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[*] Jennifer Chernick "Challenging Sir Rushdie: Just how free is the European media?".

[**] C'est chose faite. Voir : "La presse européenne plus libre que l’américaine? Mais quid de France 2 avec l’affaire al-Dura?"

23/05/08

Stanford Daily (8th May 2008)

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In France, politics and media are often one and the same, notably with the case of the television station France 2. France 2 is nationally owned, meaning the government has direct control over how news is presented. Furthermore, the manner in which the station handles errors in reporting reflects larger political forces. In recent years, France 2 made a significant reporting error and their response has been to ignore and deny the issue.

I am referring to the story of Muhammad al-Dura, a Palestinian boy reportedly killed by Israeli soldiers in September 2000. The boy’s death at the hands of the IDF served as a pretext for countless acts of violence against non-Muslims, ranging from numerous suicide bombings in Israel to the beheading of Daniel Pearl. Plentiful evidence clearly demonstrates the fraudulence of the original news footage. Not only that, for the last two years, a defamation lawsuit has been underway, waged against an independent media analyst on behalf of France 2’s most prominent foreign correspondent, Charles Enderlin.

Still, the French media has been utterly silent about the Muhammad al-Dura affair. This is not the silence of ignorance, but a concerted, knowing silence, designed to protect the reputation of France 2. This situation epitomizes the corrupt and suppressive tendencies of French media, which easily trumps Mr. Rushdie’s “right-wing authoritarian” American media. As Mr. Rushdie affirmed the transparency and openness of the European media, I could not help but wonder what he thinks of France’s treatment of the al-Dura affair. Of course, there is the possibility he is not familiar with the case — after all, he wouldn’t have learned about it from the French press.

In the coming days, we look forward to welcoming two important figures in the European media to campus to share their views on these significant issues. Last night, May 7, Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten who commissioned the now-infamous Muhammad cartoons, spoke in Cubberley Auditorium. On May 12, Philippe Karsenty will speak on the al-Dura affair and his role as defendant in the libel case brought against him by France 2. I encourage you to attend these events and assess whether the European media is as free as Mr. Rushdie claims it to be.

Jennifer Chernik

© The Stanford Daily

Mis en ligne le 23 mai 2008, par M. Macina, sur le site upjf.org