GOP backer Adelson accused of commandeering Israel's media market

[TomCADem]

Source: Christian Science Monitor

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson grabbed the spotlight in the US earlier this year for making multi-million dollar campaign contributions to Republican presidential candidates on the bet that their policies would better jibe with those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than with President Obama's.

In Israel, Mr. Adelson is better known as the force behind the five-year-old free newspaper, "Yisrael Hayom" (Israel Today), which is seen by some as the Israeli print equivalent of Fox News. Touting Israeli patriotism, it is among the most widely read newspapers in the country and has a reputation for its fiercely loyal coverage of Mr. Netanyahu – and now Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Adelson rejects accusations of bias, insisting in a previous interview that his paper is a "fair and balanced" alternative to other newspapers more critical of the government and that he is breaking rival newspaper Yediot Ahranot's monopoly on the market. Many Israelis nonetheless see the paper as a political vehicle to support the prime minster, and now, American Republican politicians. And with other newspapers floundering financially while Adelson puts his substantial wealth behind Yisrael Hayom, some worry that he is squeezing other political ideologies out of the market.

"You can see completely biased coverage always emphasizing good news for the Republicans, or always hiding or eliminating bad news for the Republicans," says Oren Persico, who writes a daily analysis of print news coverage for Israel’s media magazine "The Seventh Eye." "It's one-sided, so Israelis will stand behind Romney."


Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0924/GOP-backer-Adelson-accused-of-commandeering-Israel-s-media-market

[SunSeeker]

1. Sheldon Adelson is a cross between Bugsy Siegel and Rupert Murdoch. nt

[Raster]

2. Dear Israel, Worry.

We have discovered here in America that when a "news outlet" deems themselves "fair and balanced," they are usually neither.

Adelson is indeed trying to squeeze other political ideologies out of the market. Only ideology matters to Adelson: his own.

Today Adelson and his "Yisrael Hayom" (Israel Today) rapidly support Mr. Netanyahu – and now Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

As for tomorrow...?

[M_M]

3. ...

Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson grabbed the spotlight in the US earlier this year for making multi-million dollar campaign contributions to Republican presidential candidates on the bet that their policies would better jibe with those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than with President Obama's.

Excuse me???

[mopinko]

4. and what has netanyahu done for sheldon?

where is the money in this? he must get something out of it.

[bemildred]

5. Adelson appears to be a very stupid man.

Or else desperate, I don't see why he needs to throw all this money away.

[azurnoir]

6. PHOTOS: As Israeli outlets face collapse, media workers protest

Several hundreds workers of the Maariv daily – the 3rd largest in Israel – held a protest this afternoon, occasionally blocking traffic on one of Tel Aviv’s busiest highways. Maariv was reported to have been sold by its owner, business tycoon Nochi Dankner, to rightwing publisher Shlomo Ben-Zvi. It was made public yesterday that the 2,000 people working at the paper will be fired, and only several hundred may be re-hired under the new ownership. The newly formed union of Maariv workers has also discovered that there aren’t any funds left to pay the compensation required by the law for employees who have been let go.

.........................................................................

Journalists are also expressing concern over the fate of Channel 10, which has been facing the threat of immediate closure for over a year, as the Knesset has refused shareholder request to postpone the payment of a relatively modest license fee. In the past, it was said that Netanyahu’s coalition was reluctant to help the channel after it aired some investigative pieces critical of the prime minister and his wife. Journalists working for Channel 10 have recently formed a new union, and are threatening to disrupt broadcasting if major cuts do take place.

Perhaps the only media organization that won’t face cuts or a threat of closure is the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom, today the most widely read paper in Israel. Israel Hayom is published and distributed for free, at considerable loss, by Sheldon Adelson, an American billionaire and a close friend and supporter of Netanyahu

http://972mag.com/photos-as-israeli-outlets-face-collapse-media-workers-protest/55667/