Journalists sign petition for ‘Palestinian perspective’ in news reporting

Dozens of journalists have signed a controversial open letter to editors and publishers, calling for more sympathetic coverage of the ‘Palestinian perspective’.

Palestinians inspect their house, after it was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Dozens of Australian journalists have signed a controversial open letter to editors and publishers, calling for more sympathetic coverage of the “Palestinian perspective”.

The letter, which was drafted by a group of journalists, headed by former ABC, Crikey and News Corp staffer Jennine Khalik, reads: “We recognise a growing dissatisfaction, both in this country and elsewhere, with the media’s treatment of Palestine.

“As journalists, reporters and other media workers, we know that the media can do better. Many of us are seeking change but lack sufficient power in our organisations to push back against the status quo.”

The letter had more than 200 signatories as of Sunday night, with more than a quarter of the names on the online document belonging to working journalists from mainstream Australian media organisations including senior figures from the ABC, the Guardian Australia, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Saturday Paper, Crikey and SBS.

The letter calls on editors and publishers to “make space for Palestinian perspectives, prioritising the voices of those most affected by the violence; and to avoid the ‘both siderism’ that equates the victims of a military occupation with its instigators”.

The ABC declined to comment, but the editor of The Guardian, Lenore Taylor said its coverage of the conflict has been “comprehensive, fair and balanced, which is what our readers have a right to expect”.

Peter Fray, editor-in-chief of news website Crikey, said journalists must cover both sides of the story, no matter the topic.

“The privilege of journalism is to seek facts and enable truths to rise to the top,” Fray told The Australian. “To do that you need to understand and interrogate all sides. To do otherwise is reductive. Of course, reporters, editors all make decisions about the power of any individual fact, and the prominence given to it.

“Journalism is ultimately about serving the public interest, not what makes any one journalist feel special.” Institute of Public Affairs director of policy Gideon Rozner said: “Australians should be horrified that their tax dollars are now paying the salaries of ABC staff who intend to propagandise on behalf of Hamas, which is listed by the Australian government as a terrorist organisation.”

Ms Khalik, who is the daughter of Palestinian refugees and currently works as a social media manager and content creator, was approached for comment.

And in an extraordinary coincidence, the 1960 movie Exodus — a famous film centred on the founding of the modern state of Israel — was mysteriously removed from the Nine Network’s TV schedule on Saturday.

It was due to air at 3.10pm on Gem, as per the published TV guides, but it was pulled and replaced by Frankie and Johnny, an Elvis Presley film in which the singer plays a riverboat gambler.

A Nine spokesperson denied the last-minute change to the TV schedule had anything to with the conflict in the Middle East.