Haaretz<\/em>.<\/p>\nMs. BRAUN said the majority of media coverage in conflict zones tended to focus on political developments and trends, ignoring the economic conditions that affected people\u2019s lives.\u00a0 There were journalists who devoted their reporting to the economy, but in crisis and conflict situations they were a minority, and their reporting rarely dominated the headlines. \u00a0The COVID-19 pandemic and the war on Ukraine had an unprecedented impact on global and national economies and had severely disrupted trade, and caused severe crisis in food, and energy supplies.<\/p>\n
These crises strongly affected the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel as well, yet hardly dominated the media narrative.\u00a0 Poverty continued to deepen in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; more than one third of the population now lived below the poverty line.\u00a0 Food insecurity had increased from 9% to 23% in the West Bank, and from 50% to 53% in Gaza. \u00a0There was evidently a story that needed urgent attention, yet was underreported. \u00a0How to address this would be discussed with the panel of experts.<\/p>\n
After introducing the panellists, Ms. BRAUN asked if the COVID-19, inflation, food, and energy crises did not boost economic journalism, what would? \u00a0\u00a0How could the case be made for increased economic reporting in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? \u00a0What needed to happen and who were the key players?\u00a0 Why was it important to follow on the economic situation in this context?<\/p>\n
Mr. GHARIB said issues like COVID-19 had undoubtedly impacted the lives of people and the economy, as had the war in Ukraine.\u00a0 According to UNCTAD, the cumulative cost of restrictions imposed in the West Bank bank was estimated at 57.7 billions dollars.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s control of the occupied territory had led to shrinkage of the Palestinian economy and the encirclement of Palestinian villages with Israeli settlements.\u00a0 Israel often defended its position in the name of security, and blamed the Palestinians for their own deprivations.\u00a0 Even sympathetic news focused on the loss of life, rather than the damage to the economy.\u00a0 Israel had no incentive to devote resources to alleviate the situation in West Bank, and instead pressured its government for further land confiscations and greater resources, which was rarely covered by the media.\u00a0 This issue did not have a world audience, unlike the bombing of Gaza.<\/p>\n
Significantly, attempts to relieve the suffering of the Palestinians were negatively viewed as a substitute for overcoming the occupation.\u00a0 Improving economic circumstances of the Palestinians could be seen as a diversion, which hindered political progress.\u00a0\u00a0 Issues of violence were seen as \u201csexy\u201d and were more likely to draw a larger audience.\u00a0 Poverty statistics did not grab the headlines.\u00a0 The decline in foreign correspondence was also an issue.\u00a0 American publications did not require specialised journalists, unlike those in Europe.\u00a0 This all had an impact on the coverage being reported.<\/p>\n
Ms. HATUQA said the economic situation in Palestine and the occupied territories was reflective of the political landscape.\u00a0 Politics and economics went hand in hand.\u00a0 Palestinians did not want to focus on the economy as much, as there had been attempts by political parties to focus on economic peace, which was a way to bypass the political situation.\u00a0 Economic peace had been going on for a long time.\u00a0 There was a belief among donors that once the economy was fixed, things would be better politically; however, this was not the case.<\/p>\n
Ms. HATUQA believed that trying to bypass the political situation by focusing on the economy, took away the understanding that the peace process had done nothing but churn the same ideas continually, without tangible results.\u00a0 While the economy was still very important, the root of all of this was the political stagnation.\u00a0 Although aid was an important tool, this came with restrictions or with an idea from the party providing the aid.\u00a0 For this reason, some organisations purposefully refused aid and only accepted different kinds of help.<\/p>\n
Mr. ROSENBURG said the economic issue was very important to the situation in Palestine and to the prospect of any kind of peace.\u00a0 On the ground, economic distress was a big factor in Palestinian life, which impacted ordinary Palestinians daily.\u00a0 This was viewed as less dramatic by the media, except in situations of conflict, which elicited more interest.\u00a0 One of the key issues was the state of the Palestinian authority, which was unsustainable, and could have significant reverberations throughout the Palestinian economy and huge political implications.\u00a0 It was remarkable that the media did not report on these issues at all.<\/p>\n
Economics was a big part of the occupation.\u00a0 A key issue was the extent that economic distress contributed to tensions and violence.\u00a0 The media took its cues from political leadership.\u00a0 In Israel, the Prime Minister was able to decide through influence, the major issues impacting the country.\u00a0 A document released by Donald Trump\u2019s Whitehouse said that the problem could be solved by economic issues; if prosperity could be brought to Palestine, peace would follow.\u00a0 This was negatively received by Palestinians.\u00a0 Generally, there was little interest around the world in economic news, except as it directly pertained to the readers.\u00a0 Lebanon was a rare case where economics was dramatic, and had resulted in extensive media coverage.\u00a0 Important as they were, economic issues often were short changed.<\/p>\n
Ms. BRAUN said asked about the changing media landscape and how this polarisation was making balanced economic news reporting more difficult?<\/p>\n
Mr. ROSENBURG said in general economic stories were getting more difficult to cover.\u00a0 There was less coverage on economic issues, and the Foreign Press Corp was less established than it had been previously.\u00a0 News was much more driven by audience demand and interest; economics was a difficult sell.\u00a0 Now it was easy to know immense detail about what people were reading and watching and how much time they spent consuming the particular story.\u00a0 When considering the economic situation in a far-off place such as Palestine, that had no impact on the rest of the world, interest vanished quickly.\u00a0 The war in Ukraine was an exception, due to the country\u2019s high level of wheat exports.\u00a0 Mr. ROSENBURG was sceptical of the ability of journalists to raise the profile of the economic situation in Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n
Ms. HATUQA said there was a reporting fatigue which contributed to poor media coverage.\u00a0 There were multiple crisis in the Middle East which were \u201cbloodier\u201d which took oxygen away from the issue.\u00a0 It was also dependent on the economic challenge at hand.\u00a0 Ms. HATUQA referred to Bethlehem in the context of Christmas time particularly, saying it was difficult to keep relaying the same messages to people and for them to care.\u00a0 There were still topics to be explored, but there were not room for the majority of economic stories, which made it difficult for journalists covering these stories to explain these situations properly.<\/p>\n
Mr. GHARIB said there had been many revolutionary changes.\u00a0 The number of newspapers, particularly in Western societies, had declined.\u00a0 The monopolisation of the media was also important; more and more outlets were buying each other which was transforming the way the media did its work.\u00a0 Another change taking place was that journalists were becoming closer to decision makers.\u00a0 They were influencing and being influenced by governments, and were being used to send messages to the public.\u00a0 There had also been a decline in investigative journalism, which had undermined the credibility of the media.\u00a0 It was also important to note the \u201cMcDonald-isation\u201d of news; the increased focus on entertainment, which undermined the way the media covered certain issues.<\/p>\n
Ms. BRAUN said that economic journalism was not always easy to digest.\u00a0 It was considered dry and hard to understand and explain to audiences.\u00a0 How could journalists and media organizations overcome this challenge?<\/p>\n
Ms. HATUQA said she often had to couple economic news with other kinds of stories, or put it in the context of the political situation.\u00a0 People needed to be provided with the kind of information that they were ready and capable of consuming.\u00a0 A way to do this was through topics that people were interested in, such as start-ups, or community philanthropy, which had a human element.<\/p>\n
Mr. ROSENBURG said this was not an easy task.\u00a0 One way to do this was to tie economics to political issues, which would attract people\u2019s interest.\u00a0 Ordinary readers were not interested in numbers.\u00a0 Another issue was terminology; many people did not understand phrases used or why they were important.\u00a0 Most economic issues were moving slowly and therefore it was hard to find dramatic content to report on.\u00a0 It was hard to report on economic stories as a standalone and explain why the reader should care.<\/p>\n
Mr. GHARIB said over the past decade, the image of Arabs in the media had declined.\u00a0 Israelis were seen as the good guys within the media and Palestinians were seen as the bad ones; Israel was seen as an extension of the West.\u00a0 A significant development was Jewish correspondents being critical of the Israeli occupation.\u00a0 More recently there had been a change; more people were willing to risk punishment for supporting Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Ms. BRAUN then opened the floor to the audience.\u00a0 Speakers said among other things, that while economic reporting would not always be the lead story, the internet meant that the content could be relevant for time to come.<\/p>\n
Responding to comments, Ms. HATUQA said she had previously written stories which shed light on the economic situation in Jerusalem by adding a human element, taking it back to the grassroots.<\/p>\n
Mr. GHARIB said there were more than 60 laws which discriminated against Palestinians, including citizenship.\u00a0 There did not seem to be many Israeli politicians who wanted to see change.<\/p>\n
Mr. ROSENBURG said the case of Palestine would not be solved by public opinion.\u00a0 Instead, the issue would be whether policy makers made the decision.\u00a0 Policy makers did not need to be reached through the mass media, but rather other more niche media outlets, such as the Economist.<\/p>\n
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