8 January 2009
Arab Media Watch expresses concern at the frequent use by the British press of Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor, compared with the near-total absence of his Palestinian counterpart Manuel Hassassian, despite the fact that the latter took up his position more than a year prior to the former.
Since Prosor became ambassador at the end of 2007, and until the end of 2008, there have been 40 items (news articles, commentaries, editorials and letters) either by him, quoting him or mentioning him. The breakdown by newspaper is as follows:
Newspaper No. of % of
Items Items
Daily Telegraph 16 40
The Times 6 15
The Guardian 5 12.5
The Independent 5 12.5
Daily Mail 3 7.5
The Sun 1 2.5
Daily Mirror 1 2.5
Daily Star 1 2.5
News of the World 1 2.5
The Observer 1 2.5
In contrast, Hassassian has only been mentioned in the Guardian, quoted in two articles by Middle East editor Ian Black. In total, that is 20 times fewer items than Prosor, over double the period of time.
"For the sake of balance, this should be rectified, particularly given the importance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the frequency with which it is reported, and the regular use of Prosor," says AMW chairman Sharif Hikmat Nashashibi.
"Our findings call into question Prosor's complaint in the Telegraph that 'coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is routinely tainted with bias' against his country. Prosor's views are clearly and overwhelmingly more prevalent than his Palestinian counterpart."
Nashashibi added: "Hassassian is an able and eloquent spokesman who is readily available to the media. Making use of him would contribute to a sense of even-handedness in British press coverage, which would benefit readers."
AMW expresses particular concern over the Telegraph, not just because of the frequent platform it provides Prosor, but because AMW has been writing to the newspaper since July 2008 requesting an explanation for the total absence of Hassassian in its pages. We have yet to receive a reply, though we have been promised one three times.
A Jewish blogger recently emailed AMW wondering "whether the Telegraph works for Prosor, or whether he works for the newspaper."
Prosor authored six commentaries:
- three in the Telegraph
- two in the Guardian
- one in the Sun
A further four commentaries quoted him:
- three in the Telegraph (two by Con Coughlin, one by David Hughes)
- one in the Times (Hugo Rifkind)
Prosor was quoted in 18 news articles:
- six in the Telegraph (including by Martin Beckford, Tim Butcher, Duncan Gardham and Con Coughlin)
- four in the Times (James Hider and Richard Beeston)
- three in the Independent (two by Donald Macintyre, one by Ian Johnston)
- one each in the Mail (Liz Thomas), Guardian (Toni O'Loughlin), Daily Mirror (Andrew Gregory), Daily Star (anonymous) and Observer (David Hills)
He was mentioned in a further 10 news articles:
- two each in the Telegraph (Charlotte Bailey and Tom Peterkin), Mail (Alex Brummer and anonymous), Guardian (Rory McCarthy and Toni O'Loughlin) and Independent (Ian Herbert, Andy McSmith and Mark Hughes)
- once each in the Times (Ruth Gledhill) and News of the World (anonymous)
The Telegraph also published a letter by Prosor, and an editorial mentioning him.
The relevant contact details are:
Palestinian Delegation: Tel - 0208 563 0008, email - info@palestiniangd.org.uk
Manuel Hassassian: Mob - 07904 673 706, email - mhassassian@btconnect.com