Haaretz

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Haaretz
Newspapers.jpg
Front page of the Hebrew and English editions
Type Daily Newspaper
Format Berliner
Owner Schocken Family
Editor Dov Alfon[1]
Associate editor Tammy Litani
Founded 1919
Language Hebrew & English editions
Headquarters Tel Aviv, Israel
Circulation 72,000
(Weekends: 100,000)[1]
Official website http://www.haaretz.co.il
http://www.haaretz.com

Haaretz (Hebrew: הארץ‎) (lit. "The Land", originally Hadashot Ha'aretz – "News of the Land"[2]) is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet. In North America, it comes out as a weekly newspaper, combining articles from the Friday edition with a roundup from the rest of the week.

Compared to other mass circulation papers in Israel, Haaretz uses smaller headlines and print. Less space is devoted to pictures, and more to political analysis. Its editorial pages are considered influential among government leaders.[3] Apart from the news, Haaretz publishes feature articles on social and environmental issues, as well as book reviews, investigative reporting and political commentary. The newspaper itself has reported a paid subscribership of 65,000, daily sales of 72,000 copies, and 100,000 on weekends.[4] The English edition has a subscriber base of 15,000.[5][6] During the last six months of 2009, Haaretz readership fell from 7.4 to 6.6 percent of the public.[7]

Despite its relatively low circulation, Haaretz is considered Israel's most influential daily newspaper.[8][9][10][11][12] Its readership includes Israel's intelligentsia and its political and economic elites.[12][13][14] Surveys show that Haaretz readership has a higher-than-average education, income, and wealth; most are Ashkenazis.[6][15] Shmuel Rosner, the newspaper's former U.S. correspondent, told The Nation, "people who read it are better educated and more sophisticated than most, but the rest of the country doesn't know it exists."[6]

Contents

[edit] History

Haaretz was first published in 1918 as a newspaper sponsored by the British military government in Palestine.[16] In 1919 it was taken over by Russian Zionists. Initially, it was called Hadashot Ha'aretz ("News of the Land [of Israel]"). From then until 2001, it was known as "Ha'aretz". The literary section of the paper attracted the leading Hebrew writers of the time.[17] It was first published in Jerusalem, but moved to Tel Aviv in 1922, under the editorship of Moshe Gluecksohn, who served as editor from 1922 to 1937.[18] Salman Schocken, a wealthy German Jewish Zionist who owned a chain of department stores in Germany, bought the paper in 1937. His son, Gershom Schocken, became the chief editor in 1939 and held that position until his death in 1990.[19]

[edit] Management

The newspaper's editorial policy was defined by Gershom Schocken, who was editor-in-chief from 1939 to 1990. Haaretz is owned by the Schocken family. The editor of the paper today is Dov Alfon, replacing David Landau in April 2008.[20] Landau succeeded Hanoch Marmari[21] and Yoel Esteron in April 2004. Adar Primor was the editor of Haaretz English Edition from 2005 to 2007. Charlotte Halle became managing editor of the English Print Edition in 2007 and editor of the English Print Edition in February 2008.

In August 2006, M. DuMont Schauberg acquired 25 percent of the shares of the Haaretz group.[22] This German publisher, based in Cologne, owns four daily newspapers and a dozen other publications. It is also a partial owner of various radio stations. The deal was negotiated with the help of former Israeli ambassador to Germany Avi Primor.[23]

[edit] Editorial policy and viewpoints

Haaretz describes itself as broadly liberal on domestic issues and international affairs.[24] It is described as liberal[25][26][27][28][29], left-wing,[30][31][32][33] and hard left.[34][35] J.J. Goldberg describes it as "Israel's most vehemently anti-settlement daily paper."[36] According to the BBC it has a moderate stance on foreign policy and security issues.[37] The newspaper's op-ed pages are open to a variety of opinions.[38] Rosner described the opinions as coming "from the right (not many), the center-right (still not many), the center (quite a few), the center-left (many), the far-left (let's say that Haaretz has more than its fair share coming from this political camp)."[39]

In 2001, the pro-Israel media-monitoring and advocacy group CAMERA claimed that Haaretz fueled anti-Israel bias.[40] A 2003 study in the The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics found that Haaretz reporting was more favorable to Israelis than Palestinians, and more likely to report stories from the Israeli side.[41] Israeli author Irit Linur canceled her subscription, accusing Haaretz' of an anti-Zionist theme that turns too often to "foolish" and "wicked" journalism.[42][43][44] Roni Daniel, the military and security correspondent for Israeli Channel 2 also canceled his subscription, citing the use of a television review section to criticize his correspondence.[45]

The Nation describes Haaretz as "Israel's liberal beacon," citing its editorials voicing opposition to the occupation, the security barrier, discriminatory treatment of Arab citizens, and the mindset that led to the Second Lebanon War.[6] Aijaz Ahmad, writing in Frontline, described Haaretz as "the most prestigious Israeli newspaper".[46]

According to The Jerusalem Post, in 2007 editor-in-chief David Landau said he had told his staff not to report about criminal investigations against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in order to promote Sharon's 2004–2005 Gaza disengagement plan.[47][48]

[edit] Internet editions

Haaretz operates both Hebrew[49] and English[50] language websites. The two sites offer up-to-the-minute breaking news, live Q&A sessions with newsmakers from Israel, Palestine and around the world, and blogs covering a range of political standpoints and opinions.

The number of visitors to the Haaretz website from the United States ranks second only to the number visiting the Jerusalem Post website, according to an independent study released in 2009, with 691,467 unique visitors per month compared to 1,454,649 for the Jerusalem Post. Summing the online readership of all American Jewish news sites produced a total of 808,516 visitors.[51]

Articles on both websites are open to readers' comments, though some, among them Haaretz writer Bradley Burston, feel that comments which promote extremism and hamper dialogue should be censored more aggressively.[52]

[edit] Internet blogs and columns

  • In September 2009, Haaretz.com launched a new blog by Tel Aviv University Professor Carlo Strenger, named 'Strenger than Fiction' [53]
  • Focus U.S.A.[54] – The newly launched blog by U.S. correspondent Natasha Mozgovaya. Mozgovaya replaced Shmuel Rosner as U.S. correspondent in August 2008. Rosner's blog was called 'Rosner's Domain' [55] and explored Israeli, American Jewish and Zionist issues in the United States.
  • 'A Special Place in Hell' is Bradley Burston's award-winning twice-weekly blog on Haaretz.com.[56]
  • Israeli President Shimon Peres formerly blogged exclusively for Haaretz.com.[57]

[edit] Editorial changes

Under Dov Alfon, major changes are taking place in Haaretz, including a return to more serious journalism, a turn to the left (including the return of World Press Freedom recipient Amira Hass to the newsroom) and the introduction of more cultural coverage in the news section.[58]

[edit] Notable journalists

[edit] Present

[edit] Past

[edit] Supplements and special features (print edition)

[edit] All week

  • News, op-eds, political commentary
  • Gallery (Culture, entertainment, television and radio listings)
  • TheMarker business supplement
  • Sudoku puzzle

[edit] Sunday

  • Sports (extended)

[edit] Wednesday

  • Musaf Hasfarim book supplement

[edit] Friday

  • Extended news coverage
  • Musaf Haaretz weekend magazine
  • Culture and literature
  • Real estate
  • Local news

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Dov Alfon named as new Haaretz editor-in-chief - Haaretz - Israel News
  2. ^ http://www.pressreference.com/Gu-Ku/Israel.html
  3. ^ Beckerman, Gal (September/October 2005). "Disengaged". Columbia Journalism Review. http://cjrarchives.org/issues/2005/5/beckerman.asp. Retrieved 2007-06-21. 
  4. ^ Haaretz service. Dov Alfon named as new Haaretz editor-in-chief. Haaretz, Feb 13, 2008.
  5. ^ Haaretz stuff (2007-10-26). "Subscribe to Haaretz". Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/objects/pages/SubscribeEn.jhtml. 
  6. ^ a b c d Stephen Glazin (2007-09-06). "Ha'aretz, Israel's Liberal Beacon". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070924/glain. 
  7. ^ Li-Or Averbuch (27 January 10). "TGI survey shows "Globes" only paper to grow". Globes. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000534102&fid=942. Retrieved 27 January 2010. 
  8. ^ Lucy Dean, ed. The Middle East and North Africa 2004. Europa Publications, 2004.
  9. ^ Norman G. Finkelstein. Beyond Chutzpah. University of California Press, 2008.
  10. ^ Michael Karpin. The Bomb in the Basement. Simon & Schuster, 2006.
  11. ^ Irshad Manji. The Trouble with Islam Today. St. Martin's Press, 2003.
  12. ^ a b Rebecca L. Torstrick. Culture and Customs of Israel. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006
  13. ^ Idith Zertal, Chaya Galai. Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
  14. ^ Elizabeth Poole, John E. Richardson. Muslims and the News Media. I.B.Tauris, 2006/
  15. ^ Dan Caspi, Yehiel Limor. The IN/Outsiders: Mass Media in Israel. Hampton Press, 1999. p. 79.
  16. ^ TAU- Institute of Jewish Press and Communications- The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Center
  17. ^ Encyclopedia Judaica, Newspapers, Hebrew, vol. 12, Keter Books, Jerusalem, 1978
  18. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=51345&contrassID=2&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0
  19. ^ A newspaper's mission - Haaretz - Israel News
  20. ^ http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,599005,00.html
  21. ^ Hanoch Marmari speaks about Haaretz http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:fIMAMItDFyMJ:www.pij.org/details.php%3Fid%3D376+gershom+gustav+schocken&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4
  22. ^ M. DuMont Schauberg. Press-release. Last accessed: 16 August 2009.
  23. ^ Germany's DuMont invests 25m euros in Haaretz, Haaretz, August 13, 2006.
  24. ^ Haaretz.com. About Haaretz. Accessed July 24, 2008.
  25. ^ Dan Caspi. Media Decentralization: The Case of Israel's Local Newspapers. Transaction Publishers, 1986.
  26. ^ Ira Sharkansky. The Politics of Religion and the Religion of Politics: Looking at Israel. Lexington Books, 2000.
  27. ^ Rebecca L. Torstrick. Culture and Customs of Israel. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006
  28. ^ Idith Zertal, Chaya Galai. Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood. Cambridge University Press, 2005
  29. ^ BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israeli media vents fury at Likud
  30. ^ http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/01/31/israels_olmert_looks_to_extend_west_bank_barrier/
  31. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3451497.stm
  32. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL24528048
  33. ^ http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_RGNGSVV
  34. ^ Intermountain Jewish News
  35. ^ Evelin Gordon, Listen to the Left
  36. ^ Are Religious Soldiers To Blame for Alleged Abuse? J.J. Goldberg, The Forward, April 3, 2009.
  37. ^ "The press in Israel". bbc.co.uk. 8 May 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4969714.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-14. 
  38. ^ Sharkansky, Ira (2005). Governing Israel: Chosen People, Promised Land, & Prophetic Tradition. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers. p. 43. http://books.google.com/books?id=dlhmWNcqlrAC&pg=PA43. 
  39. ^ Rosner, Shmuel (April 20, 2006). "The Walt-Mearsheimer study and the Haaretz factor". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerBlog.jhtml?itemNo=707621. Retrieved October 21, 2009. 
  40. ^ http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=55&x_article=171
  41. ^ Matt Viser. Attempted objectivity: An analysis of the New York Times and Ha'aretz and their portrayals of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics. 2003, Vol. 8, No. 4, 114–120.
  42. ^ Irit Linur's letter (quotation) News First Class (Hebrew)
    - Translation: it is a person's right to be a radical leftist, and publish a newspaper in accordance to his world view... However "Haaretz" reached a stage where its anti-Zionism turns too frequently to foolish and wicked journalism. Original:
    זכותו של אדם להיות שמאלני-רדיקלי, ולהוציא עיתון בהתאם להשקפת עולמו... אבל "הארץ" הגיע לשלב בו האנטי-ציונות שלו הופכת לעתים קרובות מדי לעיתונות מטופשת ומרושעת.
  43. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=209509&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y "Readers accused us of being anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-Zionist" "A prominent Israeli best-selling author sent us a letter canceling her subscription and accusing us of being foolishly and wickedly anti-Zionist."
  44. ^ http://www.ajpme.org/articles/operationd.htm "Ha'aretz, is currently the target of a consumer boycott for its alleged anti-Zionist tendencies. One-time leftist Irit Linor triggered the campaign by publicly canceling her subscription. "I don't want to be a subscriber to a newspaper that makes me ashamed of my Zionism, my patriotism, and my intelligence, three traits I hold dear," Linor wrote. The letter, published on a leading Israeli news site, provoked an unprecedented number of responses. Some 300 surfers wrote in, the overwhelming majority to support Linor, and even to announce that they too were canceling their subscriptions to Ha'aretz."
  45. ^ שכניק, רז (2009-01-16). "עד מתי אוקטובר 65'" (in Hebrew). מוסף "7 לילות" של "ידיעות אחרונות". 
  46. ^ Israel's colonial war Frontline
  47. ^ Limmud diary: Creme de la Kremlin?
  48. ^ Media Matters: Peripheral vision - one Acre and half a dunam
  49. ^ חדשות, ידיעות מהארץ והעולם - עיתון הארץ
  50. ^ Haaretz Daily Newspaper Israel, Israeli News Source
  51. ^ Study: 'Post' Web site leads US Jewish market, Jerusalem Post, September 2, 2009
  52. ^ Ten ways to make sure that peace stays dead - Haaretz - Israel News
  53. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/strenger
  54. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/mozgovaya
  55. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/rosner
  56. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/762913.html
  57. ^ Haaretz Online, Shimon Peres (2007-11-07). "Peres Online". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/peres. 
  58. ^ http://www.liberation.fr/monde/0101317100-haaretz-l-agora-d-israel
  59. ^ Haaretz.com senior editor Bradley Burston wins award for Mideast journalism - Haaretz - Israel News
  60. ^ Haaretz correspondent Akiva Eldar wins Mideast journalism award - Haaretz - Israel News
  61. ^ Fellow journalists to honor Haaretz commentator Yoel Marcus in Eilat - Haaretz - Israel News
  62. ^ http://www.indopubs.com/is4.html
  63. ^ Special Report
  64. ^ a b Haaretz reporters Klein, Reznick win Sokolov Award for Journalism - Haaretz - Israel News
  65. ^ Haaretz journalist Ehud Asheri dies of cancer at 57 - Haaretz - Israel News
  66. ^ (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/905834.html)
  67. ^ The long goodbye - Haaretz - Israel News
  68. ^ Daniel Ben-Simon: Why I'm leaving journalism for politics - Haaretz - Israel News
  • Le Figaro, page 20, August 14 2006 (DuMont Schauberg's purchase of 25 percent of shares of the Haaretz group)

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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