Soccer Dad

Doesn't Getler It

The Washington Post's ombudsman, Michael Getler weighed in on a number of stories that appeared recently in his paper that drew comments. One of those he commented on was Molly Moore's checkpoint story. Here's what Getler wrote:

Another story from abroad that drew some complaints was a front-page piece by Jerusalem correspondent Molly Moore on Nov. 29 headlined, "Checkpoints Take Toll on Palestinians, Israeli Army; Civilians Describe Abuse; Troops Lament Conditions." This was an account of the humiliations and other, sometimes worse, abuses suffered by many Palestinians as they seek to pass through Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and the real and psychological toll this duty also takes on many Israeli soldiers. This was a very powerful story about an important subject that doesn't get much scrutiny.

The story reported that the Israeli military says these checkpoints are necessary to protect Israel and Jewish settlements in the territories, that they were a factor in reducing suicide bombings, and that 39 Israeli soldiers had been killed at checkpoints and roadblocks. But the story began with two wrenching and dramatic glimpses of Palestinians being treated harshly. There was no attribution, however, and some readers seized on this to cast doubt on the story. Actually, Moore, who spent lots of time at checkpoints, says she witnessed both episodes. There is no easy journalistic convention for saying "I saw this," and yet not saying it in some fashion assumes too much of the reader.

The story also drew some criticism for not laying out the "numerous" incidents of violence and deception by some Palestinians at these checkpoints. The story does describe the death of two Israelis at a checkpoint at the hands of a Palestinian who had an automatic rifle wrapped in a prayer rug. Moore says that while there have been other such incidents, they are not "numerous." Nevertheless, some additional sense of the dangers, techniques and ruses would, in my view, have added to the credibility and thus the power of this story and diminished its vulnerability to criticism.

This is really disappointing. Actually there were good reasons for questioning the story beyond whether the first two incidents were witnessed by the reporter or not. For one thing as HonestReporting noted context is lacking in this article. Moore apparently told Getler that the number of times that checkpoints have been attacked is minimal. I don't know how she knows that. (If soldiers found someone smuggling a weapon and confiscated it before any harm was done would she know about it? I doubt it.)
Additionally HonestReporting notes in a communique that the claim of the number of Palestinians who died waiting at checkpoints comes from an unreliable source.
Finally I'll point out that violin story wasn't necessarily as clearcut as she (or any number of other media outlets) made it seem.
Yet Getler doesn't address any of these substantive issues. He simply boasted, "This was a very powerful story about an important subject that doesn't get much scrutiny." I think a lot of its power came from a lack of context. That wasn't an issue that Getler wished to investigate. Like most ombudsmen he views his job as explaining news judgments to the great unwashed rather than viewing the work of his employer critically.
UPDATE: It's Almost Supernatural makes a note of a recent incident at the checkpoint described in the Moore article. Soldiers found a school satchel filled with explosives.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at December 14, 2004 05:36 AM | TrackBack