Alden Global Capital Newspapers Run Editorial Urging Media to Describe Hamas as “Terrorist”

Alden Global Capital Newspapers Run Editorial Urging Media to Describe Hamas as “Terrorist”

Edited by: TJVNews.com

More than five dozen daily newspapers owned by investment firm Alden Global Capital ran an editorial on Wednesday urging the news media to describe Hamas as a terrorist organization and its October 7th brutal attack on Israel that left over 1400 dead and 199 taken into captivity, as was reported by Axios.

Some newsrooms are avoiding the term, arguing that it has become politicized or is used too broadly, while others support using it to accurately describe Hamas and its actions, as well as to avoid normalizing their deadly activities.

These editorials are featured in 65 daily newspapers owned by MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing, which are both under the ownership of Alden Global Capital, Axios reported. The decision to run the editorial was made by the leadership of these companies, not the individual newspaper editorial boards.

The main argument made in the editorial is that there should be no debate over the language used to describe Hamas and its actions. It asserts that Hamas is a terrorist organization, and the October 7 attack, where Hamas agents crossed into Israel with the intent to harm civilians, constitutes an act of terrorism.

Some editorials began publishing online Tuesday. Others were published in print Wednesday.

Currently, there exists differing policies of news organizations regarding the use of the terms “terrorist” and “terrorism.” Axios reported that some, like the Associated Press (AP), avoid using these terms in specific actions or groups due to their politicization, opting for more precise descriptions.

The U.S. government and other nations have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, but some newsrooms, particularly those outside the U.S. or with global audiences, consider this designation a point of view rather than an absolute fact,  the Axios report said.

The use of the term is dependent on subjective perspective and it is kind of like saying that, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”

“We ran the editorial in all MediaNews Group and Tribune Enterprises daily newspapers because our commitment to accuracy in reporting is universal. The Hamas attack on Israel was terrorism and those who carried it out are terrorists,” according to a statement provided to Axios on behalf of both MediaNews Group and Tribune Enterprises.

Axios reported that some of the major newspapers where the editorials were published include The New York Daily News, The Denver Post, and The Baltimore Sun.

The editorial argues the “there should be no debate over the language we use to describe Hamas and its depraved Oct. 7 attack” on Israel, according to the Axios report.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization, and the acts of its agents on Oct. 7, when they crossed the border into Israel with the express intent of killing and kidnapping civilians, were terrorism. That makes them terrorists,” the editorial reads.

“While some have suggested Hamas’ political role in Gaza means it is not a terrorist organization, it is clearly targeting civilians for political ends, which is the very definition of terrorism,” it continues.

“The danger in using euphemisms such as ‘militants’ to describe terrorists is that it normalizes heinous acts of terrorism and implies that the deliberate targeting of civilians is a military act and that Hamas at large has some other, less despicable objective.”

Axios also reported that some newsrooms are opting to avoid the term, arguing it’s used too broadly and the debate around its use has become too heated.

AP’s style guide on the Israel-Hamas war, for example, states that because the terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” have become politicized.

The news service, which licenses its content to many newsrooms globally, said it isn’t using those terms for specific actions or groups, “other than in direct quotations or when attributed to authorities or others,” according to the Axios report.

When queried by Axios as to when the AP began to implement its policy around use of the words “terrorist” and “terrorism,” a spokesperson said it’s been the company’s general policy since the 1990s, but that the outlet has made some exceptions in the past, including after 9/11.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government and several other nations. The Axios report said that some newsrooms, however, particularly those outside of the U.S. or those with global audiences, argue that such a distinction is a point of view that should be acknowledged, but not covered as fact.

Axios also reported that BBC News’ world affairs editor John Simpson, for example, said in a post last week that terrorism “is a loaded word,” and that “it’s simply not the BBC’s job to tell people who to support and who to condemn — who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.”

“We regularly point out that the British and other governments have condemned Hamas as a terrorist organization, but that’s their business. We also run interviews with guests and quote contributors who describe Hamas as terrorists,” he added, as was noted in the Axios report.

Major U.S. media institutions have historically sided with Israel during times of geo-political tension in the Middle East, the Axios report said.

Recent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, especially the current conflict with Hamas, are causing newsrooms to grapple with the changing political landscape, as a growing number of Americans have expressed sympathy for Palestine over Israel, according to Gallup polling.