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| Former
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu |
For
those that are unaware, the cable news business is locked in a
do-or-die struggle for audience supremacy. With network news having
faltered, the 24-hour cable channels are grabbing market share as
quickly as possibly. In doing so, they have resorted to an
“Infotainment” model of operation, a phenomenon that IslamOnline
has commented upon before.
Infotainment
is maybe the most destructive addition to news since the sound bite.
Maybe most disturbing, is the manner in which this model of news is
so easily exploited.
Consider
Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister of Israel.
With
his command of American English and penchant for hawkish statements,
Netanyahu is perfect for the world of Infotainment. Put him in front
of the camera, and he’s sure to say something provocative or
inflammatory that a news host can latch onto and run with.
Since
Israel began its most recent incursions into Palestinian territory,
Netanyahu has been making the rounds on cable news. Because he’s
so provocative, and because he parrots so much of what conservative
news analysts and commentators such as Chris Matthews (MSNBC) and
Sean Hannity (Fox News) think about the situation in Palestine but
are afraid to say, he is being chased after to make appearances.
Having
Netanyahu on television wouldn’t be so bad if he were handled in a
proper manner. Often times when controversial topics are broached on
news shows, guests of opposing views will face-off against one
another with a news analysts acting as moderator. Not so with
Netanyahu. Somehow, he has been able to bully the networks into
allowing him to appear unopposed.
Additionally,
he is never given the same interrogation that other guest receive
from the news analysts. In fact, when he appears on “Hardball with
Chris Matthews”, the show turns into the most blatant display of
“softball” news analysis on television, with Matthews simply
affirming everything Netanyahu says.
The
problem with this is that cable news has become a type of final
arbiter of public opinion. Through online polls and call-in shows,
the public is being given a voice never before seen in American
public life. Washington no doubt pays attention.
So
when someone like Netanyahu is given free rein in front of the
camera, he is impacting and reinforcing American public opinion on
some very important and crucial issues; and that impact in turn,
filters its way into Washington’s policy.
Consider
the issue of Yasser Arafat and his position on suicide bombings. It
is well known that Arafat has been quoted in the western press as
having condemned suicide bombings. But several months ago, Netanyahu
began making the rounds on national news programs, proclaiming that
Arafat was saying one thing to the western press in English, and
another thing to the Palestinian people in Arabic. This is a message
that Netanyahu repeats again and again and again, no matter where he
appears.
After
a few months of this proselytizing commentators began to pick up on
Netanyahu’s line of thinking. Matthews, Bill O’Reilly, Dan
Abrams and many others began echoing Netanyahu’s sentiments or at
least giving credence to them. Audience feedback began to swing
against Arafat, with some polls showing that many Americans truly
think of Arafat as a terrorist.
Then
came the coup de grace for Netyanhu. Sometime shortly after the most
recent string of suicide attacks in Israel, President Bush began
calling for Arafat to condemn such operations “in Arabic.” This
was a change for Bush. Previously he had not taken such a position.
But with Netanyahu’s ability to entertain and be controversial,
and with the cable network’s need for entertainment value in their
programming, a simple political mantra was able to make it from
television screens to the White House.
This
process is happening every day on cable television. Ideas are being
forwarded virtually unchallenged and unfortunately there aren’t
enough Hassan Abdel Rahman’s and Hussein Ibish’s to ward off
these nuanced attacks.
