New Post has been published on Our Neighbors in Palestine News
New Post has been published on http://ourneighborsinpalestine.org/news/2013/09/08/dan-rather-to-972-u-s-reporting-on-conflict-is-israel-centric/
Dan Rather to +972: U.S. reporting on conflict is Israel-centric
The former CBS news anchor met with me and the rest of my colleagues in the World Press Institute fellowship for a candid talk about life, news – and even the Middle East.
It’s kind of strange to see up close someone who has been a familiar television face for me for decades. So, when Dan Rather looked me straight in the eye, I had to look around to see if everybody else was as starstruck as I was. I think they were.
Rather met with us for a candid chat on his career and insights for us Young Turks (some of us not so young, and even more, not very Turkish). He told us about his departure from the network (“I was too hot to handle”), his interview with Saddam Hussein (“He kept trying to hold my hand”) and more.
As expected, I just had to get an Israel/Palestine question in the middle of it all:
How has the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict changed over the years?
On several levels there have been tremendous changes. But in my personal opinion – which I must add is frequently wrong – the basic narrative is remarkably unchanged. This basic narrative, in my opinion, is that Israel, which is a country in which we have no small responsibility in helping to create — President Truman recognized Israel — is an island of democratic government and freedom. It’s not the mirror image of us, but the closest there is. It is constantly threatened by any number of combinations of its neighbors. And that’s the primary, basic narrative which has not changed.