Why is one of the biggest stories of the past few years, and perhaps the biggest leak in U.S. history, being sidelined by the New York Times?
The story about the U.S. government’s surveillance tactics got even “better” on Sunday, as the man who leaked it became public in a YouTube video. Edward Snowden was interviewed by lawyer and blogger Glenn Greenwald from his hotel room in Hong Kong, where he is currently in hiding.
This story is big. One of the biggest ever, for obvious reasons. Daniel Ellsberg, responsible for leaking the Pentagon Papers, has said that “there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden’s release of NSA material.”
No doubt, this is a great story for Greenwald and The Guardian. You know, one of the most important newspapers in the world? It’s quite well known.
But maybe not. Former Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Dov Alfon posted a screenshot on his Facebook wall of how the New York Times decided to refer to The Guardian. Simply as “a British newspaper” (click for larger image):
As Snowden’s name spread over the web and became the lead story of every respectable news outlet, this is how the NYT homepage looked, compared to The Guardian’s at 14:00 (Israel local time. Click for larger image):
That’s it, just below the (important, yes) story on immigration.
Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war – the atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel and the massive retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing violence.
We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed unleashed by these events has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Hamas’ murderous assault in southern Israel has devastated and shocked the country to its core. Israel’s retaliatory bombing of Gaza is wreaking destruction on the already besieged strip and killing a ballooning number of civilians. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to escalate their attacks on Palestinians.
This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 13 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, the entrenched occupation, and an increasingly normalized siege on Gaza.
We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.
Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is the leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists and activists can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.