If You Want To Make It In Journalism, Rookie, Don’t Treat Wild Palestinian Claims With Skepticism

By Chris Hayes

Credit: Joann Jovinelly via Wikipedia

McNeil, this is your first big assignment. You want to jump start your career in Gaza, and it’s the perfect venue for such an ambitious goal. But you’ve made a rookie mistake, and I’m here to take you under my wing and help you along: the way it works in journalism is you only treat Israeli claims with qualifying skepticism such as “Israel says” or “Israel’s military says.” When it comes to Palestinian claims, you just pass them along as fact.

I know that’s different from what you were taught back in J-school, and in fact it’s just different from covering most other places and stories. But there’s a professional tradition to maintain, McNeil, and one of the most important informal lessons I can give a budding young journalist is to respect the conventions of the field. A quick rule of thumb: if it makes Israel look bad, report it without verification; if it doesn’t, use your investigative nose. There’s a rich history behind it, and you’ve got to honor that history if you want your colleagues and superiors to view you as worthy of advancement.

It’s easier for some correspondents than for others. Some reporters see their journalistic mission as speaking truth to power, and they by default side with the party they perceive as weaker in any conflict. Others maintain objectivity where they can, but the exigencies of the job demand certain compromises: local fixers or activists on whom the reporter depends for access and information, and who toe the Hamas line, for example. That prejudices the narrative in favor of one side, especially when you’re working on deadline and there isn’t much time to apply extensive critical thinking. But there’s no one way to favor the Palestinian narrative over the Jewish; you do you.

You won’t always be able to avoid information that casts Israel in a better light than necessary. In such cases, do your best to delay disclosure of that information – I’ve seen reporters do it for more than a week – and then as an unimportant “clarification” of an earlier story of which everyone’s already forgotten the specifics. Alternatively, bury the information deep in the story after you’ve already created a completely different impression with the headline and previous sentences or paragraphs. Whatever feels more natural and comfortable to you, is what I’m saying.

Follow these basic reporting traditions and you’ll see yourself promoted in no time. The future – and storied past – of journalism rest on your shoulders.

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