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Just Journalism Newsletter 19 December 2008 Just Journalism will be sending out the next Newsletter in January 2009.

Analysis this week   SETTLEMENT SPIN         BBC and The Guardian press the issue RADIO 4 IMBALANCE         One-sided broadcasting on Fayyad/Olmert visits PEACE PLAN QUESTIONED         Broadsheets think twice by raising new questions BETHLEHEM CAROLS      Reverend rejects lyrics after visiting 'dark streets' The week's media in numbers 50 Israeli estimate of rockets fired at Israel since Tuesday   2 Articles mentioning rocket attacks   224 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel   2 Articles mentioning prisoner releases  TOP  Settlement spin   · On Monday, the BBC News website published, 'Brown meets Palestinian PM Fayyad', the opening sentence of which read: 'Gordon Brown has said he hopes Israel and the Palestinians will "overcome" the issue of settlements in the West Bank in the near future.'    · More than half of the article was devoted to quoting Brown on the settlement issue.    · The piece was based on a joint press conference given by Gordon Brown and Salam Fayyad the same day, about the London Business Forum on Trade and Investment with Palestine.   ·  In his statement, Brown emphasised his commitment to a two-state solution and did not mention settlements. He said, 'Establishing a viable Palestinian State with a stable economy and a flourishing private sector is a crucial part of this process and that is what today's Business Forum, that many people will speak at, is about.'   · The issue of settlements only arose when Brown and Fayyad took questions from the press. BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen asked:   'A question to each of you if I may.  First of all to Mr Brown.  Britain has said that Israeli settlement activity ought to stop.  Can you tell us why that is important and why you believe Israel is not stopping settlement activity.  And to Mr Fayyad, shouldn't you be working harder to mend the rift with Hamas?'   · The BBC did not report Fayyad's answer to the second question.    · Similarly, despite the fact that Brown only spoke about settlements in response to the question put to him by the BBC, Ian Black of The Guardian claimed, 'The prime minister used a Palestinian business conference in London to highlight the settlement issue...'     TOP   Radio 4 imbalance   · The visit of Palestinian Authority PM Salam Fayyad was given extensive coverage on Monday's BBC Radio 4 Today programme, with comment by Tim Franks and BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen, as well as an interview with Fayyad himself.   · Bowen told presenter James Naughtie that he had just come back from Jerusalem, where he had 'been talking to a lot of Palestinians' and went on to explain why Palestinians are unhappy about the current situation.  · He focused on an unfulfilled desire for a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, before emphasising Britain's position on settlements and the need for a Palestinian state 'with a capital in Jerusalem'.   · The division between Hamas and Fatah was only mentioned at the end of the segment, alongside settler activity and 'religious conflict with Jews', all reasons why many feel that it may now be 'too late' for a two-state solution.   ·  Salam Fayyad praised Jeremy Bowen for his 'very good' introduction.   ·  On Tuesday's Today programme, Jeremy Bowen was interviewed in connection with Brown's meeting with Olmert.   ·  No Israeli official was interviewed, and he made no mention of the views and concerns of Israelis on the current situation. Instead, he remained focused on the Palestinian view he outlined the previous day. TOP   Peace plan questioned   · On Wednesday, both The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian ran pieces which questioned whether the much discussed Arab peace plan goes far enough to reassure Israel. · The Daily Telegraph editorial, titled, 'Peace must wait', cited the various problems currently plaguing the peace process. Having 'dusted off its plan for a resolution of the conflict', the writer argued that the Arab League 'needs to refine its initiative to afford Israel greater incentives to give up land for peace.'   · Jonathan Freedland wrote a comment piece in The Guardian, arguing that there had been 'no public diplomacy... [or] public face' for the peace plan and emphasised the need for a move that would prove the Arab world's sincerity. He also cited a query raised by Palestinian analyst Ahmad Khalidi, as to how 22 countries were meant to simultaneously come to 'an agreement with Israel all at the same time.' TOP  Bethlehem carols  · On Friday, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail reported that a Dorset-based reverend has banned the singing of the carol, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" during Christmas services.    · Rev Stephen Coulter was widely quoted, saying 'Bethlehem today is a place of dark streets... and fears'. He believes that the carol's lyrics, 'How still we see thee lie' are too far removed from the reality of modern-day Bethlehem. He said, 'I can't bring myself to physically sing the words'.      · The move was criticised by Rod Liddle (The Sunday Times), who noted that Bethlehem was 'an oppressed township under foreign occupation' at the time of Jesus' birth, 'as it has been for most of its existence'. He also guessed that 'Rev Steve probably approved of occupation by the Muslim Ottomans.'   ·  Both the Daily Mail and Ben Leach in The Daily Telegraph quoted Coulter's comments about the effect on Bethlehem Palestinians of being stopped by 'Jews from Russia'. The quote continued, 'They ask how the Jews who were treated so badly in the Second World War now inflict the same treatment on others.' ·  David Mitchell, writing for The Observer, thought that the gesture 'is well meant but we're not sure about the logic.' TOP Quote of the week "The misery caused by roadblocks in the West Bank and the sealing of Gaza's  borders feeds a hatred of Israel which plays into the hands of the rejectionist Hamas and Islamic Jihad. However, the free movement of capital, goods and people across the borders requires a climate of trust. And that is not on the cards, at least in the immediate future."                     Editorial, The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 17 December 2008 For more information or to contact us, please visit www.justjournalism.com Just Journalism does not endorse the views and opinions presented in the articles above.