Steve Bell speaks out on Guardian sacking | 86-year-old investigative journalist de-arrested

And Gaza's estimated 1,000 Palestinian journalists prepare for an invasion

Oct 17, 2023

Good morning and welcome to your daily media news briefing on Tuesday 17 October.

Following 40 years as probably The Guardian's most famous and successful cartoonist, Steve Bell has been fired after speaking out over the spiking of a cartoon.

The manner of his departure points to a relationship with management which had clearly become difficult.

We've spoken to Steve about the abrupt end of his Guardian career and the suggestion that his work has drawn on anti-Semitic tropes.

Cartoons are by their nature "unfair", says Tim Benson of The Cartoon Gallery, and he told us so too was the nature of Bell's Guardian departure.

After the deaths of at least ten journalists in the Gaza Strip the area has become a no-go area for foreign media. Deputy general secretary of the IFJ Tim Dawson has written for us about how the enclave's estimated 1,000 journalists are preparing for the expected Israeli invasion.

And we have the story of the arrest of an 86-year-old investigative journalist in his own home, apparently in response to an unpublished story about a suspected fraudster.

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New from Press Gazette

Steve Bell speaks out after being sacked by email following 40 years at Guardian

Bell stood by his controversial cartoon of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: "I think it’s a good one. I think it works."

Read more

86-year-old investigative journalist says arrest and de-arrest at home was ‘terrifying’

“I suppose I am lucky in a sense – I have been investigating probably for 50 years. It does toughen you to some extent, but I tell you what, I have never come across anything like this.”

Read more

How Gaza’s estimated 1,000 journalists are preparing for an onslaught

“No foreign journalists remain in Gaza, the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem has confirmed. What information we have from the 141 square mile territory is coming from Gazan reporters and camera operators. The level of fear among these already battle-hardened journalists, however, is unusually high.”

News in brief

Six BBC News Arabic reporters have reportedly been taken off air after tweeting support for Palestine or criticism of Israel, or liked tweets doing the same. The FT reports there will now be an "urgent investigation" into the six. (Financial Times)

Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian journalist who protested the invasion of Ukraine live on air and subsequently fled the country, says that no toxins have been found in her blood after she was suddenly hospitalised last week. Ovsyannikova, who now lives in Paris, had initially suspected she was poisoned. (Twitter/X)

US journalists' union the Newsguild has insisted it will not serve discovery requests to any New York Times reporters. It comes after Semafor editor Ben Smith revealed the Newsguild has asked a litigant suing the union to turn over all their correspondence with Smith as part of the discovery process ahead of a trial. (Newsguild)

The Barclay family have lodged a £1bn offer backed by Abu Dhabi investors in a bid to re-take control of The Telegraph and Spectator. (Press Gazette)

Conde Nast newsstand and subscription revenues in Europe fell by a fifth to £42.4m in 2022 but advertising stayed steady at around £212m. Turnover from continuing operations was up 2% to £248m, while pre-tax profit was up 43% to £23.4m. (The Telegraph)

The National Union of Journalists has called on the UN to "intervene to create safer conditions" for journalists covering the Israel-Hamas war, saying: "Much greater efforts need to be deployed to protect journalists in their critical work." (NUJ)

The International Federation of Journalists and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate have published a safety advisory for journalists in Gaza - including advice on what to do if targeted by a sniper and how to respond if a grenade lands nearby. It is available in English and in Arabic.

Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni has called on Israeli authorities to conduct a "swift, thorough and transparent" probe into the death of journalist Issam Abdallah on Friday and for clarity on terms of engagement in the conflict. Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah is among the at least 12 journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict in just over a week. (Reuters)

Donald Trump is taking legal action in the UK over the Steele dossier which contained allegations about his relationship with Russia and sex parties and was obtained and published by Buzzfeed News. Steele's company argues it didn't make the document public. (BBC News)

Former Government chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance is fighting against showing his full "brain dump" diary entries during the Covid inquiry. Eight media organisations (the BBC, Guardian News and Media, Reach, ITN, Telegraph Media Group, Associated Newspapers, Times Media and News Group Newspapers) want the full pages to be shown to the hearings in context. (BBC News)

Complaints to the BBC about its Israel-Hamas coverage have been so far split about 50/50 with accusations of bias either way. (The Guardian)

Podcast 58: How the Daily Mail become a hit on Tiktok

Mail Online head of social video Phil Harvey, who joined the publisher in March, told Press Gazette how and why their Tiktok strategy has transformed this year and why it is worth the investment.

He also revealed which British politician and their dog has become an unlikely Tiktok star for the Daily Mail.

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