SXU Students during Oct. 18 demonstration for Palestine Javell Sheppard
As Editor-in-Chief of the Xavierite, it is my job to ensure that journalistic codes are followed and what we publish is truthful and unbiased. I can confidently say that I have done that in my time as Editor-in-Chief.
In spite of this, I feel as though what I do—what we do— is not always enough. I find myself questioning if we cover enough news stories at Saint Xavier University or if we adequately represent the voices of our student body. And the truth is, I do not know.
After I concluded my presentation on journalism at the Oct. 28 Synergy Leadership Summit, I was asked how journalists, and news media in general, are able to get away with false or biased reporting.
It was a great question, but not one I had the answer to. I found that not only was I wholly unprepared to answer at the moment, but I have never truly thought about it.
I went home after the summit and thought about the question in the context of what we have seen from Western media since Oct. 7. It’s time to address the wrongdoings of our media counterparts.
The Society of Professional Journalists’(SPJ) Code of Ethics calls for journalists to “Seek Truth and Report It,” “Minimize Harm,” “Act Independently,” and “Be Accountable and Transparent.”
Further, the Code of Ethics says under “Seek Truth and Report It,” that journalists must “Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing or summarizing a story.”
To put it plainly: major Western media outlets are failing to follow the basic principles of this code and are not bothering to hide it.
Western media is operating unbridled, with no repercussions.
We have seen Western media outlets, no matter how big or small, sugar-coat, overlook, neglect, or simply lie about what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza. Most cannot even bring themselves to defend the journalists in Gaza.
When a Reuters journalist was killed in Lebanon, Reuters published an article titled “Reuters journalist killed in Lebanon in missile fire from direction of Israel.”
Another Reuters article provided an update that says a Lebanese military source concluded the missile was launched by Israel, and Israel admitted to using tank and artillery fire in the area.
Israel’s United Nations (UN) delegate said in response to the killing of Issam Abdallah that it is not their intention to kill journalists, “…But you know, we’re in a state of war, things might happen.”
Reuters never addressed the vagueness of their first article, even after the delegate’s comments.
I can not help but ask, how deep in the pockets of Israel are we that these agencies cannot even defend its own journalists after Israel kills them?
At the time of publication, The Committee to Protect Journalists notes that at least 42 journalists and media workers are amongst the more than 12,000 killed in Palestine since Oct. 7. Oddly enough, this has not been a large talking point amongst Western journalists.
Moreover, CNN openly admitted to allowing Israel to review their content before airing it. This is one of the most basic standards of journalism and to openly concede to allowing your work to be reviewed is something to be ashamed of.
I beg you to begin making connections and asking yourself questions about what Western media is showing us.
It is not a coincidence the U.S. sends billions of dollars in military aid to Israel and the American press cannot bring itself to pressure the Israeli government on its illegal occupation of Palestine.
Why has Western media ignored Israel breaking 62 UN Resolutions? Why is Western media still calling ethnic cleansing “a right to self defense?”
It is inexcusable for Western media to continue dancing around what is happening to Palestine. They can not keep calling it self defense, they must call it what it is: genocide.
Further, Western media needs to take responsibility for making the term “anti-zionism” interchangeable with “anti-semitism.”
We have repeatedly seen outlets call demonstrations and protests in support of the freeing of Palestine “anti-Semitic” movements or “pro-Hamas”.
Supporting anti-Zionism does not mean you are ant-Semitic. It means you support the freedom of Palestine from ethnic cleansing, which is happening at the hands of the Israeli government. And supporting Palestine does not mean you are supporting Hamas.
There are blatant attempts by Western media to villainize those who support a free Palestinian state and to propagandize the Israeli government in their attempt at the ethnic cleansing Palestinian people.
Bias in news media has always existed, but it is more obvious now than in the past because of the amount of information we have access to.
I do not want my point to be lost here, though. I am not saying to stop listening to news media or to not trust journalists, because the vast majority of journalism outlets do in fact work for the people
Instead, I implore you to look at what they produce much more carefully, do your due diligence with fact-checking, and call out the journalists and media markets who are not ethically fulfilling their jobs.
I cannot pretend to know why the news media can get away with such obvious forms of bias and misinformation. But what I do know is that there is power in people, and the people are with Palestine.
It is only right of me to use my position as Editor-in-Chief of a university newspaper to denounce how Western media in particular has treated Palestine and its people.
Many major Western media outlets are hollow and have lacked the bravery to consistently stand up to the wrongdoings of people in power. But change has to start somewhere, and it starts with the small and mid-size outlets speaking up against unethical journalism and saying “Free Palestine.”