ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT We Believe Israel Deserves Fair Treatment in the News
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2019 ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT www.HonestReporting.com We believe Israel deserves fair treatment in the news. We know public opinion is shaped by the media. We empower the grassroots to respond to media bias. Join thousands of others demanding fair media coverage for Israel honestreporting.com/signup HonestReporting USA Board of Directors President of the Board: Robert A. Blum Members of the Board Martha Barvin • Daniela Bendor • Max Blankfeld • David A. Barish, Ph.D. • Morris F. Mintz • Sharon Mishkin Executive Staff Daniel Pomerantz, Executive Director International Staff Simon Plosker, Managing Editor • Jerry Glazer, Director of Finance and Administration Suzanne Lieberman, Director of Missions & Donor Relations • Laura Cornfield, Director of MediaCentral HonestReporting Defending Israel From Media Bias 2019 ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT www.HonestReporting.com This annual report is also available online as a downloadable PDF with additional content hyperlinks at www.honestreporting.com/2019-annual-report/ HonestReporting Annual Report 2019 • www.honestreporting.com 3 Why HonestReporting? We deliver real solutions to We mobilize at a real problems. moment’s notice. Media bias is a global problem that affects Israel and The longer biased news is out there, the more people it Jewish communities around the world. With our will misinform. That’s why we activate rapid response. monitoring, critiques, education, and social media We monitor the news as it comes out, and respond to presence, we put the media on notice and hold them to inaccuracy and bias as it happens. Corrections begin account. to appear within minutes, and we keep news agencies on notice. We have leverage. Our team of non-profit professionals make every The most valuable assets for news agencies are their reputation and credibility. They know who we are, they dollar go the extra mile. know about our reach and our impact. We put the We monitor the events and news coverage, we reach out media on notice: they have to do their jobs right, or risk to our community, we provide education and events, we being exposed. engage with the media, and we get results. Our track record is We don’t just critique the unparalleled. media, we also educate the wider public. For nearly two decades we’ve been obtaining corrections, expanding our community, and pressing the news media Our staff have intimate knowledge of the issues and are to do their jobs with fairness and accuracy. able to effectively disseminate accurate and relevant information. Our news literacy materials are an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to advocate for Israel today. We are on the ground, in the heart of Jerusalem. We are the only organization that is directly involved, in person, at every stage of the news cycle: before, during and after. 4 HonestReporting Annual Report 2019 • www.honestreporting.com Message from the Executive Director At a time when antisemitism is on the rise, and some journalists try to portray Israel’s multicultural, democratic society as an apartheid, racist, colonial state, HonestReporting is not only more necessary, but also more prepared than ever before. I’ve been in the role of Executive Director for just over a year, and in the following pages, I’m excited to tell you what we’ve done! » Our new Director of MediaCentral, Laura Cornfield, a 30 year veteran of television news, is already drastically increasing output and building stronger relationships than ever with journalists on the ground in Israel. » Member of the 19th Knesset Dov Lipman, joined our team as Senior Manager of Community Outreach. Did you know that Linda Sarsour attacked him in front of her followers on Twitter when he exposed her lack of knowledge about Arab Israelis? » I’ve increased my own proactive, public appearances, including an internationally televised debate with BDS co- founder, Omar Barghouti, in which I exposed his lies and hypocrisy. » We’ve achieved massive increases to our YouTube video output, often beating CNN’s ratings, and now including our newly acquired access to professional “b-roll” footage from wire services: this allows us to respond to breaking news with the same speed and visual quality as mainstream networks. » As always, we continue to achieve corrections, retractions and implement respected oversight in the mainstream and digital media. » Finally, we’ve improved our financial position, streamlined our spending and resources, and put ourselves on a strong footing to begin a successful 2020: for Israel and for Jewish communities around the world. Despite our accomplishments, we are in the early stages of what promises to be a long battle: this work is as expensive as it is powerful and our adversaries include well-funded outlets like the television network Al Jazeera, and its youth oriented digital channel, AJ+, which produce content that is both anti-Israel and antisemitic. Our goal for 2020 is to “scale-up” and become truly competitive against these information forces. Our work delivers: we track meaningful and measurable results, especially among young adults who are most vulnerable to this antisemitic mythology, which is an important factor for defending Jewish communities: in America and worldwide. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about those specific details in this report. Thank you very much for supporting Israel, and for supporting HonestReporting. Sincerely, Daniel Pomerantz Executive Director HonestReporting Annual Report 2019 • www.honestreporting.com 5 STATS Production 253 156 64 53 Featured Daily News Email Corrections Articles Roundups Campaigns Social Media Facebook Twitter VIDEOS 6.05 7.38 3.92 million million million people reached impressions views 1,500 45 Tweets Videos Website 2.4 million pageviews 6 HonestReporting Annual Report 2019 • www.honestreporting.com During 2019, HonestReporting achieved 53 significant corrections. MEDIA Our results demonstrate our ability to not only effectively monitor the CORRECTIONS media but also our credibility, as editors respond to our requests and those of our readers when errors or bias occur. Media outlets that issued corrections include: x2 x3 x3 x2 x2 x10 x4 x3 x4 Oxford English Dictionary HonestReporting Annual Report 2019 • www.honestreporting.com 7 HR IN THE MEDIA » Simon Plosker and Emanuel Miller appeared on HonestReporting’s weekly slot on South Africa’s Chai FM radio. » Simon was also quoted extensively in two South African Jewish Report stories, one about a BDS activist comparing Israel to the Nazis and another critiquing an academic’s anti-Israel op-ed in a major South African media outlet. » The Algemeiner continues to publish articles penned by HR staff, including five from Pesach Benson, eleven from Simon Plosker and six from TOTAL 22 articles Emanuel Miller. » When Democratic politician Ilhan Omar caused a scandal with antisemitic tweets dressed up as anti-Israel criticism, HonestReporting sent her an invitation to join the organization in Israel to see the country for herself. HR’s initiative was covered in the Jerusalem Post. » The Jerusalem Post also cited HonestReporting in a story concerning an anti-Israel activist’s address to a UK Holocaust Memorial Day event. » Daniel Pomerantz appeared on Israel’s Channel 10 morning show to promote our new Business Ambassadors program. » Daniel appeared twice on i24 News discussing topics as diverse as the State of the Union, Israeli Elections & BDS, and Martin Luther King Day, the New York Times and more. » Daniel was published in The Federalist concerning Donald Trump’s peace plan. » Daniel appeared on the Nahum Segal JM in the AM and twice on the Dr. Drew radio shows. » JNS cited Simon in a story about international media coverage of the Israeli elections. » HonestReporting was cited by JNS, Israel Hayom and Washington Free Beacon following the publication of an antisemitic cartoon in the New York Times. 8 HonestReporting Annual Report 2019 • www.honestreporting.com » Israel Hayom cited Simon in a JNS story about international media coverage of Palestinian rocket barrages from Gaza, while Daniel appeared on i24 News discussing the same topic. » Simon’s op-ed critiqued a BBC documentary on Jewish Telegraph Friday May 17, 2019 | COMMENT 11 Gaza in the Jewish Telegraph. Simon Plosker [email protected] HE sense of trepida- civil war. That the BBC notably failed to tion from pro-Israel say ‘teargas’ as it had done earlier advocates was pal- in the programme undoubtedly pable leading up to left viewers wondering if Israel » the broadcast of was using chlorine or something The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed by TBBC One’s This World — One Gaza film will not far worse than a legitimate means Day in Gaza. of crowd dispersal used by other After all, when it comes to nega- western states. tive coverage of Israel, the BBC is But what about the positives? a serial offender. There were some significant take- And what better way to bash aways. Emanuel on the Breaking the Silence organization. Israel than the issue of violence on For the first time, an outside the Gaza border that has cost the change any minds media outlet has effectively con- lives of more than 150 Palestinians firmed the Israeli version of and injured thousands more? at the fence itself, but through events. While the Palestinian The story has been framed by video cameras controlled from a March of Return may have started LOSING THE PR off as a peaceful grassroots initia- most of the media and non-govern- BATTLE: Colonel base somewhere in southern mental organisations as Israel’s Kobi Heller, Israel. tive, Lambert makes it clear that disproportionate response to commander of While we are treated to the emo- by May 14, 2018, the demonstra- Palestinians peacefully protesting the Southern tional and humanising testi- tions had been infiltrated and co- to return to ancestral lands now Brigade around monies of Palestinians who were opted by Hamas as well as the in the State of Israel.