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Just Journalism Newsletter 9 July 2010 BBC downplays Hezbollah's history of violence This week saw the occurrence of two separate controversies in relation to the death of leading Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Fadlallah. The Lebanese figure, closely associated with Hezbollah, was eulogised online by both the CNN Middle East editor, Octavia Nasr, and the UK's envoy to Lebanon, Frances Guy. While neither praised Fadlallah in an official capacity - Nasr made the comment on her Twitter account, while Guy wrote about her personal encounters with him on her blog - both soon came under heavy criticism for their statements. In the case of Nasr, CNN announced that she would no longer be working for the company, and that her tweet 'did not meet CNN's editorial standards.' Both of these stories received coverage in the UK media, with all the outlets explaining that Fadlallah was seen as a controversial figure because of his ties to Hezbollah. However, there were noticeable differences in the way that publications presented the militant group. The Daily Telegraph was the most critical, with its article providing a substantive background on Hezbollah's history of violence. In 'Britain's Lebanese ambassador praises Hizbollah founder', Damien McElroy and Adrian Blomfield noted how the group 'has been proscribed by the UK as a terrorist organisation since 2008', and that, after being formed, it had taken 'dozens of foreigners as hostages, including Terry Waite, John McCarthy and Brian Keenan'. The journalists also cited the outrage of 'Israeli relatives of those who died during Hizbollah rocket strikes' and mentioned that Fadlallah had issued fatwas (religious edicts) which 'authorised suicide bombers who attacked American troops or Israel.' Hezbollah gained notoriety in 1983 for a suicide attack on a US military base in Lebanon that killed over 300 marines. This piece stood in stark contrast to the picture painted in the BBC's article on Nasr's dismissal. 'CNN sacks editor over Muslim cleric Twitter remark' described how Nasr had tweeted her comment and then lost her position, due to the fact that he was 'customarily described as the spiritual leader of the militant movement Hezbollah when it was formed in 1982 - a claim both he and the group denied.' No mention was made of why this connection might make many people view Fadlallah as unsuitable for praise, until the final sentence: 'The US and Israel view Hezbollah as a terrorist group.' Even here, no explanation was given for why Hezbollah are seen in this way. To continue reading, click here. Rare media attention paid to Arab fears of Iran In a rare instance of media attention paid to Arab - and not Israeli - fears of a nuclear Iran, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph both covered yesterday's spat between the UAE and Iran over comments made by the emirate's ambassador to the US. Yousef al-Otaiba voiced the widespread anxiety in the region over Iran's drive towards nuclear weapons and essentially endorsed military action to prevent this outcome. 'UAE ambassador backs strike on Iran's nuclear sites' by Middle East editor at The Guardian, Ian Black, discussed the incident in detail, quoting al-Otaiba and dismissing the subsequent UAE denial as 'unconvincing'. Black noted that '[t]he row also underlines wider nervousness in the Gulf about Iran' but overall, the emphasis of the article fell on the relationship between UAE and Iran. The Daily Telegraph's Richard Spencer led with the fact that the ambassador had said that Iran 'threatened the peace process and the balance of power' in the Middle East -something not addressed by The Guardian. He also quoted the ambassador more extensively, giving a fuller picture of the strength of feeling his words conveyed: 'I think out of every country in the region, the UAE is most vulnerable to Iran," he said. "Our military, who has existed for the past 40 years, wake up, dream, breathe, eat, sleep the Iranian threat. 'It's the only conventional military threat our military plans for, trains for, equips for. That's it, there's no other threat, there's no country in the region that is a threat to the UAE, it's only Iran. So yes, it's very much in our interest that Iran does not gain nuclear technology.' He identified al-Otaiba's comments as 'the most hostile denunciation of Iran to be heard in the Gulf region and reflect growing dissatisfaction in the region with the West's failure to curtail Iran's nuclear programme.' The BBC News website, The Independent, The Times and the Financial Timeshave not reported the story. For more analysis, click here. For more information about Just Journalism, or to contact us, please visit www.justjournalism.com