MCD Interviews Abu-Fadil on Intn’l Media’s Double Standard Gaza Coverage

Posted on January 15, 2024 by magda

International (mostly Western) media have exercised double standards in covering Israel’s war on Gaza following an attack by Hamas militants, Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil told Monte Carlo Douwaliya radio.

The media have dehumanized Palestinians and minimized the harm to which they’ve been subjected by Israel’s onslaught whereas these same outlets have exhibited sympathy towards Ukranians’ conflict with Russia, she said as the Gaza war began to unfold.

“It’s hard to ignore the blind bias favoring Israel and deafening transgressions in the media,” she said. “I’ve been in the media sphere for over 50 years and have never seen such disgraceful coverage as I’ve witnessed since the outbreak of the “Aqsa Flood” operation by Hamas and the war Israel has launched on Gaza.”

She cited, among other examples, the BBC’s reference to Hamas having “killed” 700 Israelis at a music festival in its October 7 attack whereas when Israel launched its offensive on Gaza, Palestinians “died,” as if they had collectively succumbed to a heart attack.

This reflects the higher value the BBC places on Israelis than on Palestinians, Abu-Fadil noted, adding that it was shameful.

In another example, she said CNN deleted a controversial video segment in which an Israeli army spokesman claimed during a field trip accompanying foreign journalists to the Rantissi Children’s Hospital in Gaza that Hamas had used the facility to detain Israeli hostages it had captured in its October attack.

The spokesman pointed to a handwritten paper in Arabic saying it listed the names of terrorists with their shifts in guarding the hostages, when it was clear to anybody with knowledge of the language it was a simple calendar of the days of the week.

“One of the most enthusiastic journalists eager to cover this misleading news was CNN’s international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson, who doesn’t read Arabic, so just like a parrot he repeated the Israeli tune in all ignorance and dishonesty,” Abu-Fadil said. “CNN had to delete this segment from its YouTube channel and official website and justified it by saying the report was long.”

It was a flimsy and unconvincing excuse, Abu-Fadil added.

You can hear the entire interview here [https://www.mc-doualiya.com/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AC/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%82%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9/20231129-%D8%B3%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A8-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%BA%D8%B2%D8%A9 ].

MU Director Trains Arab Broadcasters on Migration Issues in Tunis

Posted on January 15, 2024 by magda

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil led a three-day workshop for Arab broadcasters on best practices in covering migration, refugees and human trafficking in Tunis in a bid to raise standards and help the trainees sharpen their mobile journalism (MoJo) skills.

*Magda Abu-Fadil describes the fine points of migration media coverage*

She joined forces with audiovisual multimedia expert David Hands to train participants from the southern Mediterranean region in November 2023 as part of the EUROMED Migration V initiative in cooperation with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

The training relied on an interactive, mentoring and engaging approach using presentations based primarily on the migration and media guide authored by Abu-Fadil, but also on references, articles, reports, case studies, videos and relevant materials culled from media, academia, international organizations and other sources.

*Arab broadcasters learn about coverage of migration, refugees and human trafficking*

Abu-Fadil and Hands provided exercises to test participants’ comprehension of the topics’ complexity, including a grasp of terminology used to characterize (or mis-characterize) migration, refugees and human trafficking; how they had covered these subjects (or planned to cover them) by using certain tools and skills; understanding what international and local organizations and NGOs actually do in their respective countries and abroad; the laws and conventions on the matter; and, what level of importance they placed such coverage as opposed to other news.

The trainers focused on the craft of combining solid research, writing and editing with impactful, visual and sharable storytelling for informed audiences through digital multimedia as well as amplifying the work of journalists across social media.

The trainees learned about the quality of images and sound, how audiovisual elements are related and how best to edit them using different apps for Android and IOS devices. They produced content the trainers evaluated with feedback from colleagues in the workshop.

*David Hands demonstrates how to fine-tune mobile journalism skills*

Trainees were also coached in the principles of media ethics, physical and mental health as well as security matters. The trainers immersed the journalists in the art of interviewing and information verification.

Abu-Fadil and Hands drew on their years of journalistic experience and of teaching and training in various countries, notably in news gathering, writing, editing, digital multimedia, traditional photography, videography, radio broadcasting, social media, audience engagement, media analytics and blogging.

*Abu-Fadil and Hands flank migration media trainees*

They previously trained journalists in Tunis as part of the Migration Media Award under the auspices of the ICMPD-Thomson Foundation program, and Abu-Fadil served as a member of the jury for the entire duration of the Migration Media Award.

Abu-Fadil Coaches Arab News Journos in Basic, Advanced Skills

Posted on January 15, 2024 by magda

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil coached two groups of Arab News reporters, editors and producers in the basics of journalism and advanced reporting and editing skills in August 2023.

*MU director conducts workshop for Arab News journalists*

The first group’s sessions involved exercises to test the participants’ journalistic knowledge, power of observation, capabilities, command of grammar and punctuation rules. It involved writing and editing assignments, creating photo captions, as well of tests of their knowledge of geography, history, economics, politics and culture.

Abu-Fadil also focused on the definition of news and news story structures. The trainees evaluated videos and used them as a basis to write stories while conducting online research to provide context for their assignments.

*Drawing on a video to write a news story*

The advanced workshop’s trainees drilled down on the importance of language, proper grammatical usage, often taken for granted, preparation, the mechanics of editing, with a focus on leads, headlines, graphics and photos, verification and fact-checking, and, ethics.

*Abu-Fadil uses a published Arab News article to edit its content*

Abu-Fadil gave the journalists exercises and overnight assignments to assess their comprehension and application of what knowledge they acquired during the training. All sessions were interspersed with exercises.

MU Director Trains Palestinian Refugee Journalists

Posted on December 31, 2022 by magda

Palestinian refugees across Lebanon are almost forgotten but journalists in their ranks are active and eagerly participated in a December 2022 workshop to sharpen their skills with Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil providing day-long training to empower them.

Magda Abu-Fadil provides pointers on mobile journalism

Fifteen trainees from various Palestinian refugee camps learned how to produce professional journalism as a means to better their lives by landing full-time or freelance jobs on one of three days organized by Women in News (WIN), an arm of the Paris-based World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

While the journalists are refugees, they are not necessarily well versed in covering their own story or that of displaced people and human trafficking that often involve desperate people in Lebanon (including Palestinians from the camps) riding death boats seeking asylum in Europe.

How do we frame the story?

Abu-Fadil stressed the importance of context, the proper use of numbers and statistics, how to capitalize on visuals, the verification of information, the use of accurate terminology, how to protect themselves physically, mentally and online, and, how to sharpen their critical thinking skills.

Abu-Fadil asks journalists to assess news content and production elements of migrant story video

She conducted four intensive interactive and practical sessions on coverage of these complex topics, including international resolutions and laws related to migration, refugees and human trafficking, and incorporating media ethics in all reports.

Abu-Fadil provided tips on the mobile journalism basics of shooting photos and videos, producing good sound pieces using phones, as well as optimum applications for various devices, equipment and accessories.

Palestinian refugee journalists and WIN Middle East/North Africa director Dalal Saoud (standing) watch report on media coverage of migrants and refugees

She also discussed mental and physical health challenges of coverage, safety aspects for journalists, particularly to women reporters facing threats and intimidation when conducting investigative reports on the topic, as well as the lingering perils of Covid-19 and its variants, a 2022 outbreak of cholera in Lebanon (the first since 1993), and climate change.

MU Director Leads Migration & Media Workshops in Tunis

Posted on December 29, 2022 by magda

Media professionals from state-run Middle East/North Africa broadcast organizations were immersed into intensive workshops on migration, refugees and human trafficking in the Euro-Mediterranean region in a bid to enhance their coverage of these complex topics.

Magda Abu-Fadil on best practices of covering migrants, refugees and human trafficking victims

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil led the training that incorporated key migration concepts, the accurate use of terminology, legal considerations, best practices in coverage of migration, media ethics, safety considerations, mobile journalism principles and practice, and the impact of Covid-19 on the migration media environment.

Abeer Saady raises safety issues during coverage in sensitive areas

Journalist/trainer Abeer Saady and journalist/multimedia expert David Hands were co-trainers who, with Abu-Fadil, used the EUROMED Migration V (EMM5: 2020-2023) curriculum “Migration and Media: A Journalist’s Handbook” she authored as a primary reference in designing the workshops in Tunis in December 2022.

Profound discussion on media ethics

EMM5, an EU-funded program implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), organized the two consecutive workshops of three days each in cooperation with the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) and grouped participants from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and Tunisia.

David Hands explains camera shots for use in mobile journalism

Abu-Fadil, Saady and Hands explained the language, terminology, organizations, international resolutions, and laws related to migration, refugees and human trafficking; the need for being ethical in covering the subject; the importance of safety, notably of women journalists, physical and mental health issues/trauma for media in coverage of migrants, refugees and human trafficking; and, learning mobile journalism skills for shooting and editing multimedia packages

The trainers provided participants with tips on interviewing techniques, notably when dealing with traumatized and displaced persons. The journalists interviewed members of Tunis-based NGOs that deal with migrants and refugees and one group interviewed a Syrian refugee who settled in Tunisia.

Trainees interview Syrian refugee living in Tunisia

Abu-Fadil, Saady and Hands used presentations and videos, showed documentary films, provided case studies, and conducted a series of exercises to test the participants’ grasp of the topic.

Abu-Fadil, Saady and Hands flanked by trainees

The participants produced pieces based on their interviews and at the end incorporated the interview with elements from the workshop’s presentations into a larger story.

Abu-Fadil Sharpens Misk Interns’, Arab News Recruits’ Journalism Skills

Posted on August 11, 2022 by magda

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil ran Misk Foundation interns through the paces of becoming journalists in a digital multimedia world amid sharp competition for audiences’ attention.

*Assignment on education, distance learning and covid*

The three-day virtual training involved exercises to test the interns’ journalistic knowledge, power of observation, capabilities and skills. Misk is an organization that empowers Saudi Arabian youth to become leaders in their respective fields.

Abu-Fadil covered basic grammar, writing, light editing, photo captions, geography, history, economics, politics and culture.

The July 2022 training included defining news, news story structures, punctuation rules, the lead, nut graph, contextual background information, quotations, headlines, captions, news sources, interview skills and media ethics. A final session was dedicated to exercises and fact-checking.

Abu-Fadil also guided new Arab News recruits through the intricacies of preparation for media assignments, writing exercises, tips on how journalists find story ideas, cultivating one’s niche, pitching stories, spotting news and fact-checking.

They got an advanced refresher during a three-day workshop in August 2022 on the art of writing, fixing leads and nut graphs, the use of quotations, news sources, digging for information, headline and caption writing and media ethics.

Abu-Fadil focused on in-person and online interviews, covering live and virtual events like conventions or seminars and news conferences.

UPDATE: Abu-Fadil Pens Study on How Media in Southern Med Covered Migration in 2019-20

Posted on May 25, 2022 by magda

Reporting on migration and refugee crises in the Southern Mediterranean region slipped in 2019 and 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak as well as other pressing economic and political issues, according to a study conducted by Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil.

“How did media in the Southern Mediterranean countries cover migration in 2019-2020?” the European Union-funded survey implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development focused on the decline to develop a better understanding of traditional and other media’s constraints and how certain elements affected their capacity to tell the “migration story.”

These included the conflict in Syria, flare-ups in Israel/Palestine that spill over into neighboring Jordan, Lebanon’s financial meltdown, and, the strife in Libya and Algeria.

The pandemic added a layer of misery for media in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan already suffering from budget and personnel cutbacks, drops in circulation, vanishing advertising revenue, and competition from non-traditional platforms, with print outlets particularly hard hit and countless journalists having to work from home.

Abu-Fadil also drew on research from news articles and reports from various migration-related organizations.

The common thread among those countries was the relative hiatus in migration media coverage and the discovery that journalists were often ill-informed about the situation in their own back yards, much less in other countries.

The study can be downloaded in English here

In French here

In Arabic here.

MU Director Preps Lebanese Journos for Elections Coverage

Posted on April 27, 2022 by magda

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil coached Lebanese journalists on the intricacies of covering their country’s legislative elections in May 2022 to ensure solid media coverage based on professional standards that transcend superficial political and sectarian rhetoric.

She conducted an intensive three-day workshop on the processes and mechanisms before, during and after the voting for members of Lebanon’s parliament who, in turn, will elect a new president in November 2022.

Lebanese journalists learning from the pros

The training in April 2022 grouped journalists from traditional print, broadcast, online and alternative media. It equipped participants with news gathering, reporting, fact-checking and interviewing skills.

Topics included the media’s role as elections observers, political parties, generating story ideas, opinion polls, covering women as candidates and incumbents, sources, risk mitigation, election finances, and media ethics.

Magda Abu-Fadil coaches journalists on coverage of Lebanon’s legislative elections in May 2022

The workshop also provided a gender balance component with attention to gender sensitive reporting and sexual harassment. It focused on freedom of expression and safety of journalists, notably challenges to women reporters facing threats, intimidation and editorial interference.

Hands-on training during working lunches

Abu-Fadil turned working lunches into hands-on exercises in a newsroom-like environment.

Three guest speakers added their expertise to the mix. Jean Nakhoul, executive producer at the MTV Lebanon channel and an elections analyst, discussed the voting system, election rules and Lebanon’s electoral law.

Jean Nakhoul dissects the electoral law and voting process

Zeina Khodor, a veteran correspondent at Aljazeera English TV channel, spoke of her experience in covering elections in Lebanon, Iran and Afghanistan.

Zeina Khodor shares her experience in covering elections over the years

Dyana El Baba, senior projects coordinator at the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), discussed her organization’s role in monitoring elections.

Dyana El Baba explains monitoring elections and reporting irregularities

Dalal Saoud, the Arab region’s director of the Women in News (WIN) program, a branch of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), organized the workshop.

Dalal Saoud describes WIN’s role to Lebanese trainees

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) supported the training.

Abu-Fadil Pens Study on How Media in Southern Med Covered Migration in 2019-20

Posted on April 4, 2022 by magda

These included the conflict in Syria, flare-ups in Israel/Palestine that spill over into neighboring Jordan, Lebanon’s financial meltdown, and, the strife in Libya and Algeria.

Abu-Fadil also drew on research from news articles and reports from various migration-related organizations.

The study can be downloaded here.

MU Director Details Media Bigotry in Ukraine War Coverage on Monte Carlo Doualiya

Posted on March 5, 2022 by magda

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil criticized several Western reporters’ and anchors’ bigoted coverage of the Ukraine war by describing fleeing Ukrainian refugees as more “civilized” and worthy of empathy than victims of conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In an interview on Monte Carlo Doualiya radio she pointed to the egregious racist descriptions of Middle Easterners and Asians as Third World refugees accustomed to wars, making their fate more acceptable, whereas recent events in Ukraine were considered unacceptable in Europe.

Abu-Fadil monitored tweets and video clips of offensive displays and responded to several of them. The interview was a follow-up to a blogpost she wrote in which she listed several offenders, including from the American CBS News and NBC News networks, Al Jazeera English channel, Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper and ITV.