Dear TVNZ: The most contemptible piece of ‘journalism’ we have ever seen

Last Sunday morning TVNZ’s Q and A current affairs programme broadcast a 45-minute interview with the Israeli ambassador conducted by TVNZ senior reporter/presenter Jack Tame.  The interview breached all the standards of decent journalism. In other words it was offensive, discriminatory, inaccurate and grossly unfair.

It wasn’t journalism – it was 45-minutes of uninterrupted and unchallenged Israeli lies, misinformation and previously-debunked propaganda. It was outrageous. It was despicable. The country which for six months has conducted genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza was given free reign to pour streams of the most vile fabrications and misinformation against Palestinians directly into the homes of New Zealanders. And without a murmur of protest from Jack Tame. Even the most egregious lies such as the ‘beheaded babies’ myth were allowed to be broadcast without challenge despite this Israeli propaganda having been discredited months ago.

The interview showed utter contempt for Palestine and Palestinians as well as New Zealanders who were assailed with this stream of racist deceits and falsehoods with Q and A as the conduit. 

Tame contented himself with nodding at almost every falsehood told and even offered the Israeli ambassador leading propaganda phrases such as the falsehood of the Palestinian resistance using “human shields”.

There was no holding the genocidal state of Israel to account – no questions about the grave breaches of international law or war crimes such as collective punishment or the use of starvation as a weapon of war. Nothing about the genocidal statements from Israel’s political and military leaders and how these genocidal intentions are being put into practice. Nothing but a few token pushbacks about the number of Palestinians who have been slaughtered in Israel’s Killing Field of Gaza.

And of course, as is typical with western media, and Television New Zealand in particular, Palestinians and Palestinian viewpoints were nowhere to be seen.

From the outset there was barely any pretence of journalistic independence with the interview taking place at the Israeli embassy in Wellington backed by Israeli and New Zealand flags which “bond” the countries and the people together as “fellow-travellers”.

We insist that:

TVNZ issue a public apology to the people of New Zealand for this journalistic debacle and that you as TVNZ Head of News and Current Affairs take responsibility and resign.
TVNZ publicly identifies and apologises for the lies and misinformation presented by the Israeli ambassador without challenge from Jack Tame.
TVNZ give Palestinian voices the same time as the Israeli ambassador to respond to the ambassador’s lies and misinformation.
TVNZ conduct an open inquiry into its reporting failures over the past six months whereby it has consistently prioritised Israeli spokespeople, Israeli justifications, Israeli explanations and Israeli propaganda while sidelining and ignoring Palestinian viewpoints.