Welcome to the new media review section of Globes. Every week we will try to analyze media events here, to trace the forces that drive the Israeli media, common journalistic practices that may be time to vent for the public eye, and the interplay between “official” journalistic work and social networks.
To be a media entity that criticizes this media is by definition complex, but we will try to transparently criticize ourselves as well, and be matter-of-fact and honest towards our competitors as well. We would be very happy to receive ideas, suggestions and also a review to the email address [email protected].
Sheldon Adelson, the Jewish-American businessman, was undoubtedly a significant and influential figure in Israel and the United States. Right-wing politicians in Israel and the United States.
Therefore, it is not surprising that his death on Tuesday made headlines in almost all news sites – Walla, N12, News 13 and also Globes and other sites. The headlines, as is customary after a person’s death, were respectful with solid descriptions such as “businessman” or “billionaire,” and used the elegant phrase “passed away.”
The title on the N12 website
In Israel today, the headline was a little more personal: “In great pain: Mr. Sheldon Adelson passed away.” The Makor Rishon newspaper, which was acquired several years ago by Adelson, also published an article on the subject. To this was added a tweet on Twitter in which it was written that “Makor Rishon employees mourn the departure of Sheldon Adelson, one of the newspaper’s owners, Ohav Yisrael, one of the greatest philanthropists for the Zionist enterprise and one of the greatest plotters in the Hebrew press. May his memory be blessed.”
The meaning of “patron”
One of the few sites that did not give the event its headline was the Ynet website of Yedioth Ahronoth, whose rivalry with Israel Today is no secret. Beyond the decision of the people of the site to give the event the secondary title, of all the many workers of the man, they chose to frame it specifically as “the gambling mogul”. The use of this phrase has been widely criticized across the web, and in the print edition, which came out on Wednesday, both in the front page reference and the article page, the phrase “gambling mogul” no longer appears.
The report on Ynet
Haaretz did deal with Adelson in the site’s headline, but the wording was “Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, Netanyahu’s patron, died at the age of 87.” Beyond the question of why these are the chosen words, it is simply a wrong title.
The headlines on the Haaretz website
“Patron” according to the Ibn Shushan dictionary is: “1. A lord who guards and protects the people who are removed from his command. 2. A guardian, a person who receives someone or something under his auspices, supports and assists.” Adelson was undoubtedly close to Netanyahu and one of his great donors who helped him a lot, but there is no evidence that Netanyahu was “out of his power,” and alternatively was under his guardianship or patronage.
Contrary to “Yedioth” who changed the framing in the print edition, in the English version of the printed Haaretz newspaper, they continued on the same line and wrote: “Sheldon Adelson, patron of PM and Trump, dies at 87”.
Haaretz website in English
The editors of Haaretz’s homepage were not satisfied with the wrong headline, and even added a reference to another article under the headline with the headline: “If Bibi had called – I would have told him ‘go get ***'”: Adelson’s testimony at the police. “Haaretz’s print version added a sting Its own, when the editorial was entitled “Bet on the Values of Zionism.” Indeed, a dignified and refined conduct towards the deceased.
As for the use of the word “dead” by the country’s system, and not “died” or “passed away” as is customary in most media outlets, it should be noted that this is a consistent and not unusual conduct. It could also be seen in headlines such as “Radical left-wing activist Ezra Navi dies at age 69”, or “PLO secretary general Saeb Erekat dies at age 65.”
Another who chose a subtle wording was the media review site “The Seventh Eye”, which read: “Sheldon Adelson, patron of politicians and journalists, passed away”, and the subtitle even went on to say: “Media Propaganda and Philanthropy”.
Almost without philanthropy
Adelson’s death was also mentioned in the evening news. The general line was respectful, even if at times not too sympathetic, but even there there were those who could not avoid a few bites. In News 12, Yonit Levy opened her introduction to an item about Adelson with the words “The Gambler,” and the caption that accompanied the item throughout was “Gambler, Philanthropist, Publisher – and also involved in the 2000 case.” Adelson, it should be noted, was not charged in the 2000 case, but was only one of several dozen witnesses.
In News 13, on the other hand, Udi Segal spoke of “the Jewish billionaire” and the caption described Adelson in the words “the billionaire who owns the newspaper” Israel Hayom “. Doria Lempel in the news here also opened with the words “The billionaire and the philanthropist,” and the caption on the screen was “The Jewish-American billionaire close to Trump and Netanyahu.” In all the channels, the articles dealt mainly with his success in the gambling business and his involvement in the political field, and of course in the newspaper “Israel Hayom” and in the 2000 case. His philanthropic contributions for various purposes were mentioned only in a sentence or two.
It all starts on Twitter
Anyone looking for disturbing clues to the unsympathetic treatment, to say the least, which Adelson gained after his death in no small part of the media, could have found him in Twitter tweets. These were prominently divided into right-wing tweeters praising the man’s contributions and actions, and left-wing tweeters who opted for a slightly less respectful approach.
For example, journalist Barak Ravid was one of the first to tweet about Adelson’s death with the phrase “casino mogul.” Gore Megiddo of The Marker wrote that “there is no need to delegitimize a person who has made his fortune by exploiting the weaknesses of gamblers. It speaks for itself,” and Raviv Drucker took the opportunity to flood parts of Adelson’s testimony in the 2000 case, in which he spoke of Sarah Netanyahu hinted that his wife was having an affair.
The result of this spirit, as stated, could be seen in the media themselves.
Responsibility also for the image
The Press Council’s Ethics Court reprimanded the Calcalist newspaper for “irresponsible publicity,” following a complaint by coalition chairman MK Miki Zohar. Zohar complained that on October 16, 20, an unflattering article was published on the front page of the newspaper about the increase in MKs’ salaries, with photos of two people in the body of the page – his and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s.
An important point in Zohar’s claim was that in the article itself his name was not mentioned even once, so a problematic practice was used here, which causes the defamation of a person’s name regardless of the body of the text.
It should be noted that Calcalist has chosen not to take part in the hearing in the Ethics Court, and Yedioth Ahronoth is not a member of the Press Council.