ABC journalists criticise broadcaster’s coverage of Gaza invasion – not allowed to use the word “Palestine”.

This bit appeared in the print version, but not in the online version:

Another issue raised related to a concern among journalits that there was a ban on reporters using the word Palestine and general confusion about what language the broadcaster had signed off on.

By Osman Faruqi and Calum Jaspan, November 8, 2023

https://www.theage.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/abc-journalists-criticise-broadcaster-s-coverage-of-gaza-invasion-20231108-p5eijd.html

More than 200 ABC journalists participated in a mass meeting about the public broadcaster’s coverage of the war in Gaza, with a number of grievances raised leading to a possible shift in how the conflict is reported on, according to several people who attended.

The meeting on Wednesday afternoon, which ABC staff described as emotional and at times heated, took place in person and online and was initiated by Mark Maley, the ABC’s editorial policy manager.

“Our coverage of the war in Gaza is one of the most important and difficult stories imaginable to cover,” Maley wrote in an email to staff. “It affects many of our staff in a deeply personal way and raises complex humanitarian, legal and journalistic issues.”

The meeting was framed as an opportunity to discuss and get feedback on the “editorial challenges this story poses and how we have navigated it so far, and how we can continue to in coming weeks”.

At the beginning of the meeting, Maley acknowledged the conflict had led to “challenging discussions” with both Muslim and Jewish journalists at the ABC, particularly those with connections to Palestine and Israel.

A key issue raised by staff related to the language used to describe elements of the conflict. Journalists argued that the ABC’s coverage of Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza was too heavily reliant on the talking points of the Israel Defence Forces.

“There is no single, easy universally recognised definition of apartheid that is necessarily fulfilled by what Israel is doing,” Maley said in the meeting.

They also raised concerns around the ABC’s unwillingness to use language such as “invasion”, “occupation”, “genocide”, “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing” regarding Israeli government policy and allegations made by human rights groups.