Media Forget Code of Ethics

(Source: Google Images)

Journalism used to be about informing people in a balanced fashion. Today, that professional activity seems to be about doing politics, which strongly perverts the main spirit of journalism: "The duty of the journalist is to [seek] truth and [provide] a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility." (in Preamble of Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists)

Words are meaningless and forgettable -- in Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode

We read the code of ethics for journalists and we can't avoid concluding that most journalists, today, are less interested in ethics and more interested in becoming celebrities and garnering as many Twitter followers as possible; for one thing is certain: seeking "the truth and report[ing] it" seems no longer to be the journalists' main objective. NB: we would like to take a moment and note that there are reporters and news hosts that make a point of showing that they still abide by the Journalist Code of Ethics:  Sean Hannity (FOX News), Jack Tupper (CNN), Anderson Cooper (CNN), Wolf Blitzer (CNN) and Tal Shalev (i24news), just to name a very few.

If we look at one of the most high profile conflicts at the moment (i.e. Operation Protective Edge), the media display a false concern with the Arabs in Palestine (knowing very well that, in fact, they do not want peace in that part of the region because otherwise they wouldn't have a chance to slam the IDF and the Jewish State). For instance, if journalists really cared about the "wretched" Arabs in Palestine, then they would have the courage to set 20 year-old clichés aside and actually ask useful questions to both sides involved (although admittedly this can be challenging).

It is well known that Hamas avoids speaking to Western Media (since, due to their schizophrenia, the voices inside their head tell them that the CIA either wants to get them or pass intel to the Zionist "occupier") and when the PLO decides to step in and give voice to the Arab civilians in Palestine, it uses the Western Media as a political platform to emit their emotional doublethink in their usual earsplitting doublespeak. This fact renders the journalists' job a little more difficult, it must be recognised; however it is not an excuse for media networks to do politics and be fallacious when that is clearly not their job.

We will not discuss the sudden non-ethical behaviour of journalists for now (as it would push us into the realm of money, investments and other specific interests): suffice it to say that we and many others acknowledge the gradual loss of credibility that most journalists have been suffering for having chosen the path of sensationalism, inaccuracy and vanity.

In any case, after having watched the extremely poor media performance when it comes to yet another Arab-Israeli conflict, we would suggest that the time has come to ask some serious questions:

To Israeli officials & spokespeople~

Q#1: Would Israel be willing to work with Egypt so that the displaced persons of Gaza would settle in the Sinai until the end of the war?
Q#2: Would Israel be able to provide security to the displaced persons so that they would not be harassed by Hamas?
Q#3: What does Israel intend to do after it re-takes Gaza: will it want to stay?
Q#4: If Israel re-takes Gaza, what does it intend to do with the displaced persons?
Q#5: How would Israel work with Arab nations in order to encourage them to absorb the Arab displaced persons and obliterate their status as "perpetual refugees"?

To 'Palestinian' officials & spokespeople

Q#1: President Abbas has stated, in the past, that the PLO is "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" however it seems like the organisation has become irrelevant when we see groups like its own military wing (Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade) and Hamas act contrary to its own public statements and agreements - to whom should Israel talk to at this moment? Is there still a partner for peace?
Q#2: Fatah, on the 27th of July, declared open war on Israel - is this yet another evidence that President Abbas has lost control of his own party and that the two-state solution is indeed dead?
Q#3: What does President Abbas intend to do with his people in case Israel annexes Judea & Samaria? What's his contingency plan: stay and live under Israeli law or leave?
Q#4: In case he and his people decide to leave, where would they go and how could Israel help them doing so?
Q#5: Who is the real interlocutor to whom Israel should deliver the compensation funds to be distributed to the displaced persons?