Israel and the Middle East

A capital-J journalism thread.

 

How much should how one sees the conflict dictate how it is covered? Coates seems to arguing - with a one-sided essay - that simply presenting the case against Israel is sufficient as an idea. (That he also happens to believe; for him it is not an exercise.)

 

As Coates / CBS / Dokoupil illustrates, there's really no way to write about Israel / Gaza if your thinking deviates from current conventional wisdom. If it does, you're in the backpack of an extremist.

Even covering the events of October 7 and what followed as straight news is nearly impossible. You have whatever the IDF says and whatever Hamas says and there's no way to verify anything said by either side. Same for Lebanon and Hezbollah.

I'm not sure what can be done about it.

 

128.

Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war - Committee to Protect Journalists

 

I have not seen the CBS interview but read about it. I think Dokoupil turned the interview into a debate. Which unfortunately a lot of interviews turn into today on televised news. I think the points he raised with Coates are valid, But to start out with the statement the article belongs in a terrorist backpack is stating an opinion, not really a question.

I believe Dukoupil could have raised the same points by better preparing his questions. For example he could have started "In the world you appear to advocate could the State of Israel exist? Tough question but it makes the interview about Coates and his essay.

 

I suppose it depends how you feel about Coates being interviewed on a morning show about such a provocative essay. It's 100 pages long, from a book called The Message - certainly a religious-sounding title - and the essay is notably, purposefully one-sided.

 

Dokoupil - whose ex-wife and children live in Israel - should have recused himself.

And this isn't a question, it's an editorial:

I want to dive into the Israel and Palestine section of the book, it’s the largest section of the book…. I have to say, when I read the book, I imagine if I took your name out of it, took away the awards and the acclaim, took the cover off, the publishing house goes away…the content of that section would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist.

 

Again, I think the question was posed in an accusatory way and he deviated from the plan that had been set out by CBS.

But that plan also included discussing an extremely provocative essay on a morning show. And that morning-show-let's-be-friends-it's-a-morning-show-book-interview vibe got discarded quickly, perhaps on purpose.

 

Written it before on another thread, but my main issue with coverage of anything in the Middle East are headlines and ledes that constantly have words or phrases "raising tensions" or "brings this or that closer to the edge of full-scale war".

Too much prognosticating/exploitation of events about what the lit fuse will be.

Like a clock twice-a-day, eventually they'll probably be right, but these breathless scare-tactic heads and ledes at every single provocation in the Middle East have frequently been wrong too.

They're irresponsible. Just report what happens without the speculative bullshit.

 

Now that is writing.

 

So here is a different kind of interview. I’d describe it as Not only sympathetic to Coates but to the conceit of the essay, which is, again, that it is purposefully imbalanced because the Israeli perspective has had enough airing.

Here's how the interview with Alex Wagner ends.

Host: "You know, it's like, something happens in the world and society when you put a new book out and I know it isn't without - a lot of people have a lot of thoughts on it, it's an essential read right now, it's so great to have you writing non-fiction again. We love when you write fiction and movies and comics and all the rest, but great to have you on the program."

Coates: "Well, hopefully we'll get more Palestinian voices and you won't need me. You won't need me to do this. I'll be happy to give it up."

Host: "The wheel turns slowly, my friend. Until then, you are a great interlocutor for the cause."

Thoughts on the journalism here?

 

What, did she say the quiet part out loud?

Until then, you are a great interlocutor for the cause."​