BIAS VS. BALANCE IN MIDDLE-EAST REPORTING November 28, 2025
Just as the Israel-Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran conflict seems perpetually muddled despite ceasefires, so does reporting on the region. Does mainstream journalism adhere to the objectivity it holds dear?
On last Saturday’s PBS Weekend News, Leila Molana-Allen presented a televised report from Lebanon on Israeli air strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs. This, despite Israel reaching a ceasefire with Hezbollah one year ago.
This past Wednesday, Roger Cohen, the New York Times’ Paris bureau chief, reported on the situation from southern Lebanon and Beirut, northern Israel and Istanbul. Photographer David Guttenfelder provided visual context.
Who, if either, presented an unbiased story?
In my opinion, Molana-Allen did not. To be fair, her piece was aired at eight-and-a-half-minutes. The length is modest but provides time to give meaningful weight to “the other side’s” story.
The Times online gave Cohen ample word count to tell his story and screen space for Guttenfelder’s photos. Readers could linger on the Times story. Likewise, viewers of Molana-Allen’s PBS piece can see it online, pausing and rewinding at will.
As to Moana-Allen, I don’t question her bona fides. Born and raised in London in a first-generation British-Iranian family, she has assembled a resume revealing a wealth of experience. Further, the PBS host, Ali Rogin, who introduced Moana-Allen’s report, mentioned that Israel had said it was targeting Hamas members.
The report opened with scenes of destruction in a refugee camp. Believable to be sure. Moana-Allen did state that the IDF said the target was a Hamas training site. Local residents denied that. Understandable. The camera then focused on wounded children and shocked parents.
But Moana-Allen undertook what seemed an unsettling role in the story. We see her playing with a girl and her doll. Moana-Allen sits on a couch with her arm around another girl. Does she want the girls to be comfortable in front of the camera? Perhaps. Yet Moana-Allen seems more like a family friend.
Scenes follow of destruction in a southern Beirut suburb—a Hezbollah stronghold. In the remains of an apartment, Moana-Allen hugs and kisses the woman of the house. Also to make her more comfortable? Then she pats the woman on the arm to sympathize. I also sympathize—but the journalist seems very involved with her subject.
Video shows more destruction. Then Moana-Allen, smiling, is seated next to a man on a couch. Scenes of destruction continue. She acknowledges that the IDF said a destroyed building was a Hezbollah command center. Then she hugs and pats the hands of a grieving grandmother.
A concluding title states that Israel has invaded Lebanon four times since 1978. PBS makes no mention of Hezbollah’s attacking Israel one day after October 7.
Cohen, who is Jewish but not, as I’ve long read him, a supporter of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, takes a different approach. He interviews Israelis and Lebanese on either side of the troubled border. In Istanbul, American ambassador Tom Barrack—a friend of Donald Trump—asks: “How many more generations do you want to kill each other?”
My answer to Barrack: None. The time for peace is now. Sadly, the conditions to achieve it remain challenging.
In her report, is Leila Moana-Allen a journalist or a propagandist? Both? See her piece. Does Cohen represent objective journalism? Read his story.
Then, you decide.
Please pass this on. And, despite the state of the world, I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.
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