How Hezbollah Controls The News

[WildCat]

From another thread:
I rely on the press of the whole world. I've even quoted Haaretz in this thread.

...These have been seen by the world press. This is not Arab lies. UK Forign minister Kim Howells has seen the destruction. UN's Jan Egeland has seen the destruction. First hand.
This was in response to my claim that Hezbollah controls the news. From Sunday's CNN show Reliable Sources (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/23/rs.01.html):
KURTZ: ...Nic Robertson, we were speaking a moment ago about the way journalists cover Hezbollah and some of these tours that Hezbollah officials have arranged of the bomb damage in the areas of Southern Lebanon. You, I believe, got one of those tours.

Isn't it difficult for you as a journalist to independently verify any claims made by Hezbollah, because you're not able to go into the buildings and see whether or not there is any military activity or any weapons being hidden there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Howard, there's no doubt about it: Hezbollah has a very, very sophisticated and slick media operations. In fact, beyond that, it has very, very good control over its areas in the south of Beirut. They deny journalists access into those areas. They can turn on and off access to hospitals in those areas. They have a lot of power and influence. You don't get in there without their permission.

And when I went we were given about 10 or 15 minutes, quite literally running through a number of neighborhoods that they directed and they took us to.

...But there's no doubt about it. They had control of the situation. They designated the places that we went to, and we certainly didn't have time to go into the houses or lift up the rubble to see what was underneath.
This is how Hezbollah controls the information. And don't think for a moment that the UN doesn't also get these little guided tours either. AFAIK, nobody goes into the Hezbollah areas w/o a Hezbollah escort. This is why I and others feel the real story is being spun by Hezbollah to suit their purposes.

Edited for typo.

[Luke T.]

Potemkin Village.

[Number Six]

I have a friend that lives in Lebanon. He lived in the US for many years, which is when I became his friend. A few years ago he moved back to Lebanon. He's kinda crazy but not Muslim.

When the recent stuff broke out in Lebanon I e-mailed him to see if he was okay and to get his assessment on things. Thankfully he is okay, but he said to me that he has learned that the Jews control the media in the US even more than they used to (when he was in the US we often had discussions on politics and whatnot and he insisted the Jews controlled things) and that if I wanted a more balanced view I should go to the Al Manar website and get their English video news. Al Manar is controlled by Hezbollah. Actually I had seen it a few years ago because he directed it to me when he was in the US and I checked it out then. Needless to say, it wasn't very balanced, to my eyes at least.

This friend of mine is a highly educated person and he really believes that stuff. It's indicative to me of just how high the distrust and paranoia is over there. I don't know how to do it but somehow the west needs to find a better way to fight the war of public opinion in that part of the world.

[Dave1001]

I have a friend that lives in Lebanon. He lived in the US for many years, which is when I became his friend. A few years ago he moved back to Lebanon. He's kinda crazy but not Muslim.

When the recent stuff broke out in Lebanon I e-mailed him to see if he was okay and to get his assessment on things. Thankfully he is okay, but he said to me that he has learned that the Jews control the media in the US even more than they used to (when he was in the US we often had discussions on politics and whatnot and he insisted the Jews controlled things) and that if I wanted a more balanced view I should go to the Al Manar website and get their English video news. Al Manar is controlled by Hezbollah. Actually I had seen it a few years ago because he directed it to me when he was in the US and I checked it out then. Needless to say, it wasn't very balanced, to my eyes at least.

This friend of mine is a highly educated person and he really believes that stuff. It's indicative to me of just how high the distrust and paranoia is over there. I don't know how to do it but somehow the west needs to find a better way to fight the war of public opinion in that part of the world.

Well, "the jews" is of course over-broad. Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein are both jewish, yet I think few would saw that they control the media. However, folks of at least a partial jewish background are highly overrepresented in decision making positions in the media. I think it's a fair topic for discussion, and the reason it's not discussed more is probably due in part to their natural desire not to call attention to that fact. Not sure if jews are more overrepresented than people who have partial anglo-elite heritage. Also, now that the internet is increasingly dwarfing all other forms of media, would it be fair to call chinese and indian americans highly overrepresented in decision making positions in the media? Is Jerry Yang the Sulzberger Ochs of the 21st century?

[Rob Lister]

It's all good. Israel does something like this. They won't let the camera zoom out to show the actual locale and aid enemy spotters.

/sarcasm

[Cleon]

However, folks of at least a partial jewish background are highly overrepresented in decision making positions in the media.

:rolleyes:

First the bit about "real" Holocaust "skepticism," and now this.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....

[Cleon]

On the matter of the topic, "the news" is rather broad. Hizballah does not control AlJazeera, CNN, or Fox News. Saying that "Hizballah controls the News" is overreaching. Yes, Hizballah controls AlManar. Nothing new there. And sure, Hizballah runs tours--hey, everyone does that, yes, including Israel. Ditto for spin.

But "Hizballah controls the news" is just as silly as the claim "the Jews control the media." They could have as slick a media operation as they come, they could spin left and right, but saying they "control the news" is just outlandish.

I suppose claiming they "control the news" is a nice, neat way of dismissing Lebanese casualities as "enemy propaganda" or some such. On a factual basis, however, the claim is spurious at best.

[Cylinder]

You think CNN would have learned their lesson with Saddam.

[geni]

Potemkin Village.

Ironicaly quite likely a malicious rumor.

[FireGarden]

Israel doesn't have spin doctors? In-bedded reporters? (correct spelling)

I have heard channel 4 in the UK say there are reporting restrictions in Israel. Understandable. You wouldn't want Hezbollah finding out from channel4 where Israel's military installations are or which of their rockets came close.

But when Hezbollah try to limit Israel finding out how good its intelligence is -- who among their informants are providing good intel, and who aren't -- this is underhand.

Hezbollah controls the world's media! They limit what journalists can see in Lebanon. In all of Lebanon! They control the washington post, the BBC, even parts of Haaretz!

Amazing!

ETA:
At the beginning of this war, both the BBC and channel 4 were conducting interviews with Israelis on the beach. Sunbathing refugees of war. I haven't seen that lately. I guess it plays badly against interviews with refugees in Lebanon.

Hezbollah's control of the media is complete!

[ItsRDC]

Aside from screwy reporting of casualty figures, it is good to remember that Islamic terrorist organizations are not above faking the news (www.seconddraft.org/movies.php) completely.

[gumboot]

Aside from screwy reporting of casualty figures, it is good to remember that Islamic terrorist organizations are not above faking the news (www.seconddraft.org/movies.php) completely.


Not above it? It's standard operating proceedure...

-Andrew

[Geckko]

On the matter of the topic, "the news" is rather broad. Hizballah does not control AlJazeera, CNN, or Fox News. Saying that "Hizballah controls the News" is overreaching. Yes, Hizballah controls AlManar. Nothing new there. And sure, Hizballah runs tours--hey, everyone does that, yes, including Israel. Ditto for spin.

But "Hizballah controls the news" is just as silly as the claim "the Jews control the media." They could have as slick a media operation as they come, they could spin left and right, but saying they "control the news" is just outlandish.

I suppose claiming they "control the news" is a nice, neat way of dismissing Lebanese casualities as "enemy propaganda" or some such. On a factual basis, however, the claim is spurious at best.

I agree

However, isn't it really about who controls/feeds/creates the information that flows through the media?

[CFLarsen]

This is how Hezbollah controls the information. And don't think for a moment that the UN doesn't also get these little guided tours either. AFAIK, nobody goes into the Hezbollah areas w/o a Hezbollah escort. This is why I and others feel the real story is being spun by Hezbollah to suit their purposes.

How is this different from the US Military controlling the information during the Gulf War and the War in Iraq?

[Geckko]

How is this different from the US Military controlling the information during the Gulf War and the War in Iraq?

I would imagine none. I thought it was common knowledge that "embedded" journalists get the information the military want them to have, and further suffer from being too close to one side of what they are reporting. So, the same sceptical eye is needed.

However, as far as I know, journalists could at their own risk report independently and collect their own information.

[WildCat]

How is this different from the US Military controlling the information during the Gulf War and the War in Iraq?
Are there journalists embedded w/ Hezbollah on the front lines? Reporting how they're firing missiles from residential neighborhoods? I don't even see how the 2 are remotely comparable. Journalists in the last Gulf War had unprecedented access, live video from the front lines. And apart from giving exact troop locations, could pretty much report anything they wanted.

[WildCat]

ETA:
At the beginning of this war, both the BBC and channel 4 were conducting interviews with Israelis on the beach. Sunbathing refugees of war. I haven't seen that lately. I guess it plays badly against interviews with refugees in Lebanon.

Hezbollah's control of the media is complete!
I wasn't aware that the beaches in the north were in the war zone... :rolleyes:

[webfusion]

WildCat, yes, the Haifa beaches are in range.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1150886027149

[zenith-nadir]

Reporting how they're firing missiles from residential neighborhoods?You have to smuggle pictures of Hezbollah "in action" out of Lebanon.

July 30, 2006 12:00am (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,19955774-5007220,00.html)

Photos that damn Hezbollah

The images, obtained exclusively by the Sunday Herald Sun, show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons.

The photographs, from the Christian area of Wadi Chahrour in the east of Beirut, were taken by a visiting journalist and smuggled out by a friend.(emphasis mine)

[CplFerro]

:rolleyes:

First the bit about "real" Holocaust "skepticism," and now this.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....

A little paranoid, Cleon?

[geni]

You have to smuggle pictures of Hezbollah "in action" out of Lebanon.


Well yes. Have you any idea how hard it is to get photos of israels nuclear program (exculding satilite pics)?

[WildCat]

WildCat, yes, the Haifa beaches are in range.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1150886027149
Hehe, I posted that too soon after waking up this morning. I thought they were about Lebanon's beaches... I really have to stop posting when still only semi-conscious. :p

[webfusion]

Well yes. Have you any idea how hard it is to get photos of israels nuclear program (exculding satilite pics)?
http://forums.randi.org/imagehost/3742444062d51e4e2.jpg

[FireGarden]

Yes, Hezbollah control the news.
Hamas started it, because blockading a nation, taking its taxes, killing and kidnapping people in Gaza is not a provocation.


Hezbollah kills 8 soldiers and captures 2, kills no civilians -- but it's terrorism.

Israel kills civilians as it storms a hospital -- brave commando raid.

hezbollah controls the media

[FireGarden]

From Webfusion's Kana thread:

C'mon T-F, we're havin' some good fun here, why go and spoil it for us?

The Qana debacle, whatever happened, is past, it's off the radar already.
Do you really think most people care if it was an IAF attack, or a set-up by Hezbollywood? We're numb to it all. It's all part of the war and none of it will make a bit of difference in the long run. Does it change the overall scheme of things?

And remember!
Hezbollah controls the media!

[CFLarsen]

Are there journalists embedded w/ Hezbollah on the front lines? Reporting how they're firing missiles from residential neighborhoods? I don't even see how the 2 are remotely comparable. Journalists in the last Gulf War had unprecedented access, live video from the front lines. And apart from giving exact troop locations, could pretty much report anything they wanted.

You're not serious, are you?

We were allowed to see carefully orchestrated "surgical air strikes", but not the tanks who were blown to smithereens, or the effects of the bombs dropped on Bagdad. The US Military controls the media to a far higher degree than the Hezbollah can ever dream of.

Interview with Rick Davis, NBC Television News, 1991 (http://www.chotank.com/gulf/davis.html)

[gumboot]

We were allowed to see carefully orchestrated "surgical air strikes", but not the tanks who were blown to smithereens, or the effects of the bombs dropped on Bagdad. The US Military controls the media to a far higher degree than the Hezbollah can ever dream of.


What media sources are you using?

All I see is bad press for the USA.

Certainly any embedded journalists are going to be restricted in what they can show, but there have always been plenty of journalists who weren't embedded, and were all too keen to get footage that make the USA look terrible.

In contrast no one goes anywhere in South Lebanon unless Hizbollah supervises it. Let me reiterate. NO ONE.

-Andrew

[The Fool]

In contrast no one goes anywhere in South Lebanon unless Hizbollah supervises it. Let me reiterate. NO ONE.

-Andrew
except CNN...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/21/perry.tyre/index.html

Or maybe they forgot to mention the Hezbollah supervision they had.

or this..
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/28/mideast.main/index.html

Near Naqoura, also in southern Lebanon, two civilians and a journalist were slightly wounded when their convoy was struck, according to a BBC cameraman who was traveling with the convoy. It was unclear whether Israeli or Hezbollah fire hit the convoy, which had been organized to help civilians escape the fighting.

If they were not sure who fired on them why didn't they ask thier Hezbollah supervisors?


or this..
http://199.249.170.220/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002913912

As for doing the job, Shadid says few official channels for information are available. "The official stuff is from the Red Cross or the hospital," he says. "The Lebanese government is almost shutdown and you don't get anything from Hezbollah. They keep a watch on you, you know they are around." Still, Shadid says Hezbollah leaders or fighters do not disrupt reporting. "They have not interfered with my work," he says.

is this pulitzer prizewinning journalist lying to protect his hezbollah supervisors?


Andrew, there is sometimes a downside in claiming absolutes in uppercase.

[Mephisto]

On the matter of the topic, "the news" is rather broad. Hizballah does not control AlJazeera, CNN, or Fox News. Saying that "Hizballah controls the News" is overreaching. Yes, Hizballah controls AlManar. Nothing new there. And sure, Hizballah runs tours--hey, everyone does that, yes, including Israel. Ditto for spin.

But "Hizballah controls the news" is just as silly as the claim "the Jews control the media." They could have as slick a media operation as they come, they could spin left and right, but saying they "control the news" is just outlandish.

I suppose claiming they "control the news" is a nice, neat way of dismissing Lebanese casualities as "enemy propaganda" or some such. On a factual basis, however, the claim is spurious at best.

I agree 100%, Cleon. I always view the media as a sort of candy store. Not everyone who walks into a candy store wants the same items. The media tries to appeal to everyone with different tastes. The only difference is that when the candy store is in the middle-east, the patrons are willing to kill each other. It's the peanut-clusters against the toffee treats and neither is willing to change. ;)

[CFLarsen]

What media sources are you using?

All I see is bad press for the USA.

Certainly any embedded journalists are going to be restricted in what they can show, but there have always been plenty of journalists who weren't embedded, and were all too keen to get footage that make the USA look terrible.

In contrast no one goes anywhere in South Lebanon unless Hizbollah supervises it. Let me reiterate. NO ONE.

-Andrew

Were there places in Kuwait where the press couldn't go?

[Number Six]

Embedded reporters and the notion of guided tours seem completely different to me. Embedded reporters go wherever the soldiers they're embedded with go and they see whatever the soldiers see as the soldiers do what they do. That's totally different then bringing the media into an area and showing them some specific things of your choosing and then taking them away from the area.

[webfusion]

T-F, Your response in Post #28 (http://forums.randi.org/showpost.php?p=1815692&postcount=28) was well-researched and provided a poignant reminder that the war is reaching our living-rooms without pictures of the Hezbollah in action.

I have been watching this on various networks for a few weeks now, and the only views of Hezbollah are 'archive' footage of some training exercises, maybe taken ten years ago.

Yes, Lebanon is getting torn up.
And yes, images and reports of kids hurt makes for a good day's work on CNN, but on one side, there are plenty of videos and stills of the IDF (tanks, jets, choppers, bulldozers, you name it). Why is there such a paucity of pictures of Hezbollah?
(with the notable exception of the smuggled pics (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,19955774-5007220,00.html) of that rocket crew in the middle of suburbia).

[Apollyon]

Here are some more pictures and videos that the Israeli MFA has placed on their site:

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2006/Operation+Change+of+Direction+Video+Clips.htm

[shecky]

All I can say is that the Jewish cabal has really dropped the ball. Hezbollah is the new Jew.

Does Mel Gibson know this?

[Cleon]

All I can say is that the Jewish cabal has really dropped the ball. Hezbollah is the new Jew.

Does Mel Gibson know this?

I just got a mental image of a drunken Mel Gibson getting into it with the cops: "#$%^ing Hizballahs are running everything...Are YOU a Hizballah?" :D

[Leif Roar]

Why is there such a paucity of pictures of Hezbollah?

*shrugs* Hezbollah is a lightly armed militia, and have historical experience with irregular warfare against an occupation force. They must certainly be aware that it's always been a possibility that Israel would re-occupy at least part of their operational base, forcing them back underground. Given that, they'd want to protect the identity of their fighters.

[schplurg]

Yes, Lebanon is getting torn up.
And yes, images and reports of kids hurt makes for a good day's work on CNN, but on one side, there are plenty of videos and stills of the IDF (tanks, jets, choppers, bulldozers, you name it). Why is there such a paucity of pictures of Hezbollah?
(with the notable exception of the smuggled pics (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,19955774-5007220,00.html) of that rocket crew in the middle of suburbia).
A nit-pik...I do not see rockets or launchers in the images on that page. I see a man with a small machinegun in one photo, and two photos containing one anti-aircraft gun with a single building in the background. Could be a neighborhood, then again, it may not be.

I am not doubting that Israel is justly firing on these locations, I am only stating that, to me, these particular photos don't prove what the story claims they do.

[WildCat]

Yesterday on the Today Show (NBC) they had a reporter doing a live feed w/ Tyre in the background. He said that moments before there were rockets fired by Hezboillah "from the area behind me" but his Hezbollah minders wouildn't let him show the tape or the location where they were fired from. But the area behind him was what looked like downtown Tyre, full of high-rises, clearly a civilian area. And an admission that Hezbollah determined what could be aired. The softball throwing Today entertainers didn't press him on the issue, of course.