38 Friday, March 28, 1986

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

jr HOUSE CALLS MADE.

MEDIA MONITOR •

FOR NAIL AND. FOOT CARE

DR. SEYMOURE BALAJ

Foot Specialist

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11103

Class of 1998

Proposed News Agency
Is Bad 'For The Press

FINALLY. A FAST,
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WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT
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BY VICTOR M. BEINSTOCK

Special to The Jewish News

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LITE YEARS AHEAD..

As a newspaperman who has press service already produces a
spent the better part of six de- large volume of .news features
cades in Jewish journalism, I which the Jewish press uses ex-
am disturbed by the news from tensively, often, I fear, to the
Jerusalem that the Israel gov- exclusion of more important but
ernment and the World Zionist - less attractive material that
Organization are jointly estab- could give the American Jewish
lishing an official agency to reader a better understanding of
the situation in Israel.
serve the world Jewish press.
I am concerned about the im-
This is bad for Israel, bad for
the Zionist movement, bad for pact the official service may
the Jewish community and
dangerous for the Jewish press
Never since the 1850s when
Baron Reuter established the The flood of
first news agency in London has "positive" news will
there been an official news
agency that enjoyed credibility. swamp the limited
Every dictatorship the world has space available in
known has sought to control in-
formation channels so as to be the Jewish press
able to manipulate the news for and crowd out hard,
its own purposes. -
One effect establishment of potentially
this official agency will have to
be under suspect all the news -disturbing facts.
from and about Israel flowing,
through Jewish channels. Only
a small proportion of newspaper have on a large segment of the
readers pay attention to the cre- American Jewish press. This
dit lines on news stories and all press has made great strides in
the news dispatches in the the last half-century since
Jewish press, consequently, will Philip Slomovitz and a handful
be tarred with the "official" of his contemporaries founded
the American Jewish Press
brush.
Both the Israel government Association and gave it profes-
and the WZO will be accused of sional standards. The Jewish
an attempt to Control the flow of press has won a substantial
information — which they will measure of credibility and ac-
be doing, not by censorship but ceptance in the community and
by selection of the information professional acceptance in the
to be relayed to the Jewish wider field of American jour-
world. No one expects•an official nalism. This should not lightly
agency to report developments be jeopardized. I would not want
that reflect on its sponsors un- to see it diminished because of a
favorably. This agency will not general perception of the Ameri-
disappoint its critics in this re- can Jewish newspapers as
spect. In the words of the popu- merely purveyors of Israeli gov-
lar. ditty, it will accentuate the ernment propagnda.
There has been progress both
positive and in so doing, seek to
conceal what the authorities in the press and in the com-
munal leadership but . appar-
consider negative aspects.
It will be bad for the Jewish ently not in the government,
public which will be deprived of since the day in the 1950s when
information to which it is the president of a major federa-
entitled and ought to have. This tion berated me in Jerusalem
will not be the result of censors because the Jewish Telegraphic
blue-pencilling unfavorable copy Agency had transmitted news of
but because the flood of "posit- an unpleasant incident in Israel
ive" news will swamp the that had resulted in protest. in
limited space available in the America.
Jewish press and crowd out
"You shouldn't have sent it,"
hard, potentially-disturbing
he complained. "It's bad for the
facts..
campaign."
As a former editor, I know the
But the incident was, in itself,
pressure on every newsman to • dramatic proof of the need for
select a good upbeat story with an alert,' independent press.
a lot of human interest as com- American Jews • reacted so
pared, say, to a critical report on strongly to the news report that
the economic situation or di
the Israel government stepped
culties on the West Bank. The
in within 48 hours to cortect a
is a lot- of good journalistic to
deplorable, heartrending situa-
lent in Israel' today and the new\ tion.
agency will have no difficulty in
The Jewish Agency public re-
finding the skilled journeymen \ lations establishment and the
to produce good, well-written Israeli government's PR setup
human interest stories.
as well have never really under-
The American Jewish press, stood that they cannot "sell" Is-
in most cases not too generously rael to American Jews as a land
budgeted, will be tempted to of unadulterated milk and
rely heavily on the official honey and that they can win
agency for its low-cost or free greater loyalty and support by
news and features. The service treating them as adults and giv-
will thus discourage indepen- ing them the facts, unvarnished
dent reporting and further limit and unadorned.
the perspectives the individual
The type of promotion that
paper can offer its readers. The "sells" Israel for El Al — the
World Zionist Organization bikini-clad beauties on the

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