Zone’ from 2001 the GPO press card is not available for most PalesEnians, either because they
have no clearly defined and acceptable media employer in the GPO’s view, or because they have been unable
to travel to Jerusalem, where GPO’s offices are located. Amer the Second InEfada, it has become even harder or
close to impossible for PalesEnian journalists to acquire the card. New Israeli policies mean that the card is not
issued to PalesEnian journalists and is also not renewed for journalists who earlier had one. This means that
fewer and fewer PalesEnian journalists have a GPO press card and are therefore unable to access sources in
Israel, in seilements and in West Bank areas closed by IOF as ‘military zones’. This lack of access to important
sources – especially on the Israeli side ‐ is likely to influence the type of sources used by PalesEnian journalists
which poses a threat of strengthening bias and unbalanced reporEng among the PalesEnian journalists.
Throughout the past year the Syndicate (PalesEnian Journalists Syndicate) has handed out official papers to its
members which serve as documentaEon of their profession. This documentaEon is needed if journalists want
their profession to be menEoned in their passport and can funcEon as official documentaEon of a journalisEc
profession for journalists without formal educaEon. However, this doesn’t work as a recognized press card and
the actual potenEal benefits of the documentaEon is uncertain since the arrangement is sEll so new.
Physical barriers ‐ checkpoints
The Israeli checkpoints between the OPTs and Israel as well as the checkpoints inside the OPTs put significantly
limit the freedom of movement of PalesEnian journalists.
The Israeli PalesEnian Journalists’ Forum, organized by the InternaEonal Press InsEtute (IPI) in June 2011,
discussed press freedom challenges relaEng to coverage of the PalesEnian‐Israeli conflict and peace iniEaEves
and stressed that:
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11. ‘…freedom of movement is essen6al for journalists to do their professional work, and (the IPI Israeli
Pales6nian Journalists’ Forum, ed.) calls on the authori6es to guarantee freedom of movement for all
professional journalists in the region. This includes issuing Government Press Office (GPO) cards to all
professional Pales6nian journalists, because they are necessary for reporters to enter and cover official
events.’
As menEoned above, the lack of access to GPO press card for PalesEnian journalists makes many journalists
unable to cover events in Israel or interview Israeli officials. But also within the OPTs PalesEnian journalists
meet restricEons in free movement. The West Bank is divided into three secEons – A, B and C – which have
different jurisdicEons. 60 percent of the West Bank is area C which means full Israeli control. The villages
involved in weekly demonstraEons against the separaEon wall are in area C and are omen subject to ‘Closed
Military Zone’ orders enforced by the Israeli military. According to the ‘MADA Annual ViolaEons Report: 2010’
journalists aiending the demonstraEons can therefore be subject to Israeli military protocol banning all media
coverage.
“One of the most significant obstacles for Pales6nian journalists is collec6ng informa6on from the field. It is
so difficult to collect informa6on from the field if you want to collect informa6on for a news story related to
Israeli troops. Israeli soldiers do not allow taking photographs of people that were killed or even talk about
official people.” Media Rela6ons Administrator at public office/freelance reporter
The Israeli blockade in Gaza and the necessity for journalists to get Israeli permission to enter or leave Gaza
makes it difficult for journalists in either Gaza or the West Bank to cover stories in the other part of the OPTs.
The dispute between Hamas and Fatah made it even more difficult as journalists from Fatah‐loyal news
agencies would meet harassment in Gaza and vice versa. The division between the two PalesEnian territories is
likely to have increased the disunity as each area almost solely were covered by journalists linked to local
media outlets and because the journalists risks persecuEon by local authoriEes if they aren’t loyal to the
poliEcal line of the dominaEng party.
Technological obstacles
In today’s day and age the internet pose a significant source of informaEon and working tool for journalists.
The internet is widely accessible in the OPTs, where more than three quarters of the PalesEnians have access to
the internet. Worth noEcing is it, that more people in Gaza (76 percent) than in the West Bank (67 percent)
have internet access (NEC’s Survey of PalesEnian Media 2011).
The interviews show that the internet is seen as an important enhancement of press freedom in PalesEne as its
not only a tool for informaEon. But it also presents an outlet for the stories that are normally considered too
sensiEve to report in regular media or which are censored because of poliEcal or financial interests of the
media houses.
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12. “If media houses won’t publish the story, journalists can just publish it online, no problem.” Editor at
Alhayat Aljaeeda Newsaper
There’s also a widespread use of cellular phones in PalesEne, where 85 percent of the populaEon own mobile
phones, according to a report by PalesEne Trade Center on ‘Challenges Facing ICT in PalesEne’. The use of
mobile technology for accessing and spreading informaEon is becoming more and more popular, not least in
the Middle East as the so‐called ‘Arab Spring’ in 2011 bore witness of. And not least for journalists the mobile
phone presents an excellent tool for ge[ng quick access to when and where something is happening and can
also work as a security device in le[ng a large group of people know of harassment, arrests or similar
violaEons of journalists.
In the OPTs 3G network is accessible only through Israel telecommunicaEons provider, and therefore not for
the majority of the PalesEnian journalists. As a part of the Oslo Accords 1995 it was agreed that the Joint
Technical Commiiee (JCT), which represents both Israel and PalesEne, was to handle issues regarding
frequencies in the OPTs. But the JCT hasn’t met on a regular basis since 2000 thus leaving many issues pending
clarificaEon. According to the Oslo Accords any telecommunicaEon development pertaining to Area C must be
confirmed by Israel but so far the needed frequencies for PalesEnian telecommunicaEons companies to offer
3G has been refused. They therefore depend on GSM and EDGE technology which is known for low internet
speed.
The current development within mobile technology makes the phone a valuable work tool, especially for
professionals in the media industry. By prevenEng 3G network as well as further development in the
telecommunicaEons sector, PalesEnian journalists’ experience significant limitaEons in regards to incorporate
into their work the possibiliEes connected to mobile technology such as live streaming, tweeEng, sharing and
checking news and uploading text, photos and videos, which are tools that are being widely experimented with
by their collogues in Israel, in the Middle East and the rest of the world.
3. Poli0cal censorship and self‐censorship
Not only physical aiacks hinder the journalists from carrying out free and unbiased reporEng. Threats of
punishments that would have a severe impact on the journalist’s ability to do his job as well as affect his
personal freedom seem to make journalists cauEous about which poliEcal issues they address.
“From the Israeli side I could be banned from crossing the border or not have an Israeli security clearance
which would affect many prospects of my life. If I were not allowed to travel I couldn’t work abroad or go
out on my honeymoon or to visit my family abroad or even for medical reasons.” Former reporter at WAFA
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13. And also the PSF seem to pose a significant threat to freedom of speech. Through methods of arrests, raids and
especially in summonses for invesEgaEons, they inEmidate journalists criEcal of the PalesEnian government or
poliEcal parEes.
“The PA could blacklist me and I would be unemployed for a long 6me. I could maybe never get a good
working permit.” Former reporter for WAFA
The fear of ge[ng blacklisted or facing similar personal sancEons is likely to lead to self‐censorship, and self‐
censorship is also menEoned by all of the interviewed as an important limitaEon in the PalesEnian media
industry. SEll, in the interviews self‐censorship regarding poliEcal issues is presented as an almost natural part
of the job.
“Generally journalists feel secure unless they handle poli6cal issues that the poli6cal class doesn’t like.”
Editor at Alhayat Aljaeeda Newsaper
“In the West Bank, don’t be against the Pales6nian Authority. In Gaza, don’t be against Hamas. That’s the
rule! If you want to cri6cize, do it in a smart way ‐ vague and not very explicit. You can cri6cize trash in the
streets or even social issues from the Authori6es’ point of view. But if you dare write about concessions of
the PLO or the PA in nego6a6ons, you are in trouble. ” Former reporter at WAFA
The PalesEnian poliEcal parEes thereby seem to be successful in imposing a significant level of self‐censorship
among the journalists which is also the conclusion of MADA’s report ‘The impact of violaEons on self‐
censorship among PalesEnian media workers’ from 2010:
“The Pales6nian poli6cal regimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip play a prominent role in perpetua6ng
self‐censorship among media workers. The mutual interests between poli6cal agendas and media amplify
censorship and provoke internal divisions. Journalists prefer to self‐censor their work for fear of losing work
and being arrested or threatened.” MADA
But as menEoned in MADA’s conclusion above, the poliEcal and media agenda is someEmes mutual,
amplifying the risk of self‐censorship due to the journalist’s fear of losing his job. According to the NEC report
from 2011, the majority of the PalesEnian media outlets have links to poliEcal parEes. This typically reflects on
the editorial line where stories involving the opposite poliEcal party are conEnuously edited out or covered
from an angle that puts the party in a bad light. The disunity between the poliEcal parEes of Fatah and Hamas
have seemingly increased the pressure on journalists and media houses regarding what and how to report.
A former reporter at the official government news agency explains:
“Pales6ne News Agency WAFA un6l a year ago censored most stories about Hamas in Gaza. They would
not publish stories about any event in Gaza, like building, construc6on, fes6val or any ac6vity in which
Hamas par6cipated or funded it. Dona6ons made by Hamas or any coali6ons including Hamas, the Islamic
Brotherhood or any Islamic movements were completely censored. Except for example viola6ons or
kidnappings done by Hamas, Fatah‐ac6vists being taken to jail or forcefully removed from their houses ‐
they would cover those. ” Former reporter at WAFA
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14. The culture of censorship at the media houses will potenEally rub off on the staff causing an environment of
self‐censorship caused by the more or less explicit censorship in the media organizaEon.
“Aier working for a censored company for a certain amount of 6me, they (journalists, ed.) learn the policies
and to be more of employees instead of actual journalists.” Former reporter at WAFA
And according to interviews conducted here as well as by the NEC, this censorship in the media houses
increased the poliEcal split in the OPTs.
“Media strengthened the split by inci6ng against each other” – Editor at Alhayat Aljaeeda Newsaper
“The most important impact was the gradual retreat among journalists from ethical, professional and
objec6ve values and standards to poli6cal agendas, and the consequent exploita6on of the news outlets in
the respec6ve areas. As such, many of the news outlets contributed, by agreeing to be a tool of the division,
in strengthening the division itself.” Reporter at Agence France‐Presse in Gaza (from NEC 2011)
Thus, the level of censorship and press freedom at the media houses seem to reflect the present poliEcal
situaEon as the self‐censorship and poliEcal bias in the media seemly increased during the internal poliEcal
dispute. This also means though, that the unity agreement between Hamas and Fatah, and the coming proposal
for state‐recogniEon in the UN is likely to loosen the restricEons on journalists.
“Pales6nian journalism is moving forward. In the present poli6cal situa6on, the Pales6nian poli6cians don’t
want to risk being called oppressive. It gives journalists more freedom.” Editor at Alhayat Aljaeeda
Newsaper
“Till a few years ago the media was a mouth piece for the government. Now people dare to talk about
social issues, accidents, and drugs for instance.” Former reporter for WAFA
The reconciliaEon agreement has allowed for the return of the Gazan Al‐Aqsa TV to report from the West Bank)
and of PalesEne TV (based in the West Bank) to broadcast from Gaza. SEll, the recent unificaEon agreement
seems to impose new restricEons on press freedom as well:
“You can’t write nega6vely about the poli6cal par6es or anything that affects the agreement – only posi6ve
things are allowed.” Media Rela6ons Administrator in public ins6tu6on/freelancer
“Media houses will support courageous journalists – if the story coincide with the angle of the paper. Any
story related to building a Pales6nian state is encouraged.” Media Rela6ons Administrator at public office/
freelancer
14
15. All in all censorship and self‐censorship regarding internal poliEcs is a significant barrier for a free and open
PalesEnian media environment. The PalesEnian journalists seem very aware of which poliEcal topics can be
addressed and in which way according to the present poliEcal situaEon, and the selecEon of poliEcal stories
seem almost insEtuEonalized in many media houses depending on the poliEcal sympathies of the specific
media house.
“The Pales6nian journalists are as a general totally controlled. Not all the ar6cles, the pieces of journalism,
will get a chance to get published. Only that which coincides with the direc6on and the opinion of the news
paper can be allowed.” Media Rela6ons Administrator at public office/freelancer
Poli0cal bias and sympathies of the journalists
The PalesEnians are generally very interested in poliEcs. Internews’ ‘Survey of PalesEnian media’ from 2006
show that programs about poliEcs are the most popular by far no maier gender, age, educaEon or level of
income.
The importance of poliEcs for the PalesEnians means that self‐censorship is not necessarily only caused by fear
of the PalesEnian or Israeli authoriEes but possibly also by the journalists’ own bias due to a feeling of
obligaEon as a PalesEnian or towards a certain poliEcal party.
A NEC survey from May 2011 show that one third of the PalesEnian media consumers don’t believe that local
TV and radio coverage is objecEve – two thirds of these cite poliEcal parEsanship as the main reason, followed
by self‐censorship. Also the respondents menEon poliEcal parEsanship as an issue but refuse that they
themselves are affected.
But where poliEcal parEsanship among journalists is hard to esEmate the extent of, it seems clear that the
journalists are affected by a patrioEc and PalesEnian naEonalist feeling. When asked how the Israel‐PalesEne
conflict is reported, the interviewed expressed that stories of harassment by Israeli OccupaEon Forces or by
seilers are ‘covered in‐depth by finding all possible sources of informaEon and disseminaEng the
event’ (Former reporter at WAFA).
“The Israelis are smarter when it comes to propaganda and how to exploit journalism. The Pales6nian
people are not so clever at exploi6ng the media so professionally. Now, even when it comes to internal
things, there’s a pressure to work externally in aTrac6ng countries to recognize our state – about Pales6ne
and the Pales6nian struggle to collect more signatures for a Pales6nian state. We should concentrate more
on external issues, diploma6c issues, rather than local issues.” Media Rela6ons Administrator at public
office/freelance reporter
But when asked whether it might be problemaEc with such a high degree of focus on conflict with Israel, the
answer from a young, female reporter was:
“As a journalist yes, but as a Pales6nian no. People always like to hear the na6onalist perspec6ve.” Former
reporter at WAFA
15
16. This shows knowledge about the ethical principles of objecEvity in journalism, but also shows that there’s a
feeling of obligaEon as a PalesEnian to portray the conflict from a PalesEnian perspecEve. A master’s thesis by
Mats Tiborn from 2011 focusing on ‘The democraEc ideals of PalesEnian journalists’ reaches the same
conclusion based on interviews of PalesEnian journalists.
“When you say that Israeli forces came into Bethlehem and killed four people you cannot
take it from the Israeli point of view. You cannot be objec6ve in that news. So when the
Israelis killed a person because he is a thief or because he stole a car, you cannot say that the Israeli forces
killed him because he's a thief. You have to say that they killed him only. You have to take the Pales6nian
side.
‐ You don't say the reason for the killing?
‐ No because most of the Israelis kill without reason. If a Pales6nian kills another Pales6nian, we say why.
We take our side so we cannot be that much objec6ve.
‐ And you don't want to be objec6ve here?
‐ You can't be. First of all the Israeli occupa6on. They took our land, they killed our parents, they killed
millions of people so you cannot be objec6ve. You cannot say that a Pales6nian person cause anything
beside the occupa6on. If your cousin killed your brother would you be friends with your cousin? You have to
take your cousin as an enemy.” Editor in chief of the non‐governmental Radio Bethlehem 2000 (Tiborn,
2011)
Other interviews in Tiborn’s essay also express the difficulty of PalesEnian journalists when it comes to being
unbiased because the journalists are likely to have lost friends or family members during the conflict and is
there by affected by it on a very personal level. Based on his interviews Tiborn concludes: “There are different
opinions about the ideals of objecEvity. All hold the ideal high and see it as a fundamental part of journalism,
but in some cases the approach to the occupaEon is more important.”
Based on the interviews and Tiborn’s thesis, it is very likely that personal agendas and biases by PalesEnian
journalists – especially in regards to the occupaEon – have a considerable potenEal effect on the journalists’
ability to carry out fair and balanced reporEng.
4. Social issues and taboos
As the Israeli occupaEon have been a part of every PalesEnian’s everyday life for almost half a century, it is not
strange that this issue holds a great deal of the media’s aienEon. Consequently this typically means less
aienEon to other maiers, not least social issues.
According to the assessment of the Media Development Center as expressed in their strategic plan, religious
pressures and societal tradiEons impact press freedom significantly. The respondents support this assessment
and all menEon that some topics are best lem unspoken of. These can be issues of violence on women for
honor, incest, negligence of people’s rights
16
17. and violaEons of human rights, and not least sex and sexuality. The respondents don’t menEon specific
incidents which doesn’t make the fear of aiacks and harassment less though.
“I don’t recall any stories. But the possibility is there. We know of the possibility and fear the possibility as
though it would actually happen, but I don’t really recall any incidents” Former reporter at WAFA
The extent of an actual threat is therefore hard to clarify since it is possible that the fear of being socially
rejected if a journalist write about social taboos is as significant as an actual threat. The chief editor of the Al
Hal newspaper, Nibal Thawabteh, who is also the director of the Media Development Center, has several Emes
experienced the risks that follows publishing stories about sensiEve issues:
“In one of the issues of Al Hal we did an ar6cle on illegal marriages in Pales6ne – where a man and woman
is married in secret by signing a piece of paper. But it’s not good for the woman because she loses her
rights. We published a story about a couple with three kids. Aier the couple had been illegally married for
five years the man dies. The kids didn’t have any legal documents and therefore couldn’t go to school. It
was a big problem. We published the story and the family of the woman aTacked me through threats on
the phone and asked me to write a new story saying it wasn’t true. I lived alone at the 6me and had to
have a colleague stay with me because it wasn’t safe to be alone.” Chief‐editor of the Al Hal news paper.
“We published a story about lesbian women in Pales6ne and interviewed Asuad (a group for lesbian
women in Pales6ne, red.). We were aTacked by groups of very religious people because according to them
it’s not a good thing to talk about in society. They came to the office and yelled threats.” Chief‐editor of the
Al Hal news paper
“We published a story on the PLO. Senior people in Fateh collected signatures for closing Al Hal and tried to
persuade the president of the university to fire me.” Chief‐editor of the Al Hal news paper
In spite of threats and harassment the chief editor maintains that the purpose of the Al Hal newspaper is to
fight any kind of censorship and publish stories that focuses on problems and issues relevant to its readers
even when it comes to sensiEve maiers. And so far the paper and the chief editor has been able to carry out
its work. This shows potenEal for a larger degree of press freedom in PalesEne though it is likely that not
several journalists, editors, and media houses will be inEmidated by threats from poliEcal and religious
authoriEes. Especially the media houses and editors hold a large responsibility if journalists are to overcome
the risks involved with covering sensiEve maiers. By not supporEng their journalists, they sustain the
journalists’ self‐censorship.
“I’m not as brave – I admit, I stopped, I was afraid. Also because when I went to my boss and said ‘I’m
gonna do this, will you protect me? Will you stand up for me?’ And I never got a ‘no’, but it was never an
actual ‘yes’, just a ’yeah, don’t get yourself in trouble or get us in trouble’. And I was scared, really.” Former
reporter at WAFA about inves6ga6ng a story on femicide.
17
18. This statement indicate that the media houses don’t necessarily support invesEgaEve or in‐depth journalism. If
journalists can’t count on being backed by their superiors if they aiempt to address a sensiEve topic, it will
potenEally pose a significant limitaEon for journalists’ moEvaEon to cover issues that are usually taboo.
5. Unemployment and wages
The unemployment rate in PalesEne is 22.8 percent according to the UNDP and 45 percent in Gaza according
to the UNRWA. Unemployment rates this high are likely to cause desperaEon for employment and acceptance
of low wages, also among journalists.
Generally the average journalist working at local media houses is paid a minimum wage of 2,000 NIS (about
550 USD) a month. Expenses in regard to recovering relevant informaEon for a story such as transportaEon is
covered, but the salary doesn’t include insurance coverage which is possible to affect the incenEve for carrying
out high quality in‐depth journalism.
“Financial revenue is so liTle that it doesn’t cover the expenses. That might only cover one inves6ga6ve
report a month.” Editor at Alhayat Aljaeeda Newsaper
In the most populated areas, especially the area surrounding Ramallah, the cost of living have risen
substanEally over the past decade due to the rising number of internaEonal workers with higher salaries which
have caused inflaEon in overall living expenses. This makes it hard for average journalists to make ends meet
with only one job.
“The PalesEnian journalists face much psychological pressure because of his bad economic situaEon, and it
affects his work and the quality of his work.” Media Rela6ons Administrator in public ins6tu6on/freelancer
The salary by local media houses is significantly below the level paid by internaEonal media employers such as
Al Jazeera, BBC etc. which is around 3‐4,000 USD a month. This major difference is likely to affect the quality of
the local news outlets which can’t compete when it comes to airacEng and keeping the most prominent and
competent journalists.
Another problem as presented by the respondents is unequal access to job opportuniEes as a journalist. The
respondents accuse media houses of only hiring journalists according to who they are connected to in the
media house or among poliEcians.
“The lack of equal opportuni6es. There’s a lot of people who are appointed. You need to know someone
who can recruit you. People who are good writers and journalists but don’t know any person from any
party, he cannot be recruited.” Media Rela6ons Administrator in public ins6tu6on/freelancer
18
19. Though it is common in most industries and in most countries that people are partly hired based on their
networks, it can sEll present a problem if journalists are hired according to who they know as well as their
poliEcal affiliaEon instead of their qualificaEons as it is likely to influence the journalisEc quality of the media
house.
6. Lack of professional and adequate educa0on and training
Before the Oslo Accords in 1993 journalism wasn’t allowed in the OPTs. This meant that as media houses
started to open throughout the OPTs, the employees working as reporters, photographers, and cameramen
had never had any formal educaEon and training.
Since formal journalism educaEon is relaEvely new, several of the respondents refer to lack of proper training
and professionalism as a main obstacle for good journalism in PalesEne. According to the assessment of the
Media Development Center most PalesEnian journalists lack either academic background or hands‐on training.
“They don’t get the right informa6on, they don’t ask the right ques6ons, they don’t know how to moderate
for example the interviews. And they don’t know the law. As a journalist you need to know about your
rights. They don’t know how to deal with the source of the informa6on, how to deal with cases that
involves children, or how to deal with someone who is under inves6ga6on.” Chief editor of Al Hal
newspaper
Bad or lack of educaEon and training is likely to limit not only the overall level of journalism but also the
journalists specifically in the way that journalists aren’t prepared to handle sensiEve or difficult situaEons.
Especially in the OPTs legal issues such as the rights of the journalists are vital for them to defend themselves
against harassment and abuse by Israeli and PalesEnian authoriEes. Qualified and professional journalists are
also important in regard to the buildup of a media industry which is trusted by the civil society and thereby a
source for public debate and the spreading of informaEon.
In the OPTs local TV and radio have low audiences which, according to an audience survey conducted by the
NEC in 2010, is due to lack of professionalism and ‘absence of original, independent news’. The survey also
revealed that one third of the PalesEnians don’t trust local TV and radio coverage to be objecEve, and 13
percent express lack of confidence in any news paper.
Throughout the past decade more and more PalesEnian universiEes offer journalism degrees. On the West
Bank there are five universiEes and in Gaza three. Only the Media Development Center at Birzeit University
provides mid‐career training for professional journalists and other media professionals (see Annex 1:
Journalism EducaEon and Training in PalesEne). This has led to a rising professional level among the PalesEnian
journalists, according to the chief editor of Al Hal news paper (and the director of the Media Development
Center):
“You can see in the level of journalism over the last three to five years it has improved because the
universi6es educates groups of students. We now have more and more good and professional journalists
but we don’t have a good and professional Pales6nian media. Because all the good journalists ‐ the big
names ‐ work with NBC, Al Jazeera, BBC. The gap between the salaries here and outside is really
significant.” Chief editor of Al Hal newspaper
19
20. What the PalesEnian audience view as poor journalism therefore might not be linked to lack of professional
journalists, but instead to the low wages which makes it hard for media houses to airact the experienced
journalists.
7. Lack of independent and influen0al unions
Strong unions has the potenEal to improve the work condiEons of journalists by working to ensure e.g. fair
wages, insurance, and press freedom. On the other hand, unions can present barriers for journalists if they are
without actual power or even worse corrupted. In the OPTs, the high level of harassment of PalesEnian
journalists make good need for a body that can protect its members and guide them in regards to their rights.
The PalesEnian Journalists Syndicate, omen referred to as ‘The Syndicate’ is a trade union which purpose is to
serve the interest of PalesEnian journalists. It is the only elected body that represents PalesEnian journalists.
The Syndicate has existed in some form or another since 1978 where it was founded as an associaEon for Arab
journalists in Jerusalem. It is closely linked to the PLO and its board consists of media professionals and
poliEcians from parEes that are part of the PLO, mainly Fateh, and excludes poliEcians from the Islamic parEes
such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad etc. It’s poliEcal affiliaEons are important when it comes to deciding its
posiEon on different maiers. This is expressed in a tough approach and condemnaEon of violaEons on Fateh‐
linked journalists in Gaza while a somer tone when it comes to violaEons of Hamas‐affiliated journalists in the
West Bank.
For many years the Syndicate was considered a weak body especially because of its poliEcal Ees and the lack of
elecEons for the board. But a year ago elecEons were carried out and new elecEons are scheduled for this year
as well. This has improved the reputaEon of the Syndicate which has also had a number of successful cases
including prevenEng the closure of a number of small local media staEons who were accused by PalesEnian
authoriEes of not having the right documents, of prevenEng the firing of a pregnant TV reporter, and ensuring
redundancy pay for laid off journalists. The Syndicate also helps journalists in Gaza to get around the siege and
get permission to leave the area.
Membership of the Syndicate is not officially mandatory for PalesEnian journalists, but several media houses
require their workers to be members of the Syndicate, because it is the only insEtuEon which can provide the
proper papers. Journalists who don’t have a formal university
degree can instead use membership of the Syndicate to prove that he or she is a professional journalist.
The Syndicate’s power and influence is sEll somewhat limited and its role and significance for the PalesEnian
journalists sEll needs to be proved by addressing issues of great importance such as the lack of health
insurance and low (and significantly unequal) wages.
20
21. 8. Financial obstacles and corrup0on
To conclude the extent of corrupEon in the PalesEnian media business is impossible without extensive
research. SEll, the general opinion of the journalists is that corrupEon, defined as an exchange of money for
not covering certain issues or covering them from a certain angle, is a significant issue.
“The most common corrup6on is in the media.” Journalist students
“The interven6on from poli6cians and from the economic business people – those are the two major issues
(when it comes to press freedom, ed.) in Pales6ne.” Media Rela6ons Administrator in public ins6tu6on/
freelancer
As menEoned earlier many media houses have Ees to specific poliEcal parEes and the journalists are well
aware of the poliEcal agenda of the media house in their coverage of news and events. Whether the poliEcal
Ees are backed financially by funding or the threat of revoking funding are uncertain but accusaEons are made
from the respondents.
“They came to the chief editor of the news paper or the magazine. They support him – ‘we will support you
if you express our opinion and talk about our party direc6ons, if not we will cut the support’. Then the
editor will tell the journalist ‘write this way’.” Media Rela6ons Administrator in public ins6tu6on/freelancer
“I will give you an example. Mr. XXX from the Fateh movement. He is a corrupted person. He gave money to
the government and told them ‘please tell the news papers not to talk about me’. Therefore money affects
journalism. A journalist came to him and asked for an interview. He asked ‘for what is this interview?’ ‘I
would like to publish it in this newspaper,’ (said the journalist, ed.). ‘What is the name of the news
paper?’ (said Mr. XXX, ed.). ‘It is bla bla bla,’ (said the journalist, ed.). At the same moment he took the
telephone: ‘I have an interviewer from your news agency and he would like to make an interview with me. I
will send a check for you with $50.000 – please don’t talk any word about me.’ The next day the check
arrived and they never talked about him.” Media Rela6ons Administrator in public ins6tu6on/freelancer
However, according to the interviews, the issue of corrupEon is more significant when it comes to big
businesses aiempEng to buy goodwill, befriending media houses and journalists, or threatening of pulling out
their adverEsement revenues.
“Rich business people can buy the journalis6c pen, and tell him to write whatever he want.” Media
Rela6ons Administrator in public ins6tu6on/freelancer
“For instance XXX (a local phone company, ed.). When it was first launched here, they held a press
conference and gave all the journalists a bag with a modern cellular phone and a SIM‐card with credits and
a nice leather bag. They also try to buy media houses through commercials. They pay massive amounts of
money for adver6sing. And if a news outlet would say something nega6ve about them, they would not
adver6se.” Former journalist at WAFA
21
22. The sensiEve and implicit character of this subject makes it hard to esEmate the extent of this issue but the
accusaEons are broadly supported among the respondents and seem to influence the journalists in who and
which companies and organizaEons they are free to criEcize.
“I can’t write about it because they have adds in the papers – adver6sers own publishers,” Editor at Alhayat
Aljaeeda Newsaper
9. Legal obstacles
Israeli law
As seen above, the Oslo accords hold noteworthy legal obstacles for PalesEnian journalists. But according to a
study by MADA from 2010, the occupaEon by Israel uses a larger legal framework to limit press freedom. The
study concludes: ‘Israel has sought to impose severe restricEons on freedom of expression through laws and
military orders that control PalesEnians' lives and restrict their freedoms. In its control over PalesEnian media,
Israel adopted a number of different legislaEons, such as the Jordanian law, the law of publicaEons, and
Oioman laws, as well as the BriEsh Defense (Emergency) law in 1945, in addiEon to its laws and military
orders.’
Pales0nian law
Within PalesEnian media regulaEons and laws, legal restricEons are equally significant, though. Freedom of
expression and right to informaEon is supposedly guaranteed in the PalesEnian law, but the law contains gaps
and loose wording that limits de facto rights of journalists and the media.
The PalesEnian Basic Law, amended in 2003, clearly guarantees freedom of expression in line with internaEonal
standards and consEtuEonal pracEce applied in democraEc states. According to ArEcle 19 of the Basic
PalesEnian Law:
“Every person shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and expression, and shall have the
right to publish his opinion orally, in wri6ng, or in any form of art, or through any other form of expression,
provided that it does not contradict with the provisions of law.” MADA Annual Viola6ons Report: 2010
In addiEon, ArEcle 2, 3, 4, and 10 allow freedom of press, expression, opinion, and search of informaEon. And
ArEcle 27 protects from suspension, cancellaEon and confiscaEon without legal cause and ruling. This also
prohibits state authoriEes from engaging in media pracEces. But
22
23. according to an assessment of the PalesEnian legal framework by Toby Mendel, Law Director of ARTICLE 19,
and Dr. Ali Khashan, founder of the Faculty of Law at Al‐Quds University, the law doesn’t clearly state that it is
unlawful to pass regulaEon that will unduly restrict freedom of the press. Also, no punishment or proper
mechanism to enforce the law is sEpulated in the law. This means that authoriEes that violate consEtuEonal
rights do not fear sancEons.
Mendel and Khashan raise serious concerns regarding ArEcle 7 in the PalesEnian Press and PublicaEon Law.
This grants restricEons in freedoms by staEng that media must not publish anything that goes against the
general system, but doesn’t define what this means. In vague and unspecific terms the law prohibits
publicaEons that ‘contradict the principles of (…) naEonal responsibility’ and publishing of material that is
‘inconsistent with morals’ or may ‘shake belief in the naEonal currency’. AddiEonally ArEcle 37 prohibits
publicaEon of arEcles that would harm the naEonal unity or disseminate confidenEal informaEon about
security apparatuses.
The restricEons in freedoms are open to interpretaEon – an interpretaEon which is omen adapted from the
opinion of the authoriEes. This, thereby, gives the authoriEes the ability to prevent publicaEon, limit free
speech, and pursue punishment of the author.
The respondents express concern and frustraEon as a result of the loose wording as well as undeclared policies
which overrule the freedoms stated in the Basic PalesEnian Law. And the concern is also expressed in the
‘Memorandum on the 1995 Press Law of the PalesEnian NaEonal Authority’ by ARTICLE 19, the InternaEonal
Centre Against Censorship, and The Centre for Media Freedom in the Middle East and North Africa:
“The law ins6tutes a number of sweeping restric6ons on the content of what may be published, many of
which are unacceptably broad and/or vague.”
The memorandum also criEcizes the law for not providing the necessary protecEon of the confidenEality of
sources and for enabling harsh sancEons such as sentencing jail terms for any breach of the law’s provisions.
“Imprisonment is clearly unnecessary to promote compliance with this law and hence cannot be jus6fied as
a restric6on on freedom of expression.” ARTICLE 19
ArEcle 33, furthermore, requires media houses to present four copies of a publicaEon to the official office of
PrinEng and PublicaEon before they distribute it to the public which is a direct breach of the prohibiEon of
censorship granted in ArEcle 27 of the Basic Law.
NEC’s ‘Survey of PalesEnian Media 2011’ conclude that violaEons of press freedom happen even on the basis
of the law by charging journalists of working for certain media outlets or being criEcal of the authoriEes:
“…in February 2010, a Pales6nian court sentenced journalist Tareq Abu Zeid from the city of Jenin to
imprisonment and a fine aier charging him with working as a reporter for Al‐Aqsa satellite television
channel. Similarly, last July the reporter Amer Abu Arafeh from the city of Hebron was sentenced to three
months' imprisonment for repor6ng deemed cri6cal of the Ramallah government.” Near East Consul6ng
2011
23
24. All in all, the PalesEnian legal framework seems to contain many loopholes that make it possible for the
authoriEes to directly limit a free press as well as free expression of journalists. This will doubtlessly pose a
significant limitaEon in the work of PalesEnian journalists not only because it affects the journalists who are
arrested, fined or imprisoned, but also PalesEnian journalism in general by being likely to cause fear and self‐
censorship among the media professionals.
Media culture in Pales0ne ‐ journalis0c ideals and values
In 2007 the Media Development Center and UNESCO carried out an extensive project aimed at clarifying
journalisEc ethics in the PalesEnian media industry. This resulted in a ‘Code of conduct’, signed by several big
media houses, as well as a booklet concerning journalisEc ideals and values. The code of conduct holds an
extensive list of ideals and values that are usually linked to the tradiEonal understanding of the profession,
such as commitment to fact finding, respect for the law, objecEvity and imparEality.
Broad support for the Code of Conduct among the PalesEnian media houses shows support and awareness
regarding the ideal role and societal responsibility of journalists. This is also seen among the respondents, who
expressed a sense of responsibility towards their audience and society by having the role of exploring
important issues and in imparEal terms le[ng their fellow countrymen know what is happing around them.
“Our responsibility is everywhere in saying and discovering the truth” Foreign editor at Alhayat Aljaeeda
Newsaper
“I believe real journalism is inves6ga6ve, tells what is going on and acts like a watchdog.” Foreign editor at
Alhayat Aljaeeda Newsaper
“The terms I avoid are biased, racist, hateful, or even loving and too pro – anything with personal opinion,”
Former reporter at WAFA
In Tiborn’s evaluaEon of ’The DemocraEc Ideals among PalesEnian journalists’, he concludes:
“The journalists have great knowledge about the democra6c func6ons within journalism. They are driven
by idealism and they work for change in the society.”
Tiborn also finds that invesEgaEve journalism is considered the opEmal form of journalism, but according to
his assessment, the PalesEnian journalists don’t necessarily feel that anything and anyone should be
invesEgated.
“There is definitely a wish among the journalists to do inves6ga6ve journalism, but their defini6ons of what
should be inves6gated differs a bit. When I wanted examples of good inves6ga6ve repor6ng non gave
examples about inves6ga6ons about poli6cians and the corrup6on that the PA has an image of. The
inves6ga6ve repor6ng they men6oned were cases of businessmen and religious leaders abusing their
powers or scamming the people.” Tiborn
24
25. Regarding the media’s role as a watchdog, Tiborn finds that this might be the case when it comes to ordinary
people, e.g. criminals who fear being exposed in the media. But when it comes to the poliEcians, the media’s
power is limited.
“The belief that media has a watchdog‐effect over the poli6cians in Pales6ne is not to be found in any of
the respondents answers.” Tiborn
Seen in a larger perspecEve, tradiEonal journalism’s democraEc values and ideals are common among the
PalesEnian journalists. But pracEcal limitaEons cause self‐censorship and rubs off on the quality of the
journalism.
“Because the condi6ons don’t allow it, they (Pales6nian journalists, red.) don’t develop the mo6ve to
inves6gate. A journalist, who can read press releases and make them into news, gets used to it aier a
while. Especially if you are e fresh graduate ‐ aier six months that’s all you’ve learned.” Former journalist
at WAFA
The condiEons therefore – naturally ‐ seem to influence the pracEcal understanding of the journalisEc ideals. In
addiEon, the PalesEnian culture, which is heavily influenced by patrioEsm caused by decades of occupaEon, is
also likely to affect the journalists understanding of their obligaEon towards the PalesEnian public.
“People always want to receive na6onal enthusiasm wherever they go. As a journalist I appreciate that it’s
not very objec6ve. It’s not just fed in by the conflict but of being Pales6nian – and Arab.” Former reporter at
WAFA
The issue of objecEvity is thereby partly limited by patrioEsm and the feeling of naEonalisEc obligaEon to put
more focus on the issue of the occupaEon than e.g. internal poliEcs and social issues. But as a young female
journalist points out in this quote from Tiborn’s report, objecEvity is relaEve and few will claim the existence of
an absolute objecEvity:
“I don't think in reality there is such thing as objec6vity, as in extreme objec6vity. I think we should strive
towards objec6vity with the knowledge that when you are born and you live in a certain society then you
are already not objec6ve. That fact that I'm born in Pales6ne means that I come with an ideology. If you
are born black you would have that kind of life and expecta6ons in your good hands and your reality and
your surroundings. It's the same as being Pales6nian, you cannot erase it. But you can be open to other
opinions and that's how I see it. I put other opinions and report both sides and repor6ng both sides equally
and fairly impar6ally.
- Have you ever felt in some special occasion that you could not be objec6ve?
- It's not that I cannot be objec6ve. Saying that I cannot be objec6ve about it is to
take the posi6on to be biased. I never took the decision to be biased. But it can
happen.” Freelance journalist
25
26. Conclusion
Press freedom face numerous obstacles in PalesEne. Harassment, social taboos and censorship are some of the
issues that play a major role in influencing the PalesEnian journalists’ ability to carry out their job.
Most noteworthy is the physical risk of violent aiacks by the Israeli OccupaEon Forces which consisted of close
to 90 cases during 2010 and 45 cases during the first six months of 2011. But also the PalesEnian Security
Services use means of violence as well as arrests, detenEons and raids to inEmidate journalists and keep them
from reporEng on sensiEve issues.
According to respondents as well as research papers and analysis made by PalesEnian and internaEonal NGO’s
and research centers, the OccupaEon presents the largest restricEons on press freedom. This is due to many
years of a large degree of aiacks as well as harassment and by prevenEng free movement, thereby restricEng
access to sources and informaEon.
The long history of Israeli occupaEon of the PalesEnian Territories have led to a significant patrioEsm among
the PalesEnians, not least the journalists, who seemingly feel a large degree of responsibility when it comes to
covering the conflict with Israel. This makes many journalists overcome and ignore harassment and aiacks
from Israeli authoriEes and doesn’t keep them from covering events that deal with the occupaEon. But this in
itself reveals the possibility or probability of an incorporated naEonalist bias when choosing and covering a
story.
Stories of poliEcal sensiEvity regarding internal affairs appear to have a lower priority and journalists seem less
likely to risk their lives or careers for these stories. Imprisonments, raids and legal summonses by the PSF as
well as more or less latent threats cause a significant level of self‐censorship. In addiEon to this, the majority of
the media houses are more or less openly affiliated with a specific poliEcal line or party which affects the
stories being covered as well as the angle of them.
Self‐censorship is also an important issue when it comes to invesEgaEng and covering sensiEve social issues.
PalesEnian journalists are reluctant to cover topics that are regarded taboo in the fear of being aiacked and
omen won’t receive much encouragement from their employers at the media houses. Media houses are also
vulnerable when it comes to financial pressure and corrupEon – especially regarding big businesses which
represent significant adverEsement revenues.
These conclusions are similar to those of Tiborn’s research on ‘The democraEc ideals among the PalesEnian
journalists’:
26
27. “The journalists have great knowledge about the democra6c func6ons within journalism. They are
driven by idealism and they work for change in the society. The Pales6nian cause weighs the most
when the ideal of objec6vity is put to the test. A well spread self‐censorship is inhibi6ng the
democracy‐suppor6ve journalis6c ideals from fully work. Though the journalists show an impressive
strength to keep up the work in a very dangerous situa6on.” Tiborn
But though a free PalesEnian press faces many limitaEons, PalesEnian journalism is flourishing. The
educaEonal level among journalists is increasing because of a growing amount of possibiliEes for
educaEon and training in journalism. And journalists express values of imparEality and of devoEng
themselves to true and unbiased invesEgaEve reporEng. According to the chief editor of Al Hal newspaper,
the newspaper of the Media Development Center: “The PalesEnian media is ge[ng beier. We actually
have great journalists in PalesEne, but we don’t have good media environment. I’m sure that if the
condiEons improve, both in regard to the occupaEon as well as internally, you’ll see the journalists rise to
their potenEal.”
27
31. Annex 2: Pales0nian Media Outlets
The PalesEnian press include four daily newspapers, the Al Ayyam (privately owned but linked to Fatah), Al‐
Hayat Al‐Jadidah (official paper of the PalesEnian NaEonal Authority (PNA), distributed on the West Bank), Al‐
Quds (partly dependent of the PNA), and Pales6ne (Hamas‐supported, distributed in Gaza). The PalesEnian
print media also include many weekly and biweekly supplements which are largely considered independent
but distributed primarily with the Al Ayyam newspaper.
According to the mapping of the PalesEnian media landscape of the European Journalism Center, more than 30
private television sta0ons are registered at the PalesEnian Ministry of InformaEon and air in the West Bank
only. Most TV staEons only broadcast to small areas and ciEes, but channels from abroad such as Al‐Jazeera
and Al‐Arabiya can also be viewed and are quite popular. The Pales'nian Broadcas'ng Corpora'on (PBC) is
the official government broadcaster and runs Pales6ne TV. Hamas has its own satellite staEon Al Aqsa which is
broadcasted in Gaza, and the former Minister of InformaEon, Moustafa BarghouE, also has his own channel,
Al‐Watan TV which is broadcasted throughout the West Bank.
The four main press agencies are, WAFA (official government news agency), Ma’an News Agency (private, and
mainly TV broadcasEng and internet news), RamaTan (mainly TV broadcasEng), Shebab (Gaza‐based,
supported by Hamas), and Jerusalem Media & Communica6on Center (mainly translated local news
summaries).
There are about 70 radio sta0ons in the PalesEnian Territories, many are registered in small towns. Voice of
Pales6ne is the official radio staEon run by the PBC. Independent staEons include Radio Amwaj, Ajyaal and
Sama, all based in Ramallah on the West Bank.
For a larger overview see the Media Development Centers web site: hTp://mdc.birzeit.edu/en
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