How The Media Loves A Good Stone-Throwing (Updated)

Professional journalists in action:

But why settle for a picture when you can bring along a video camera and take pictures of kids throwing stones at cars passing by.

And if one of the kids gets hit by the car while you're standing by watching--well, that makes for an even better story:




The Daily Mail opens with a headline meant to entice rather than inform: Pictured: The moment an Israeli motorist runs down a Palestinian boy in East Jerusalem:

Dramatic images have emerged of the moment an Israeli motorist drove straight into a young Palestinian boy in East Jerusalem today.

The child had been part of a group throwing stones at Israeli cars following news the country's military had killed two Hamas militants in the West Bank city of Hebron earlier on Friday.

Amazingly the boy only sustained 'light injuries' after being thrown into the air by the vehicle and twisting over its roof.

I suppose we should be thankful that they managed to mention the rocks by the second paragraph.

The majority of the boys, with their t-shirts wrapped round their heads to disguise their identity, were lined up on either side of the road near a zebra crossing ready to attack the vehicle.

Two members of the group were positioned in the centre of the road - leading to the collision, with the motorist apparently driving straight into one of the boys.

If the intent was to run down the the boys, why did he honk his horn?
Also, right after the boy is hit, the car comes to a complete stop--and does not leave until the boy moves to get up.

Now why would he leave the scene?
As Elder of Ziyon points out, the rear window was smashed in--not an inducement to get out of the car and help out. He notes that of all the pictures, that picture does not appear in the article.

Here, let me help:

But the photographers got what they wanted, just as they did in the first photo above--and if goading kids into throwing rocks at moving cars is the only way to get the pictures they want, well...that's journalism.

UPDATE: Check out Elder of Ziyon's update. One thing he notes is that the car swerves to the right to avoid one of the younger kids--you can see one of the youngest boys running up on the left side of the street.

Media Backspin which gives 4 Reasons Why Silwan Photographs Reek of a Set-Up

• 1. The Location
• 2. The Photographers' Positions
• 3. Reactions to the Hit and Run
• 4. The Dynamics of Staged Stone-Throwing Incidents

Check it out.

Rounding things out is the account of the boy who was hit--with no mention of the fact he was throwing rocks at the car, or that he was standing in the middle of the street. The father says, "the boy is still hallucinating"--but then again, so is anyone else who cannot see that this was a setup.

Technorati Tag: Silwan and Media Bias.