Protesters Stage 'Die-In' outside Australian Media Offices over Biased Gaza Reporting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Activists dressed in the blue press vests of Palestinian journalists staged a 'die-in' demonstration outside the Melbourne office of a major Australian news organization, condemning biased reporting of Israel's killing of 95 journalists in Gaza.
The 'die-in' protest, where participants lay on the ground outside the building, aimed to challenge Australian media's "censorship, bias, and conflicts of interest" in reporting on Palestine, specifically targeting The Age newspaper, a part of the Nine Network.
Matt Hrkac, one of the activists, highlighted that despite building management urging police to disperse the crowd, law enforcement permitted the demonstration to continue.
Citing a report by Islamophobia Register Australia, activists accused Nine Network's 9News of unbalanced reporting on Gaza, lacking in humanizing language for Palestinians. Free Palestine Melbourne criticized Australian journalists for biased reporting propaganda trips to Israel, claiming this compromised their impartiality.
The group referenced an open letter signed by 337 Australian journalists demanding unbiased coverage on Palestine, urging ethical reporting, avoidance of 'both-sideism,' emphasis on civilian casualties, skepticism towards Israeli sources, and diverse staff representation in media coverage.
Responding to this, Sydney Morning Herald and The Age executive editor Tory Maguire stated that signatories of the petition would be barred from reporting on the war on Gaza, emphasizing the media's commitment to ethical journalism.
Protesters called for Australian media to adhere to the letter's demands, urging an end to editorial control by journalists who had accepted trips to Israel and accurate reporting of cross-community support for Palestine.
Furthermore, in a pre-dawn action, 40 portraits of slain Palestinian journalists were displayed at ABC offices, shedding light on the silence around their deaths, but security swiftly removed the posters.
