16 thoughts on “Hey, MSM: What Are We, Chopped Liver? – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. “what do we as bloggers … want from them? What do we have the right to expect? And how should we go about getting it? ”

    Well, I think there’s a problem here because for your main audience you fit the criteria of The Enemy – You’re a Jew and an American. So, to reach the main media, you should use an Arab pen name and translate your blog to Arabic.

    1. your main audience you fit the criteria of The Enemy

      You have no idea what is my “main audience.” It’s not Arabs or Muslims in case that was your assumption. My main audience is human beings. Am I the ‘Enemy’ of human beings?? And even tose who are Muslim do not see me as “the Enemy.” I’m afraid these ‘problems’ are all in YOUR head & NOT my audience’s.

      1. I’m speaking marketing wise. Audience has a double meaning. I’m not talking about the people YOU are addressing, but about the potential “clients” to your blog.

        Segmenting your potential clients I think there are:

        “The Richard-s”: “the progressives”. Left thinking, probably Jews (so they’re interested in Israel), possibly other left wing intellectuals.

        “The Avi-s”: People opposing your views. Again (and for the same reasons but even more so) Jews. Possibly some Israelis.

        “The Others”

        Now, who are the others? By definition they’re not Jews (because those were covered above). They are interested enough in Israel to read a blog that’s very Israel centered. They sympathize with the message of the blog which, according to what I’ve read, is criticizing Israel.

        Ask any marketing man who those others are.

        Get a Muslim Arab friend as a “front” and publicize your posts translated to Arabic. You might be a hit.

        (P.S. – If you have any demographics of your blog that contradict what I’ve written above – I’d be delighted to read them).

        1. Regardless of what I think about your proposed idea, your logic is flawed. You think the blog does not currently reach its potential “mainstream audience” because it is not written in Arabic. And then you say you’d be delighted to read the blog’s statistics and find out they contradict your notion that a large chunk of the audience is fluent in Arabic. Wouldn’t you need to have the blog translated first?

        2. I don’t much go in for “fronts.” I don’t know whether you understand the highly negative connotation of the word in English, but fronts don’t work well whether they’re exploited by the MFA, Mossad or anyone else. As for Arab audience, I think I prob. have a pretty substantial Arab-Muslim audience (not maybe compared to an Arab or Muslim blog, but compared to a non-Arab, non-Muslim blog). I can tell I have readers in a number of Muslim countries. Haven’t checked my Alexa country rankings but I imagine they would confirm this.

          1. @Richard: My English isn’t the best but I was aware of the Woody Allen’s movie “the front” where the hero served as a front to blacklisted authors – a positive connotation.

            @Shai: Richard’s current readers are (I believe) Jews, Israelis and (as confirmed by Richard) Arab-Muslims. What I’m saying is that because of Anti-American Anti-Jewish sentiments in the Arab-Muslims segment, the segment could explode (pun intended) if the blog’s message was from a non-American, non-Jewish source.

          2. Ah well, in the context in which you used the term relating to having an Arab or Muslim “front”, & as it would relate to me or my reputation it would be quite negative. But I understand that you associated it with a film in which Woody Allen being a “front” was actually a good thing in the context of a very bad situation.

            But generally, intelligence agencies like Mossad & CIA use “fronts” all the time. A pretty negative term generally in English.

        3. “They sympathize with the message of the blog which, according to what I’ve read, is criticizing Israel.
          Ask any marketing man who those others are.”

          Are you saying that any non-Jewish person interested in criticism of Israel is likely to be an Arab or did you have anti-semites in mind? Now both of those groups would be interested in criticism of Israel, but there are also others–for instance (and this is just one example of several I could think of), Americans who don’t like it when our country supports large-scale human rights violations. I’d personally be less interested in Israel’s violations if we weren’t so tightly linked to what they do.

  2. Richard,

    These are some great reflections. Without a doubt, the images that control the minds no longer come only from large, regulated cash cow enterprises known as News Corp. or whatnot or on the pages of the Old Grey Lady, but rather, from the uncontrollable, vastly unlimited, but globally interconnected real-time Internet. Indeed, this new medium has changed the definition of what it means to be a journalist forever. With a computer and an internet connection, anyone can break the latest video, pictures, stories, sounds and images from major world events in real time. Literally, rather than hear the recollection of the story from a reporter in front of a camera with a slideshow and voice over, one can actually empathize with someone RIGHT IN THE THICK of an uprising for freedom in Iran and see their videos as they upload them from their mobile phones.

    So, as it turns out, you are the next iteration of the mainstream media. Without your blog and those of others, there would be only one narrative. God knows what the IDF or Knesset would do if humanity didn’t have heroes like you to hold them accountable for it. If they didn’t think the Mavi Marmara was an evil act, they surely won’t do it again anyway thanks to the fact that you and others held them accountable on these blogs (even for their cover up in the aftermath) and forced them to concentrate on hiring amateur public relations people to cover up instead of taking responsibility for their mistake and not shattering their global image further (by acting defiant, even in the face of evidenced guilt).

  3. I’m surprised you’ve not had more success with some of the progressive press. You do good work and the Nation, at least, supports Phil Weiss to some extent (unless I’m mistaken).

    As for the MSM, they are the “enemy”, so to speak. I’m pleasantly shocked to see anyone or anything decent published in their pages on human rights issues when the US or one of its close allies (like Israel) are involved. It happens, of course, but more often one sees the story diluted or reported in some whitewashed fashion. You or people with your views will get regular access to (for example) the NYT opinion pages when or if enough mainstream political figures begin saying openly that Israel’s behavior is harmful to our national interest (a phrase I hate, but that’s how those people talk).

    1. Actually, Phil’s blog is part of the Nation Institute family & he’s written at least one cover story for The Nation. Haven’t had any success with the Nation. They ran one piece of mine online but only after accepting it then not running it, w. me all along hectoring them about when it would run. It finally did, but my pride was wounded & I won’t do that again. I should add that they’ve also rejected many queries.

      1. Yeah, that’s what I don’t get. Phil is good, but so are you. Maybe they think they just need one person in that niche, but I ‘m just guessing. In your shoes I’d feel the way you do.

        1. Um, that said, I hope you don’t let it get to you too much. Take some comfort in the fact that a fair number of people interested in the subject recognize the worth of your blog.

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