....then THAT's a serious infringement of press freedom. Israel is damned either way for having a free press and free market. Freedom House was determined to downgrade Israel's free press rating and pulled this Hayom bullshit out of their asses, especially compared to other countries downgraded for REAL reasons like harrassing, arresting & assassinating reporters, censoring news, banning papers...

There isn't another country whose media is more critical of their government than Israel and that's a fact. Israel's media is far more free than the USA, which graded out better from Freedom House.

Also, the UK has popular free newspapers like the Evening Standard while other pay newspapers are failing there. But the UK's rating is Free.

Who really takes this idiotic schlock from the NYT seriously? This is bush league journalism (propaganda).

Source: +972 Mag, April 29, 2016

Freedom House has downgraded its ranking of Israel’s media from ‘free’ to ‘partly free,’ citing closer ties to the government and a spike in paid media content. But it has one flagrant omission: Israel’s poor treatment of Palestinian journalists.

Freedom House, the U.S.-based watchdog NGO that reports on the state of civil liberties around the world, has downgraded its ranking of Israel’s media from “free” to “partly free” in its 2016 Freedom of the Press Report. The authors of the report cite the influence of the free daily newspaper Israel Hayom, which is owned and subsidized at a huge loss by American casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is an unabashed patron of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel Hayom pursues an editorial agenda that is overtly partisan toward Netanyahu, which is why it is often referred to as the “Bibiton,” a portmanteau of the Hebrew word for “newspaper” and the Israeli leader’s nickname, Bibi. The report also cites the “unchecked expansion” of paid media content, which is not always clearly identified. It notes that this paid content is sometimes funded by the government.

This is not the first time Israel’s ranking has been downgraded. In its 2013 report Freedom House based a downgrade on several factors, most prominently on the indictment of Uri Blau, an investigative reporter for Haaretz, for possession of state secrets in the IDF whistleblower Anat Kamm case. Nor is this the first time Freedom House has noted the influence of Israel Hayom on Israel’s press freedom: The free daily was cited in the 2013 report as well, for having “threatened the sustainability of other papers and contributed to the collapse and buyout of the daily Maariv.”

The free/partly free ranking is a matter of just a few points in their methodology, pointed out Freedom House’s Sarah Repucci, who heads up the publication of the annual Freedom of the Press Report. She added, “We use detailed methodology. Israel shifted only two points this year.”

There was some outrage in right-wing circles over the downgrade, with Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin quoting a couple of DC-based neo-cons to support her claim that the report was an example of anti-Israel bias.

Read more: http://972mag.com/partly-free-the-real-state-of-israeli-press-freedom-is-much-worse/118928/

The ranking went down 2 points, which put Israel in a different bracket. Not a big deal, actually...

Last edited Mon Aug 1, 2016, 06:24 AM - Edit history (1)

Israel: Has one online newspaper that receives funding from a right wing American and Netanyahu speaks to this newspaper

Turkey: Issues arrest warrants for 89 journalists, closes 3 news agencies, 45 newspapers, 29 publishing houses, 23 radio stations, 16 TV stations.

Which one of these is "crushing the country's free press"?

Easy call for Israel haters.

There are more journalists, foreign and domestic per capita in Israel than any other country in the world. It's a visible sign of the obsession the world has with the Jews.

Do you think the downgrading of the Press Freedom Score by 2 points to 32 was justified? Perhaps it's time for Netanyahu to sack his Communications Minister? There's a pretty detailed explanation for the situation in Israel and the reasons for the downgrading, and I thought it made sense:

Israel Freedom of the Press 2016
Source: Freedom House
(snip)

this week, the very week a middle eastern democracy and ally 15 times the size of Israel essentially eliminates 100% of its freedom of the press in one fell swoop, NYT decides it is imperative to have an editorial about someone "crushing free press" to complain about Netanyahu's political appointments?

No one arrested, no one lost licenses, nothing was closed, no money was paid by the government or taken by the government. No orders given. Just the usual politics.

This week, a unprecedented real crushing of the free press occurred in a country that is much more important than Israel. The fact that this week, the NY Times chose to be silent on that and to have a major article describing, generously, a millionth (maybe a billionth) as much reduction in press freedom in another country only shows Israel derangement system. If anything, it suggests that maybe the NY Times is not a free press, since it is making old Soviet style editorial decisions.

But I certainly am not surprised you find this merits attention.

I disagree with you. Press freedom is important for democracy and stuff. Just because bad things happen in Turkey doesn't mean that the situation should be allowed to deteriorate in Israel.

see : ...

Analysis Netanyahu Runs Amok in His Attack on Freedom of the Press

Fortunately, his partners in the governing coalition are waking up to his stifling of democracy.

Yossi Verter Jul 20, 201

All the evidence needed to prove it is Haaretz and +972 for their constant, non-stop harsh criticism of Bibi and the GOI.

....and the GOI anytime he wishes without fear.

Gideon Levy.

Before Gideon Levy there was Shulamit Aloni shira .....

Gideon Levy and his cheerleaders are practically the same as neo-Nazis and skinhead pricks who call for the death of Jews. Nothing but degenerate garbage.

Even better .....

PM: I’m communications minister because only I can withstand media pressure

Netanyahu says he’s trying to open up market to competition, not reign in press; Herzog dubs him would-be ‘Israeli Fidel Castro’

BY MARISSA NEWMAN August 1, 2016, 7:13 pm

http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-says-he-remains-communications-minister-because-only-he-can-withstand-media-pressure/

Last edited Mon Aug 1, 2016, 06:26 AM - Edit history (1)

As for Uri Blau, the documents stolen were classified IDF papers about operations, movements, unit information; actual national security interests given the very real terror threats Israel constantly faces.

Blau then lied to investigators, fled the country, and refused to return the documents - really dumbass moves - all felonies. That's why he got into legal trouble and even then he was allowed to do community service in lieu of jail time.

Israel haters pretend none of these felonies ever happened and that this is only about press freedom when it's not. The deceptive Guardian article you cited doesn't even mention the felonies Blau committed. Why do you think they omitted them?

gets held to Middle Eastern standards.

Last edited Mon Aug 1, 2016, 08:34 AM - Edit history (3)

The Freedom House rating is complete nonsense that no one can defend given the FACT Israeli media is free to be far more critical of its government than any other nation on the planet.

BTW, it's self-criticism that makes Israel as strong as it is today.

The lack of self-criticism is the main reason Israel's enemies are failures & losers.

Source: Times of Israel

‘Borderline fascist’ comments by Likud minister who wants government control over public broadcasting have the press up in arms — apart from Israel Hayom

Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev’s bombastic remarks against a bill establishing a new public broadcasting company make headlines across the Israeli press on Monday:

“It can’t be that we’ll set up a [broadcasting] authority and not control it.”

“It’s unacceptable that the communications minister doesn’t have any control over appointments and management of the public broadcaster, which is funded with public money.”

“If we have no control, why should we give it money?”

Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/regevs-remarks-rile-right-and-left/