Israel-Hamas war coverage is forcing editors to explain themselves

afr.com:

On an all-staff call at Schwartz Media last week, employees were given a management update. It lasted five minutes. Then came an hour’s discussion about how the publishers of The Monthly and The Saturday Paper were covering the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Schwartz is a progressive newsroom pulled in two directions. Owned by Morry Schwartz, a developer and the son of Holocaust survivors, it has drawn the ire of pro-Palestinian activists and former staff who accuse it of being “systematically zionist”. They even launched The Sunday Paper in protest.

Journalists report from a vantage point overlooking northern Gaza. Getty

On Monday’s call, Schwartz Media’s editor-in-chief, Erik Jensen, defended its coverage, sources with knowledge of the meeting said. “I looked at coverage in The Oz [The Australian] and even in the Nine papers … I think our coverage has been much better and much more balanced,” Jensen said. “Every newsroom in the world is trying to balance how they put together their coverage.”

The comments demonstrate the challenge in reporting from Australia on the conflict in Gaza, which began on October 7 when a Hamas attack killed 1200 Israelis. A military operation has raged ever since, and Gaza’s health ministry says 12,000 Palestinians have been killed.

It is a war taking place thousands of kilometres away, and yet Australian journalists are on the frontlines of a local battle for balance.

The ABC held a mass meeting this month, where some staff members said there were perceptions the broadcaster was too pro-Israel, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported. Another meeting was held last week, where staff aired their frustrations.

On Thursday, Tory Maguire, executive editor at The Age and The