The same journalist is not alone, also a senior presenter on another channel, testifies that he cannot "trust blindly" those who whisper in his ears during the broadcast.
that he cannot trust his editor
A veteran journalist, in the past a respected field reporter, and now one of the well-known commentators in the major television studios, put it simply: "All in all, I have no one to consult here."
He did not mean fateful personal issues, or the question of which coffee capsule to use in the system's kitchen - he meant that he felt that there was no professional authority above him, of significant specific weight, that could help him improve his journalistic work, and that could be an address to a real professional dilemma that he would face .
The same journalist is not alone, also a senior presenter on another channel, testifies that he cannot "trust blindly" those who whisper in his ears during the broadcast.
that he cannot trust his editor.
In fact, he revealed that after being deceived once on air and "paying a heavy price for it on Twitter", he decided "to trust nothing but himself".
But who needs witnesses or experts.
It is enough to take a look at all the channels for one random week: the viewer who is up to the task, is guaranteed plenty of empty statements by guests, politicians and journalists - without coverage, which receive no factual counterpoint, or fact-checking.
To these are added horizontal and specific editorial errors and ethical lapses, which often lead to public criticism and certainly do not contribute to the measure of trust in journalists.
Add to all of this the carelessness, amateurism and sometimes the glaring lack of knowledge that finds its expression on the screen itself in "Stripes" and "Superim" - the graphic captions that appear along the screen and are supposed to summarize the essence of the item, or indicate who the speaker is in the program.
Try to remember how many of these you have spotted yourself, and what you thought about those editors in the news release who for long seconds did not notice the mistake at all.
There is no management reserve.
Editing room (Photo: Reuven Castro)
When was the last time a news release on one of the four major channels in Israel aired a significant story that was the result of editing?
of an idea thrown into the air by an editor, which is properly managed so that in the end it reaches the screen with a significant journalistic achievement?
These are not only mistakes and professional and ethical negligence, but also a heavy and prolonged feeling of the lack of spirit and creativity in the planning of the lineup, and a general feeling of burnout and petrified automaticity of thinking, which is no more dangerous for the press and the purposes it comes to serve.
When was the last time a news release on one of the four major channels in Israel aired a significant story that was the result of editing?
of an idea thrown into the air by an editor, which is properly managed so that in the end it reaches the screen with a significant journalistic achievement?
The reasons for all of this are many and complex, but it seems that one of the main ones has not been addressed - the fact that the Israeli news industry on television has been missing, for many years, editors of stature, and if we look a little forward honestly - it does not seem that its managers understand the depth of the problem and are trying to deal with it.
Even among the "editing flowers", no significant names stand out, which can be estimated to be able to lead the editorial avenue in the field of television news within a few years, if at all they survive the news mill.
It is indeed a slow and crawling process, but all the parties we spoke with in preparation for this article agreed that there is indeed a significant problem in the field of news editing and in the cultivation of professionals whose experience, professionalism and even taste the systems can rely on, in order to provide a professional news service to the Israeli public.
Most of the people we spoke with, journalists at the country's largest news organizations, even linked some of the recent journalistic malfunctions in the news broadcasts of channels 12 and 13, the number of which is only increasing, directly to the lack of a quality editorial avenue.
Contempt for the classical editing craft
Fake news can actually increase the number of exposures in the feed, since it naturally and quickly generates controversy, and allows extremists to voice their position - which encourages traffic, increases income and ultimately raises the profit line of the media giants
How did all this actually happen?
The first reason is related
to the blurring of the editor's status and role definition
.
The young surfers and viewers have gotten used to consuming the news content through the social network feed, where, as we know, there is no editor, and there is even a certain disdain for the classic editing job.
For the surfer, or the average viewer, the historical journalistic hierarchy has actually been erased - usually in favor of more popular or profitable content.
In addition, as is known, despite all the efforts, apparent or not apparent, of the managements of the social networks - especially Facebook and Twitter - there is no check, or verification, of the truth of the information that appears in them.
On the contrary, fake news can actually increase the amount of exposures in the feed, since it naturally and quickly generates controversy, and allows extremists to voice their position - which encourages traffic, increases income and ultimately raises the profit line of the media giants.
Rather, the rampage of fake news on the networks illustrates how important the skillful, responsible and balanced hand of an editor is - who knows how to direct the reporter to collect and publish the accurate information and also to give it a broad context and an ethical framework.
To all of these we have to add the fierce competition, which is only getting stronger and stronger, between the Israeli news systems,
in a world where economic-media stability is becoming increasingly unstable: the raging competition between the players has become fiercer, as has the responsibility on the shoulders of the editor to "provide results".
A pullback in the ratings of the strip that the same journalist edits will be written first and foremost on his head - and not many are willing to take this personal and professional risk, certainly not in an era where the workers in this (in any case) unrewarding field prefer to get on the fast track to sitting as commentators in studios, and not bother In journalistic manual labor, ungrateful, behind the scenes.
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One of the most complex tasks.
Editing a news edition (photo: screenshot, Keshet 12)
The salary increases accordingly
The need for editors of stature for news programs, current affairs and docu is so high that the salary offered by the managers of the news companies and production houses to senior editors has been increasing in recent years, approaching the salaries of the senior talent who appear on the screen itself
Instead of the experienced editors, who are not willing to take a risk that will damage their professional image, and are not willing to withstand the pressures of the ratings and the pressures of the management and the owners, the directors of the news companies are forced to appoint young and inexperienced content editors, in places where in the past they kept their eyes on figures who were considered light and dark from a journalistic point of view.
And these, those young editors, have to whisper in their ear, or make decisions in front of veteran, respected and experienced journalists.
This gap creates, more than once, internal and administrative crises within the program systems.
To that you have to add meeting the pressures of live broadcasting and one of the main jobs in the world of television, managing a live broadcast in control, which is considered complex, exhausting and threatening - and you got an explanation why the younger generation of journalists is moving away from the editing positions, and refuses to have their headphones close to them in control.
Add to that the sad fact that no journalistic organization in Israel has an organized training track for editing and managing a team, and the result will continue to write itself.
The need for editors of stature for news programs, current affairs and docu is so high that the salary offered by the managers of the news companies and production houses to senior editors has been increasing in recent years, approaching the salaries of the senior talent who appear on the screen itself.
And in the background the systemic bleeding of most traditional media outlets increases - the result is an entire and lost generation of editors.
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