OPINION: It is hard to escape news coverage of the war in the Middle East at the moment – it’s on television screens, on our phones and in our newspapers – but the more we hear and see of the conflict, the more cynical and apathetic we become.
It is interesting to watch the way stories are portrayed by media outlets. Some with overt bias to one side, like a prominent, Australian broadsheet newspaper which ran pages and pages of content but dedicated only to the plight of the Israelis. Others seem to favour the Palestinians.
So much of the reporting is only on the extremities, preaching a narrative how each side will stop at nothing until the enemy is defeated at all costs.
It is easy to see how people could perceive that extreme views are all that exist in conflict.
Other news outlets are genuinely trying to take a more moderate approach to the way events are covered.
I watched an ABC reporter attempt with difficulty to keep an even balance while interviewing a leader of one of the Australian-based Palestinian action groups.
The in-studio interviewee was hostile and argumentative to the journalist’s questions about why they chose the October 7 date – the day of the Palestine attacks on the Israeli music festival – for their scheduled protest in Sydney.
It was strange considering the left-leaning ABC is often criticised for being too pro-Palestine.
On the eve of the October 7 attacks, the ABC also ran a package by an embedded journalist from the conflict zone. The Australian reporter went to great lengths to document the death and struggle experienced on both sides of the Palestine-Israel divide. It finished with messages hope for peace from both interviewees. A refreshingly balanced outlook when much of the war’s coverage so far has centred on retribution from both sides.
Then we saw the charter planes returning to Australia from Lebanon via Cyprus with dual passport holders. Apparently these flights were expense-free to the passenger but at full cost to the taxpayer.
No doubt these individuals had good reason to be in the countries being persecuted – Palestine, Lebanon or Israel – but if they had enough money to fly themselves over there in the first place, they should be expected to front up with the cash to return home – emergency flight or not.
Some of those being evacuated with local connections have obviously never given Australia’s relative safety a second thought – one telling a reporter while boarding the plane: “I never understood the importance of this (Australian) passport until today”.
A while ago I listened to a radio interview with an academic based in Lebanon who had Australian connections. He was asked about any plans he had on returning to Australia via his own means. The scholar provided a long-winded response about how the time was not right and flights were not available. Curious, I quickly googled flights from Beirut to Sydney and the options were numerous and varied with several airlines. Perhaps they knew the Australian government would bail them out if the conflict really became too heated – so why rush?
I watched another Australian “stuck” in Lebanon vent to the interviewer how little assistance they were receiving to fly back to Australia. “What is the Australian government doing about this?” she denounced, shortly before mercy flights were arranged to Australia.
Instead of heaping responsibility on the shoulders of others, or governments, maybe the first question they should be asking is ‘how do I get myself out of this situation?’
To order photos from this page click here
Portrayal of human suffering in the media
Oct 18, 2024
OPINION: It is hard to escape news coverage of the war in the Middle East at the moment – it’s on television screens, on our phones and in our newspapers – but the more we hear and see of the conflict, the more cynical and apathetic we become.
It is interesting to watch the way stories are portrayed by media outlets. Some with overt bias to one side, like a prominent, Australian broadsheet newspaper which ran pages and pages of content but dedicated only to the plight of the Israelis. Others seem to favour the Palestinians.
So much of the reporting is only on the extremities, preaching a narrative how each side will stop at nothing until the enemy is defeated at all costs.
It is easy to see how people could perceive that extreme views are all that exist in conflict.
Other news outlets are genuinely trying to take a more moderate approach to the way events are covered.
I watched an ABC reporter attempt with difficulty to keep an even balance while interviewing a leader of one of the Australian-based Palestinian action groups.
The in-studio interviewee was hostile and argumentative to the journalist’s questions about why they chose the October 7 date – the day of the Palestine attacks on the Israeli music festival – for their scheduled protest in Sydney.
It was strange considering the left-leaning ABC is often criticised for being too pro-Palestine.
On the eve of the October 7 attacks, the ABC also ran a package by an embedded journalist from the conflict zone. The Australian reporter went to great lengths to document the death and struggle experienced on both sides of the Palestine-Israel divide. It finished with messages hope for peace from both interviewees. A refreshingly balanced outlook when much of the war’s coverage so far has centred on retribution from both sides.
Then we saw the charter planes returning to Australia from Lebanon via Cyprus with dual passport holders. Apparently these flights were expense-free to the passenger but at full cost to the taxpayer.
No doubt these individuals had good reason to be in the countries being persecuted – Palestine, Lebanon or Israel – but if they had enough money to fly themselves over there in the first place, they should be expected to front up with the cash to return home – emergency flight or not.
Some of those being evacuated with local connections have obviously never given Australia’s relative safety a second thought – one telling a reporter while boarding the plane: “I never understood the importance of this (Australian) passport until today”.
A while ago I listened to a radio interview with an academic based in Lebanon who had Australian connections. He was asked about any plans he had on returning to Australia via his own means. The scholar provided a long-winded response about how the time was not right and flights were not available. Curious, I quickly googled flights from Beirut to Sydney and the options were numerous and varied with several airlines. Perhaps they knew the Australian government would bail them out if the conflict really became too heated – so why rush?
I watched another Australian “stuck” in Lebanon vent to the interviewer how little assistance they were receiving to fly back to Australia. “What is the Australian government doing about this?” she denounced, shortly before mercy flights were arranged to Australia.
Instead of heaping responsibility on the shoulders of others, or governments, maybe the first question they should be asking is ‘how do I get myself out of this situation?’
To order photos from this page click hereAbout The Author
Sam Woods