* Arab News editorial today: "I cannot think of better conmen than Israeli and pro-Israeli 'experts' in the field of media packaging..."
One surprising facet of the "public relations war" on both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict is how each side sees the other as far superior. I attach the latest article from the Arab media to argue that Israel is much more adept at PR than Arab governments - from today's edition of the Saudi daily paper, "Arab News."
Many may find it surprising that so many Arab commentators regard the efforts of the Israeli Foreign Ministry as being so successful. If they were, then there might be Israeli spokespersons who are household names among educated television viewers in the West in the way that Saeb Erekat and Hanan Ashrawi are.
Contrary to what the author of this latest article, Ramzy Baroud, writes - that "Israel invests colossal sums of money in media training" - in fact the sums Israel devotes to PR are considerably less than those spent by Arab governments and pro-Palestinian advocacy groups.
However, more importantly than the sums in question, are the skills and professionalism of those appointed by the Israeli government to explain Israeli positions to a Western audience. In my opinion, they are often far less skilled than many of those advocating positions on behalf of the Palestinian Authority or Palestinian "militant" groups.
I attach the article below, with the relevant extracts pertaining to the Arab-Israeli dispute first, for those on this email list who don't have time to read the article in full but are primarily interested in this aspect of it.
(Extra Note: Most people on this email list are working journalists or government officials. But there are also a number of subscribers running websites and weblogs and should they choose to write about this article, I would be grateful if they would mention that I drew their attention to it.)
-- Tom Gross
EXTRACTS OF ARTICLE RELATING TO PRO-ISRAELI P.R.
"How Can Arabs Influence the Media in the West?" (By Ramzy Baroud, Arab News, February 9, 2005)
"... For many years, Israeli and pro-Israeli officials, academics and the like have been swarming American news networks, talk radio programs and opinion pages of American newspapers, large and small.
But if one is to discern their approach, he will find an almost complete deviation from the issue at hand. It is noteworthy to mention that in their rhetoric, they scarcely reveal that their ultimate allegiance is to Israel. They come across as very much American. Thus, they justify the killing of Palestinians in Rafah by contrasting America's need to uproot terrorism in Afghanistan, and explain the suffocating closure of the occupied territories by referring to the US Army's occasional move to seal Iraqi borders in the face of 'infiltrators.'
If you take a moment to listen to an Israel media expert talking to Fox News about democracy, liberty, freedom and so on, it might slip your mind that the real goal of this expert-impostor is to justify the denial of democracy, liberty and freedom to someone else.
I cannot think of better conmen than Israeli and pro-Israeli "experts" in the field of media packaging. Of course Israel invests colossal sums of money in media training, the construction and operation of media centers in Israel and the United States and elsewhere. In short, Israel understands the impact of the media in the world, and takes this business very seriously.
Arabs don't. Most Arab countries are nowhere close to Israel's impressive media triumphs... The reproachful tone used on CNN or Fox News to interrogate an Arab guest can hardly be discounted... The issue of bias must be raised continually as a part of the ongoing debate on media ethics and fairness..."
ARTICLE IN FULL
HOW CAN ARABS INFLUENCE THE MEDIA IN THE WEST?
How Can Arabs Influence the Media in the West?
Ramzy Baroud, Aljazeera.net English
Arab News
February 9, 2005
arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=58735&d=9&m=2&y=2005
How can Arabs influence Western media, combat its inherent bias and grotesque misrepresentations of the Arab and Muslim world?
Despite the perpetual need to address this issue nothing noteworthy has been achieved on this front, particularly after the attacks of Sept. 11, with the awesome, intellectual, social and cultural backlash unleashed thereafter.
Many of the attempts to bridge the gap between East and West have been crude at best. They facilitated the emergence of two groups of Arab intellectuals and media spokespeople.
One group was "uncompromising". It refused to acknowledge that a Western audience has an entirely different frame of reference and thus cannot subscribe to an Arab or Muslim argument that simply conforms to what is accepted and what is not in an Arab society.
The other group just wanted to "fit in". Intellectuals of this type told the media what the media wanted to hear. They preferred to draw the audience’s applause, rather than risk its taunts and heckling.
Needless to say, both groups have failed miserably. This is not to suggest that a common ground is far-fetched and that an eloquent as well as courageous third voice is impossible.
For many years, Israeli and pro-Israeli officials, academics and the like have been swarming American news networks, talk radio programs and opinion pages of American newspapers, large and small.
But if one is to discern their approach, he will find an almost complete deviation from the issue at hand. It is noteworthy to mention that in their rhetoric, they scarcely reveal that their ultimate allegiance is to Israel. They come across as very much American. Thus, they justify the killing of Palestinians in Rafah by contrasting America's need to uproot terrorism in Afghanistan, and explain the suffocating closure of the occupied territories by referring to the US Army's occasional move to seal Iraqi borders in the face of "infiltrators."
If you take a moment to listen to an Israel media expert talking to Fox News about democracy, liberty, freedom and so on, it might slip your mind that the real goal of this expert-impostor is to justify the denial of democracy, liberty and freedom to someone else.
I cannot think of better conmen than Israeli and pro-Israeli "experts" in the field of media packaging. Of course Israel invests colossal sums of money in media training, the construction and operation of media centers in Israel and the United States and elsewhere. In short, Israel understands the impact of the media in the world, and takes this business very seriously.
Arabs don't. Most Arab countries are nowhere close to Israel's impressive media triumphs. Part of the reason is the uninterrupted corruption that plagues most Arab institutions.
In any given Arab country, chances are that those in charge of media and international relations are chosen based on anything but experience, wisdom and competence. Family affiliations play an important part, but also allegiance to the ruling party or close ties to men in charge. They lack fluency, persuasiveness and are "just too important" to submit to the notion of instruction or training of any sort.
One must not mistake this critique as a justification for the Western media's deliberate bias. The reproachful tone used on CNN or Fox News to interrogate an Arab guest can hardly be discounted. It is this approach — accusatory and indicting — that drove one of the most eloquent scholars, late Professor Edward Said, to distance himself from mainstream media altogether.
But acknowledging bias should not be a justification for the ineptitude and ineffectiveness of the Arab voice in Western media. The issue of bias must be raised continually as a part of the ongoing debate on media ethics and fairness, not as a justification for shying away from the media challenge.
No surprise that Arab governments employ American PR firms, with total lack of knowledge regarding Arab affairs to revamp their image before Western audiences.
Most Arab countries lack the resources to engage in this important undertaking. Real potential resides in collective action. Countries such as Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia possess the financial and infrastructural resources to sponsor serious media initiatives, making use of the remarkable wealth of brilliant Arab minds brimming all over the world.
This is not a matter of policy, far from it. It is a cultural imperative, a response to the media pundits who justify the hard-line foreign policy of the Bush administration and sell wars and Abu Ghraib-like torture chambers as essential for American freedom, security and democracy. So how can Arabs influence the Western media? They must understand that one may succeed at getting away with corruption and incompetence in any field, but not in the field of media.