How Reliable are Local Sources

To Foreign Journalists?

            When journalists report their stories, the priority is to find the most knowledgeable sources within a short period of time, and use these sources to create a detailed and truthful account of a given situation. When placed in unfamiliar territory, the search for credible local sources is more difficult, making the possibility of error much greater.

In foreign countries, a journalist has two options as sources, the official and the unofficial. When CBS reporter David Diaz visited Cuba in 1989, he arranged for his cab driver to be a guide into the views of the Cuban public. As a source, the cab driver’s qualifications included fluency in English, and a good knowledge of Havana, the capital city. In return for his services, the cab driver was paid by Diaz.[1] More often, the local sources tend to have experience in journalism, or working with journalists. An example is Graham Thomson of the Edmonton Journal, who reported from Kandahar, Afghanistan with the help of local journalists. When leaving the Canadian military unit that he was embedded with, he had local journalists serve as his drivers and guides. Thompson describes the exercise as time-consuming and potentially dangerous.[2] As an alternative, Thompson sometimes gives the local journalists or “fixers” the liberty to gather information in town, take notes and shoot video footage, which is then delivered back to him. He describes this type of reporting as “news gathering by remote control.”

An example of the ethical problems involved with “remote control reporting” is the case of Adnan Hajj, a freelance photographer hired by Reuters to document the Israeli bombing of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the summer of 2006. While Israel insisted that its bombings were targeted, Hajj’s photographs attempted to show indiscriminate damage through the use of Photoshop, where plumes of smoke were expanded to magnify the extent of the damage. Hajj was dismissed, and almost 900 of his photographs were purged from the Reuters collection. Following an investigation into the matter, Reuters also fired a top photo editor.[3]

When giving the task of reporting to a local source, foreign journalists and their editors check to see that the information is credible. Having twenty years’ worth of journalism experience, New York Times reporter Greg Myre takes the fixer’s reputation and experience into consideration. In his work from Palestinian-controlled territories, Myre writes, “When you begin work with a local journalist, it can take a bit of time to figure out how much they can help you and in what ways.” Once your needs and the source’s background are assessed, “You tend to grasp whether they are a professional or an amateur. If they are not very experienced, and are offering up bias and propaganda, I would stop working with this person and find someone else.”[4]

Among Palestinian fixers, personal allegiances are often set aside in order to establish a good reputation among foreign journalists. They become trusted sources, and receive good pay, in a region where unemployment remains a top problem. “The Palestinians who do this work for major news organizations tend to have relationships that have been in place for years, and generally have solid track records,” Myre writes.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs agrees with Myre that Palestinian sources are usually educated, experienced journalists, recognized by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. At the same time, the JCPA disagrees with Myre that the level of experience corresponds to impartiality. Noting censorship in PA-controlled areas, the JCPA alleges that the vast majority of Palestinian fixers actively encourage journalists to report exclusively on the "evils" of the Israeli occupation, rather than on the lack of democratic freedoms or human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza.[5] This allegation was confirmed by Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid.

Washington Times columnist Joel Mowbray notes the imbalance between negative coverage of Israeli actions, and the lack of similar coverage regarding the Palestinian leadership. “Despite the extensive reliance on locals who presumably enjoy greater familiarity with the terrain and key players, negative press coverage of the Palestinian Authority or various Islamic terrorist organizations operating in the territories has long been scant,’ he writes.[6]

An example of unbalanced reporting by Palestinian sources is the coverage of the death of Muhammad Al-Dura in the crossfire between Israeli forces and Palestinian police officers in Gaza on September 30, 2000. During the battle, cameraman Talal Abu Ruhama shot 27 minutes of footage for French television. Both Ruhama and the France 2 network blamed Israel as responsible for the boy’s death. Describing the footage, France 2 reporter Charles Enderlin said, “Here Jamal and his son Mohammed are the targets of gunshots that have come from the Israeli position”[7] Mr. Enderlin was not present during the shooting.[8]

The young victim instantly became a symbol of martyrdom for the Palestinian Authority and many Muslims worldwide. His name and image graced streets, parks, postage stamps, and terrorist videos throughout the Muslim world. Alongside prayers for Al-Dura were calls for revenge against Israel. On Palestinian Authority television, an actor portraying Al-Dura calls on young viewers to avenge the murder.[9]

In response, the Israeli Defense Forces initially apologized, but later investigated the shooting, concluding that Al-Dura had probably been killed by Palestinians. To preserve its good image, France 2 responded to allegations of using staged footage though libel lawsuits. In 2006, Philippe Karsenty of the French website Media Ratings was convicted by a French court of libel against France 2 and Mr. Enderlin.[10] At this time, it appears that the French and Israeli positions on the matter remain in disagreement.

Myre recognizes that the Israeli public often complains about bias among Palestinian reporters. He also asserts that it is the journalist’s responsibility to separate bias from facts. “But even a visiting journalist should be able to separate the fact from the fiction,” Myre writes. “And any journalist who is based here quickly develops his or her own sense for the story, and shouldn't be misled by a fixer. The Palestinians who do this work for major news organizations tend to have relationships that have been in place for years, and generally have solid track records. This is certainly the case concerning the Palestinian journalists I have worked with.” At the same time, Myre also checks the Israeli side for “research, translation and other essential functions.” 

Within Palestinian media, censorship and intimidation are routine. During the 1996 Palestinian Authority elections, Al Quds editor Maher al-Alami was detained for six days by Palestinian security forces for not giving then-PA President Yasser Arafat enough coverage. When western journalists borrow stories written by local reporters, they should be aware that even an experienced and impartial reporter can return with a biased story. "The Palestinian media follow [Yasser Arafat's] instructions out of fear," al-Alami wrote.[11]

In order to have an honest account without jeopardizing safety, local contributors often remain nameless. Newspapers sometimes describe them simply as “local contributors.” Los Angeles Times reporter Laura King writes that sometimes locations of the anonymous reporting are listed in order to provide some detail.[12] In most cases, Myre writes, local reporters want to see their byline in print as any other journalist.[13]

A notable example of a local reporter who remained anonymous was Fakher Haider, who helped foreign journalists in southern Iraq. In an article describing Haider’s work, New York Times reporter James Glanz described him as an example of an ideal Iraqi stringer. “Very much the city kid with his denim jacket and street-by-street familiarity with Basra,” Glanz writes. “He also could use his tribal and religious roots to gain the quick confidence of the tribal sheikhs who control much of the south.”[14] Haider used his sense of humor and knowledge of the social, political, and religious landscape of southern Iraq to get past checkpoints, interview powerful local leaders, and pass the story to Glanz.

Haider’s work was crosschecked for accuracy, and he was expected to absorb western standards on sourcing and accuracy to remain on the job. “Those who do not are invited to move on,” Glanz writes. Like Myre, Glanz considers the “track record” of his source as an honest reporter. Considered reliable and professional by western reporters, it may have been this very reputation that cost Haider his life in September 2005 at the hands of Shiite militants. Dressed in police uniforms, they raided his home, kidnapped and murdered him. At the time, Reporters Without Borders, an advocacy organization reported 72 journalists dead in Iraq since the beginning of the American-led invasion in March 2003. The number included so-called media assistants and stingers. The vast majority of the dead were Iraqi.[15]

In contrast to Haider, Bassam Sebti, who reports in Baghdad for the Washington Post, often prefers to have his byline listed, as a matter of ethics. Working in a city contested between Sunni and Shiite insurgents, Sebti considers his position to be in double jeopardy, seen as a spy and a profiteer in the eyes of the insurgents.[16] Like Hajj and Ruhama, Sebti describes his reporting as a patriotic duty. When assigned to cover a car bombing, he writes, “I am drawn to them because it brings me closer to the people who are suffering.” He also writes, “I believe that my country needs me,” as a reason not to leave Iraq in the face of threats to his life. At the same time, Sebti committed to impartiality in his reporting. “I’m determined not to allow my emotions to interfere with the job,” he writes.

To remain safe, Sebti keeps his job a secret from his neighbors, and avoids opening the door to his home at night. In the absence of democracy and government, do foreign news organizations have a responsibility in their safety of their sources? Juan Temayo, the chief-of-correspondents at the Miami Herald recognizes the sacrifices that the sources make. “Fixers are subject to more retaliation than we are,” he writes. “We do our story, we leave. They stay.”[17] In countries where there are functioning governments, the danger to fixers can be as dangerous as in a war zone. When the British-based Channel 4 had a documentary on politics and religion in Bangladesh, local journalist Saleem Samad was detained and tortured for nearly two months. In Pakistan, local journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi was arrested in December 2003 on charges of sedition, conspiracy, and impersonation, after helping two French journalists write an article on Taliban activities in the border areas of Pakistan. “Fixers and stringers are used more and more to go into areas that, as a Westerner, it is difficult to penetrate, such as the tribal areas of Pakistan,” writes Kathy Gannon, a former Islamabad Bureau Chief for the Associated Press, currently working in the Iran bureau.[18]

With the importance of fixers growing, professionalism among local reporters has increased, as have salaries, and use of bylines. In 1994, when PBS senior correspondent Elizabeth Farnsworth was reporting in Haiti, her local fixer was arrested by authorities and promised freedom only if the “Newshour” team left Haiti, which they did. Farnsworth regrets the arrest as one of the worst moments in her career. “I consider it one of my prime duties to look after the people working for me,” she writes.[19]

Most journalists share Farnsworth’s concern, and have taken steps to ensure safety. In Iraq, the Baghdad bureau of Knight Ridder has provided security training, defensive driving courses, and flak jackets for all Knight Ridder fixers. CNN has provided hostile-environment training to all of its workers, including local reporters. At the same time, most news organizations have not provided extensive protection to their sources, often paying out of pocket for insurance and medical compensation.

Foreign news organizations have always relied on fixers as sources and contributors in hotspots around the world. Gradually, these sources have begun to understand the importance of honesty, ethics, and professionalism in their work. Their relationship with foreign news organizations grew. As a result of the professionalism, relationship, and ethics, the fixers are beginning to not only receive protection, but also recognition for their work. “Fixer is the wrong term,” says Andrew Maykuth of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “They are really journalists…Their work demands the same ethical standards of reporting.”[20] Having spent more than 20 years working with local reporters in more than 50 countries, Myre has respect for their work. In response to the terms fixer or stringer, he writes “Local journalists can offer a variety of skills depending on the circumstances. Often it is translating… If you are working with a good local journalist, he or she helps you do the story you want to do, and shows you other [stories] you may not have thought about.”[21]

Sometimes a local source does not need journalism experience. For Diaz, the Cuban taxi driver provided a wealth of information on the city of Havana. For Myre, a similar example was found in the aftermath of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan. “On the flight to Japan, I met a Japanese-American woman. She was raised in Kobe, but was living in Los Angeles where she translated legal documents,”[22] he writes. The woman was flying to the devastated city to check on her parents. “She knew a great deal about the city, and had many friends there. As a result, I had great access and she led be to a number of good stories about the people of Kobe that I would not have found otherwise.”

Sources

·        Interview with David Diaz 4/26/2007 

·        Diker, Dan “The Influence of Palestinian Organizations on Foreign News Reporting” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs 3/27/2003 

·        Elkaim, Stephane “French TV Station wins Al-Dura Case” Jerusalem Post 10/20/2006 

·        Glanz, James “The Twilight World of the Iraqi News Stringer” New York Times 9/25/2005 

·        Hollander, Ricki; Ini, Gilead “Backgrounder: Mohammed AL-Dura. Anatomy of a French Scandal” CAMERA 

·        Juffa, Stephane “The Mythical Martyr” Wall Street Journal Europe 11/26/2004 

·        Written response from Laura King 4/30/2007 

·        Lang, Daryl “Reuters investigation Leads to Dismissal of Editor” Photo District News 1/18/2007 

·        Marcus, Itamar; Cook, Barbara “Seducing Children to Martyrdom” Jerusalem Post 07/04/2006 

·        Mowbray, Joel “Presenting False Images” Washington Times 08/16/2006 

·        Written response from Greg Myre 5/02/2007 

·        Sebti, Bassam “Heading into Danger” Dangerous Assignments- Committee to Protect Journalists Spring-Summer 2006

·        Thompson,  Graham “Embedded: An Uneasy Truce” The Edmonton Journal 4/15/2007  

·        Witchel, Elizabeth “The Fixers” Dangerous Assignments- Committee to Protect Journalists Fall-Winter 2006

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Background image: Sunni Iraqi insurgents. Muhammed Muheisen / AP