Jodi Rudoren’s Guide to Advocacy “Journalism”
The guide below, complete with case studies, could have easily been written by New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren. See “Updated: New York Times: Journalism of Few Facts” for further details.
Goal:
To promote a selected party’s allegations while pretending to report objectively about “dueling” narratives
Tactic 1: Ignore and conceal the most incriminating evidence against the selected party.
Case Studies: 1) “The Dueling Narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict“
2) “Israel Bolsters Security in East Jerusalem After Violence“These examples demonstrate how to conceal incriminating evidence, for example, televised footage of a knife-wielding assailant charging toward his victim.
Tactic 2: Cast doubt and minimize other evidence against the selected party, by using descriptions that conjure up wholesome values.
Case Studiy: “The Dueling Narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”
This example A) supports the suggestion that a photo of the assailant’s knife was planted evidence; and
B) describes the attack knife as a much more innocent “boy scout” knife.
Tactic 3: Mention the existence of a video that supports allegations made by the selected party and that rebuts the other party’s version of events, even if there is no such film.
Case Studies: “The Dueling Narratives of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”
“Leaderless Palestinian Youth, Inspired by Social Media, Drive Rise in Violence in Israel“Important Note: This tactic can be used even if
a) you’ve never seen this film
b) the film is not available
c)) the film does not show what it is alleged to show
d) the film does not actually exist and has never existed
or any combination of the above.
Tactic 4: If you or your newspaper are challenged on any of the above, claim space limitations did not allow you to give a “full accounting of the events.”
Case Study: “Updated: New York Times: Journalism of Few Facts”
This example quotes a typical response to an organization that challenged these tactics.
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