The audience has a lot to say about coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. We're listening
We are almost a month into the horrific and deadly escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and the public editor inbox is overflowing with audience criticisms. More than 100 notes a week are coming in.
Among the themes:
- Some NPR audience members see a bias when stories highlight a perspective they don't agree with.
- Some listeners or readers are demanding stronger descriptive language, such as saying that Hamas members should be called "terrorists" rather than "militants."
- Other audience members believe NPR is failing to put Israel's actions in the context of war crimes.
Out of 130 selected notes that came into the public editor's inbox between Oct. 8 and Oct. 25, just over 60% directly accused NPR of an anti-Israeli bias. Roughly 24% accused NPR of being biased against Palestinians. And 15% offered a critique without leveling a charge of bias.
(I chose the notes for their specificity. The writers were clearly NPR listeners or readers. They cited specific stories, interviews or shows. I did not include in the analysis letters that generically attacked all news media, were making moral arguments about the war but not the journalism, or assigned blame to NPR for mistakes not made.)
I've read every note that has come in, as well as criticism on social media. I've listened to or read more than 115 NPR stories. In my view, the newsroom has done a commendable job. NPR's journalists have told exclusive stories from Israel and from Gaza. In an environment that is heated and complex, they have avoided significant errors.
Here are just a few of the powerful stories NPR has reported:
This details atrocities
