Friday 30th October

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Islam-obsessed girl disappears
Section: Home Digest
Written by: ?
Page: 4

Outline: This brief is just under 60 words long and features a photo of 14 year old Sarah Dunn. It describes that Ms Dunn "...vanished after becoming obsessed with Islam...". This statement is attributed to the Police, in an extended version of the story in the Metro's sister publication the Daily Mail, the Police are quoted as saying that Ms Dunn had "...gone missing after developing a 'keen interest' in Islam...". The Daily Mail version attributes the "...increasingly obsessed..." statement to friends (3rd paragraph).

There's a clear discrepancy here between the story appearing in the 2 papers both of which belong to Associated Newspapers.

The Metro brief mentions that Ms Dunn was last seen after an argument with her parents about studying the Koran, it states that "...she may have been brainwashed by hardline Muslims..."

Overall the news brief paints a very negative view of Islam and the use of language such as brainwashing almost portrays the religion as a cult.

In short this is a tragic story about a teenage girl with a freewill having a conflict of interest with those around her. It has nothing to do with Islam and to present the article with words such as "Islam-obsessed" or "brainwashed by hardline Muslims" only serves to fuel Islamophobia particularly amongst parents of teenagers.

Article Verdict: Negative

Article 2
Headline: Bibles are seized in Malaysia
Section: News
Written by: ?

Page: 20

Outline: This article is roughly 70 words long and reports on the confiscation of 15,000 "...inflammatory..." bibles in Malaysia by authorities this year because they "...referred to 'God' as 'Allah'...", this is described in the article as "...a banned translation in the Muslim-majority country..."

There is no description about who has decribed the Bibles as "inflammatory" which is the word used in the opening sentence. This may imply that the authorities have deemed them to be inflammatory or it may be the case that this is a word selected by the journalist writing this story.

If it's the latter then it injects a subjective and unfounded viewpoint into what is otherwise a factual story. It's inclusion may make readers think there is hostility towards Christians in Malaysia when it is in fact a prosperous & peaceful multi-ethnic/multi-religious society.

Considering that the source of the word "inflammatory" is not provided it can be assumed that its been inserted into the article by the journalist in which case this article has to be given a negative rating.

Article Verdict: Negative

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Monday 15th June

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Israeli PM back a state for Palestine
Section: News
Written by: Peter Green
Page: 12

Outline: This article is so wrong it's hard to decide where to begin. Let's start with the headline, for those who know the detail of what Binyamin, referred to as "Benjamin" in this article, Netanyahu has said will know that his idea of a "State" doesn't actually equate to what a real State should be like.

The one thing that Green does get right is to refer to Netanyahu as "Israel's hard-line Prime Minister", although he is actually right wing and arguably an extreme one at that.

Green goes into some of the detail of Netanyahu's proposals i.e. that the proposed Palestinian state should not have an army nor should the refugees be allowed the right to return to their homes that they were driven out of when Israel was created. Although this crucial bit of information is not given by Green in the article.

Green then goes onto present Netanyahu in a positive light stating that Netanyahu "offered to talk to Palestinians immediately...with no preconditions", that he "wanted to live...as good neighbours" with the Palestinians and that he "...was willing to go to Damascus, Riyadh and Beirut in pursuit of a Middle East peace deal."

These statements inaccurately present Netanyahu as a reasonable figure out looking for peace, Green should have devoted valuable column inches to spelling out the finer detail of Netanyahu's proposal to show readers that what we was promising Palestinians was a so called State which would have no army and not have control of its airspace or land borders.

Green mentions that "Palestinians demand all the West Bank with East Jerusalemas capital. Israel captured both areas in 1967". The choice of words is significant by using "demand" and "all the West Bank..." it's almost like painting a picture that the Palestinians are perhaps being unreasonable i.e. almost saying to Israel 'Give me the West Bank!'. Whilst Green mentions that Israel captured both territories he fails to mention that this was in violation of International and UN law and that the Israeli occupation is considered illegal by every nation in the World except in Israel itself.

Green also remarkably fails to mention the very big problem of illegal settlements that Israel has contructed in the West Bank. These are conveniently left out.

The icing on the cake for this particular article is the closing paragraph where it is said of Netanyahu that "...he fears Palestinian militants will use the West Bank to stage attacks on Israel as Hamas militants have fired into Israel since it withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005". Green fails to mention the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza which has turned the territory into the World's largest prison and the fact that Israel launched a brutal war there just 6 months ago where 1,400 Palestinians were killed including at least 430 children. This closing paragraph from Green is almost presenting justification for Netanyahu's ridiculous proposal for a Palestinian state.

If Green ever loses his job at the M.E.N I'm sure he'll be snapped up as a spokesman for the Israeli Government. In the meantime this serves as one of the most blatant examples of Hasbara in action.

Article Verdict: Negative

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Israel call for peace rejected & Israel's olive branch?
Section: Front page brief & page 5
Written by: Miles Erwin
Page: Front page and page 5

Outline: The Metro does one better than the M.E.N by not only placing a spun version of Netanyahu's offer on the front page but by also making the Palestinians out to be antagonists by rejecting this so called "peace".

On page 5 Erwin continues by calling Netanyahu's action "historic" and using the same sort of spin tactics as Green though to a lesser extent and also allowing for quotes from the Palestinian Authority.

However in closing a statement from the US administration is given in where it states that the US welcomed the gesture made by Netanyahu.

Erwin failed to mention the specifics of the proposal put forward by Netanyahu i.e. no control over borders, right of refugees to return to their homes and of course the illegal settlements which Erwin also completely ignored.

It's snoteworthy to see 2 different competing papers reporting the same story allegedly from different ends of the Political sphere in terms of their bias yet singing from pretty much the same Hasbara hymn sheet.

Article Verdict: Negative

Thursday 9th April

Manchester Evening News (City Edition)

Article 1
Headline: Terror swoop after blunder by police chief
Section: Front Page
Written by: Yakub Qureshi & John Scheerhout
Page: Front Page

Outline: This article accompanied by a photo showing a Police raid on a house in Manchester is about the 'anti-terror' raids that were triggered after Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick's secret documents were photographed as he arrived for a briefing at 10 Downing Street.

The article is a prelude to a much more detailed story which is printed on page 2 and as such there are few words on the front page other than to tell readers key facts which are limited to a factual narrative of events.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 2
Headline: Terror swoop after top cop's blunder
Section: News
Written by: Yakub Qureshi & John Scheerhout
Page: 2

Outline: This story continues on from the front page story. It lists the number of people arrested and details the locations of where the arrests took place.

This story also includes testimonials from local people in the area, one of these (Mr Mesu Raza) is described in the article as "an unemployed man from Pakistan who lives in the flat above the cafe..."

There are further statements from local people who are named in the article as Ms Fouzia Ali, who is described as a "neighbour..." and also Bushra Majid who is described as "...33, a housewife..."

The article states that 2 of the arrested men are "...of Afghan origin..." The article finished by mentioning the age range of the detained suspects.

There is no mention of the religious background of any of the detained suspects nor of any of the residents who gave testimonials to the M.E.N.

Apart from referring to Mr Mesu Raza as "an unemployed man from Pakistan" other descriptions of people were done in a responsible manner. Ther really wasn't any need to highlight Mr Raza's ethnicity and employment status. This would only serve to create a negative image of Mr Raza amongst readers who may come to regard him as an 'unemployed foreigner living in Britain'.

Other than this small blip the article is written objectively and without any sensationalist rhetoric hence a 'neutral' verdict is awarded.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 3
Headline: Police plea for calm as Smith backs raids
Section: News
Written by: Yakub Qureshi
Page: 2

Outline: This story is related to the raids mentioned in articles 1 & 2. It reports on statements made by Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Porter who has stated that the Police force will be working to reassure residents of the local area following the raids.

The article alsoi carries a comment from Home Secretary Jacqui Smith who commends the Police and the manner in which they carried out the raid. It also carries a statement by her which warns that "...we face a severe terrorist threat in this country..." such statements are no doubt likely to make readers uncomfortable and fearful. With that in mind perhaps it would have been worth to get the reaction of local community leaders to the comments by the Home Secretary and Det Chief Superintendent, this would have helped to report a more rounded and complete reflection of events that unfolded in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester.

However based on the content of the article it is factual with no emotional or sensationalist narrative hence is awarded a 'neutral' rating.

Article Verdict: Neutral

Article 4
Headline: Apprentice bosses just didn't fancy me
Section: News
Written by: ?
Page: 12

Outline: This article is about Majid Nagra, the latest contestant to be 'fired' from the popular tv show The Apprentice.

The article features a reflection by Mr Nagra as to why he felt he was fired from the latest episode. It mentions his age and where he was born but does not refer to his religious background. The article also mentions that Mr Nagra is setting up a business, "...a dating website for British Asians..."

All in all, it's factual article and deserves a 'neutral' rating

Article Verdict: Neutral

Metro

Article 1
Headline: Hamza sons in £1m car theft con
Section: Front Page Brief
Written by: ?
Page: Front Page

Outline: This article is one of the preview briefs featured on the front page. The story is about car thefts involving the sons of Abu Hamza who is described as "hate preacher" although the religious background of Hamza or his sons isn't mentioned.

The rest of the article is continued on Page 7 of the paper. Given the high profile nature in which Abu Hamza has been featured in the press it's likely that readers will link him to Muslims and Islam however as this brief doesn't mention Muslim or Islam then on that basis it has to be given a 'neutral' rating.

Artice Verdict: Neutral

Article 2
Headline: 12 arrests following terror op blunder
Section: News
Written by: Aidan Radnedge
Page: 5

Outline: This article is about the 'anti-terror' raids in Manchester. It lists the locations of the arrests and how many people were detained.

The paper incorrectly reports that the raids were on "...British Asians with links to Pakistan..." This is clearly inaccurate reporting as those arrested were not British Asians. This most probably reflects a rushed article which had to hit the deadline in order to be printed thus proper checks were not carried out to see whether the information being reported was true?

A large part of the article is dedicated to covering the blunder by Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick.

Newspapers have a repsonsibility to report the truth and display responsible journalism, inaccurate reporting, especially on sensitive matters like this, can have negative consequences in this case for British Asians as the wider people may inadvertantly point the finger of blame at them.

It's important that journalists put the integrity of the story at the top of the hierarchy before going to print. For failing to display this integrity Aidan Radnedge's article is given a 'negative' rating

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 3
Headline: Hamza sons facing jail - Preacher's boys used £1m car ringing scam 'to pay for their party lifestyle'
Section: News
Written by: Aidan Radnedge
Page: 7

Outline: This article is a continuation of front page brief described in article 1 and is also written by Adrian Radnedge who wrote the inaccurate article above.

This article describes the scam alleged to have been carried out by the 3 sons of Abu Hamza. It describes how they carried out the scam and gives their names & ages.

It also features a photo of Abu Hamza's face where his prayer skull cap is visible. Although there is no mention of the word Muslim or Islam there is likely to be case of guilt by association i.e. readers are likely to know Hamza through the news as a Muslim preacher hence this story about his sons running a car scam will thus lead to a negative view of Islam amongst the readers.

Had the story not featured a photo of Hamza or made the link to him in the headline then I would have given this a 'neutral' rating. However as the Hamza link is the 'anchor' for this story then readers can't help but make a negative link to Islam and Muslims hence I'm giving Radnedge's 2nd article a 'negative' rating too.

Artice Verdict: Negative

Article 4
Headline: 12 Palestinians hurt in riots
Section: World Digest
Written by: ?
Page: 28

Outline: This news brief reports on clashes between "Palestinians" and "Israeli army and Jewish settlers". It also remarkably describes the Palestinian village of Safa as an "Arab Settlement", this is highly inaccurate reporting as the word settlements is only used to refer to Israeli built Jewish settlements on the West Bank. They are referred to as such because they have been built on land which is considered occupied by the International community. This is a fact that is overlooked and not reported in the news brief hence not giving the full and accurate picture to the readers.

For inaccuarate and misleading reporting this article is given a 'negative' rating.

Artice Verdict: Negative