Channel 4 News watch

I'm a fan of C4 News. At its best, it can be offbeat, prepared to offer a different perspective, and at ease with a diverse and multiethnic Britain. This occasional blog, though, will be largely devoted to the matter which grates on some viewers even more than some of Jon Snow's ties: the programme's tendentious reporting of Middle Eastern politics.

Monday, August 14, 2006

C4 News declares victory on behalf of Hezbollah

A few weeks ago, Inigo Gilmore used his reporter's slot on C4 News to argue that Israel's TV stations don't show the suffering of Arabs, and to opine that unless this changes, the country will never live in peace with its neighbours. He didn't see fit to mention that many Israelis have access to international broadcasters (you should hear them complain about the BBC's coverage), or to provide any comparison with broadcasters in Arab and Muslim countries.

Last night, his report spoke for itself:

'For Israelis, this war has been a great shock. Its mighty army humiliated again and again ...'

No mention that, if the IDF had wanted, it could have levelled towns like Bint Jbeil from the air, rather than putting its soldiers at risk and suffering losses of life.