PBS Ombudsman on Ifill Tweet: Self-Inflicted Wound
Michael Getler, the ombudsman for PBS, published a piece titled More Self-Inflicted Wounds in which he criticizes PBS Newshour anchor and Washington Week moderator Gwen Ifill for her mocking tweet “Take that, Bibi.” Ifill’s tweet was in response to an announcement that there were enough Democrat senators signed on to President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran to avert a Senate override of a Presidential veto of any Senate bill to block implementation of the deal.
Getler wrote,
“Take that Bibi,” is in my book, inexcusable for an experienced journalist who is the co-anchor of a nightly news program watched by millions of people over the course of any week.
The question that remains is what will PBS do to censure or discipline Ifill for her breach of journalistic standards? Getler points out that this is not the first time Ifill has demonstrated her lack of professionalism and bias. He recounts an incident in 2012 when a reporter for Yahoo, David Chalian, unaware that his mic was still on, commented on Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his entourage, “They are happy to have a party with black people drowning.”
This was an allusion to the flooding of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Chalian was fired for this breach of professionalism.
Ifill tweeted, “One mistake does not change this. @DavidChalian is God’s gift to political journalism. #IStandwithDavid.”
Getler commented at the time, “I can understand Ifill’s wanting to go to bat for a friend and colleague but my personal view is that this was a big mistake on her part, feeding, unnecessarily, a conviction among many critics and reflecting poorly on PBS.”
Similarly, PBS has had to contend with a longstanding perception that it had an “Israel problem”, a perception which it has sought to overcome. Ifill’s taunt of Israel’s Prime Minister also to borrow Getler’s phrase, “feeds, unnecessarily a conviction” that PBS remains antagonistic toward the Jewish state and cannot be relied upon to cover issues relating to Israel free from bias.
More from SNAPSHOTS
CNN’s Ben Wedeman Falsely Reports No Soldiers Injured in Gaza Border Violence
June 17, 2018
In a June 7 broadcast and online here, Ben Wedeman incorrectly reported that in the course of the ongoing "March of Return" violence at the Gaza border, "No Israeli soldiers were killed or injured during [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Hezbollah Helps Hamas Build Terror Camps, Israel Calls for U.N. Help
June 12, 2018
Well equipped Hamas operatives Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based, Iranian-backed terrorist group is helping Hamas build rocket factories and terror training camps in southern Lebanon, according to a Jerusalem Post report. Hezbollah’s assistance violates several United Nations [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Israel Foils Assassination Plot Targeting Netanyahu and Others
June 6, 2018
Israeli authorities uncovered and thwarted a terrorist cell that planned to murder top governmental officials, including the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat. However, many major U.S. news outlets [...]
U.S. Official: Iran’s Support for Hezbollah Greater Than Previously Thought
June 6, 2018
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah The Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for Hezbollah might be greater than previously thought. Tehran gives the Lebanese-based terrorist group $700 million a year, according to recent remarks by the U.S. [...]
Where’s the Coverage? 14 Members of Congress Call to Halt PA Aid
June 1, 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo In a widely underreported move, fourteen members of the United States Congress called upon the U.S. State Department to “immediately suspend all aid payments to the Palestinian Authority.” The [...]