Al-Aqsa Intifada and the U.S. Media

This report examines what appears to be a systematic absence of context in U.S. reporting on al-Aqsa intifada. The result is a narrow view of the conflict that ignores the crucial issues of Israel's ongoing occupation and the United States's pro-Israel bias. After looking at daily reportage and editorial commentary, the author examines pressures on the media by Israel and its supporters, whose efforts in the latest crisis have targeted CNN.

Seth Ackerman is a media analyst at FAIR, a national media watchdog group. This is an expanded version of an article in the January-February 2001 issue of FAIR's magazine Extra!