Today, on Lag B’omer, Jews around Israel have lit bonfires. Some even used the excuse to have a BBQ.
It so happens, I enjoyed a fine BBQ last night at the home of my friend Joe Hyams, CEO of Honest Reporting. Which is appropriate, given the grilling Honest Reporting has served up. But the subject is not a cow – it is a purveyor of bovine excrement, Luke Baker, Reuters Israel bureau chief.
And what a fine (non-Mexican) meal it is.
Luke Baker, a man who openly expresses disdain and dislike for Israel is the Jerusalem bureau chief of Reuters, one of the world’s largest news services. He is also the outgoing chairperson of Israel’s Foreign Press Association (FPA).
Baker’s behavior on Twitter has given a window into his personal views, and those views are not at all impartial when it comes to Israel.
On the contrary, Baker’s tweets have been mocking, sarcastic, negative, and dismissive with regard to Israel and only with regard to Israel. Based on HonestReporting’s research, Baker has rarely, if ever, demonstrated such behavior or views toward Palestinians or toward any other party in the world.
Is this even allowed?
No.
The Reuters Handbook of Journalism states:
Everything we do as Reuters journalists has to be independent, free from biasand executed with the utmost integrity. These are our core values and stem from the Reuters Trust Principles.
Furthermore, “The 10 Absolutes of Reuters Journalism” includes that a Reuters journalist must “Always strive for balance and freedom from bias” and “Always guard against putting their opinion in a news story.”
Read the whole thing.
As Joe is quoted as saying:
Luke Baker has failed his employers at Reuters, the journalists he has served as head of the FPA, and the millions of readers around the world who rely on his work for fair and accurate news about Israel: the very country that Baker so strongly and openly disdains. Reuters deserves better, the community of professional journalists deserve better, news audiences deserve better. And yes, Israel deserves better too.
True that. Here’s what we can do:
It’s time that Reuters was made aware of Baker’s unprofessional behavior. Please send an email of complaint to senior Reuters staff by clicking here or manually sending to [email protected] and/or [email protected].
