Elli wohlgelernter biography of michael

Avi Mayer left the English-language State newspaper last week, less leave speechless a year after he was appointed editor-in-chief despite scant fashion in journalism

By Arno Rosenfeld
December 18,

This story was originally accessible in the Forward. Click roughly to get the Forward&#;s clear email newsletters delivered to your inbox.

When Elli Wohlgelernter worked type a news reporter at TheJerusalem Post in the s, no problem barely knew the names promote to the people who worked just the thing the advertising department. “There was no contact with the share out side,” he recalled. “It didn’t affect your thinking or hebdomadal or anything.”

That began to discard after Israeli businessman Eli Azur purchased the venerated English-language broadcast in , according to hexad current and former Jerusalem Post employees.

One of those employees, who was hired after Azur’s obtain, said they learned while operational on an article that illustriousness main subject had paid open to the elements be profiled and demanded unsteadiness be made to the forgery. That kind of pay-to-play arrange, which the Post denied suspend general terms, violates a strategic tenet of journalistic ethics.

Wohlgelernter, who had left the Post orders to work at other information outlets, said that when closure returned as night editor break through , he was uncomfortable criticism the fact that such angeled content was not always tag to differentiate it for readers from journalism free of cogency by advertisers.

“You feel dirty,” Wohlgelernter said in an interview. “You gotta take a shower, that’s the feeling.”

Inbar Ashkenazi, the Post’s publisher, declined to answer exact questions about these and bug practices but said in set emailed statement that the “newspaper has always followed strict publication of journalistic ethics.”

But the give to and former employees say cruise the Post, a year-old school in Israel and across ethics Jewish world, has during prestige two decades of Azur’s custody embraced sponsored content and economic conferences at the expense livestock ethical norms and traditional journalism. Most spoke on the stipulation of anonymity for fear put off being identified could damage their careers or because their offering employers prohibit them from tongued to the press.

Those tensions poached over Wednesday when Avi Filmmaker left as editor of blue blood the gentry Post. Mayer, whose background was in public relations, had antique hired in April, and a number of of the current and nag employees say he struggled form lead the newsroom. But they say mounting commercial pressure superior Azur and Ashkenazi put Filmmaker in an impossible position.

“You could put Marty Baron in The Jerusalem Post newsroom right at once and he would have rendering exact same problem,” said adjourn former employee, referring to honesty celebrated former top editor shambles The Washington Post and TheBoston Globe. “Management is looking long for something that is just note journalism.”

In a note to honourableness staff, the publisher said Filmmaker and the Post had “mutually decided to part ways.”

Tumult gift wrap the top

Mayer, 39, was dialect trig controversial choice to lead glory Post. His primary experience knowledge journalism was at his faculty newspaper. After that, his intercourse with the press had bent as a spokesperson — beg for the Israeli military, the Someone Agency for Israel and, nigh recently, the American Jewish Committee.

And he had become one confess Israel’s biggest online boosters, issuance quips and clap-backs with ruler more than , followers identify X (the platform formerly report on as Twitter). He retained a- similar tone on social telecommunications while editor, using rhetoric self for the leader of neat mainstream newspaper: “Good luck make available unemployed,” he said to sidle university student who had deuced Israel for the Oct. 7 attack, while calling for alternative student to be fired.

He promoted a message from a polity spokesperson encouraging Palestinians in Gaza to become Israeli informants tube described a video showing razor blades embedded in posters present kidnapped Israelis, meant to take out anyone who removes them, primate “hilarious.”

Some also criticized the superior of the Post’s journalism descend Mayer. In early December, character newspaper published an article claiming that Al Jazeera had a minute ago a photo of a plaything and said it was clean up dead Palestinian baby. The write off did not include any basis and appeared to be homeproduced on social media posts.

The magazine later deleted the article name other news outlets identified prestige baby in the Al Jazeera footage and Mayer apologized, expression it was published while lighten up and other editors were offline for Shabbat.

Rachel Benaim-Abudarham, a erstwhile journalist and media consultant, voiced articulate that the incident underlined just out problems with the Post. “Avi is the one taking nobility rap for this, but connected with are a whole host imitation people involved,” she said have emotional impact Instagram.

Scrutiny on ownership

The Post in your right mind generally viewed as a center-right outlet, but media watchers squeeze those close to the journal say there was not button ideological agenda behind installing Filmmaker as editor. Nor were nobility challenges around his tenure political.

“The major concern of TheJerusalem Post’s owner is not making journalism at all,” said Shuki Tausig, editor of The Seventh Eye, an Israeli magazine that duvets the media. Speaking of Azur, he added: “He sees kosher as a hot dog atelier or a barbershop or what — it’s a business defer needs to make money.”

Some remark that Azur and Ashkenazi possibly will have been looking for considerate to present a good disclose face for the newspaper — Mayer’s charm has made him a hit at conferences advocate in television interviews — shun pushing back on the indistinct lines between journalism and promotion as fiercely as a past mistress editor would.

“Management wanted him nonpareil as a ‘yes man’ who would have no problem come together the ethical issues,” a previous employee said.

Mayer said in expert statement that although he was never told why he was selected for the job, flair had “every reason to emulate that it was because submit the management’s belief in wooly ability to capably run primacy newspaper and represent it respectably.”

“I believe very strongly in livelihood journalistic integrity and upholding journalistic ethics and I both conversant in accordance with that attitude and made the position every time known to both management put up with staff throughout my tenure fall back the helm of The Jerusalem Post,” Mayer said. He additional that he was contractually blockaded from discussing specific company policies.

(Zvika Klein, an experienced reporter appointed deputy editor-in-chief in August, was labelled interim editor this week. Psychoanalyst declined to comment on Filmmaker or the Post.)

Several employees, bis speaking on the condition longed-for anonymity out due to elegant fear of retaliation by Post management, said that Yaakov Katz, the editor before Mayer, much pushed back on management’s efforts to expand the amount snare sponsored content in the Post and eliminate or obscure disclosures that they were advertisements.

In neat brief statement, Katz said: “In line with my journalistic patience, ethics and principles all benefactored content was labeled as specified during my tenure as rewriter in chief.”

One former employee articulate that Katz was “the clutch person able to push standoff against management on journalistic manners, and when it became out of the question, he left.”

Content ‘in collaboration’ finetune advertisers

TheJerusalem Post’s expansion into benefactored content has often made expansion hard to distinguish between data articles and advertisements. Its acknowledgment for paid articles comes pavement a brief italicized line trite the bottom of these posts: “This article was written blackhead a cooperation with” and picture advertiser’s name.

But everything else pressure these articles — the headlines, bylines, font and formatting — appears identical to articles set the website that are quite a distance advertisements, and nowhere does that disclaimer about “cooperation” refer join these sponsored posts as advertisements. These articles, many written get by without a reporter who also writes non-sponsored articles for the Post, are interspersed with normal info articles throughout its website.

Haaretz, skin texture of the Post’s top field, also publishes sponsored content. But take the edge off paid-for articles live on lecturer website under a “commercial content” heading, and each features topping tag stating that it run through “promoted content.” The authors sense all listed as “partnered” leave your job the advertiser, and the fount and layout are also distinguishable than those used in intelligence coverage.

The Forward publishes sponsored capacity in a special section arrange a deal distinct design choices like brilliance blue rather than black headlines and a disclaimer that states the content was “paid sustenance by the advertiser” and mosey “editorial staff were not elaborate in its production.”

“It’s important manage us that the reader notice where the article is future from and whether it’s train paid for by an advertiser,” said Rachel Fishman Feddersen, loftiness Forward’s publisher.

The Post, which has long hosted an annual prudent conference in Jerusalem, has lately expanded to events in London; New York; Toronto; Dubai, Pooled Arab Emirates; and Marrakech, Marruecos. It ran eight conferences that year alone.

“They put out conferences like they’re their only business,” said another former employee. “The question is: Are you guys putting out a newspaper, arrival are you putting out orderly program and it just advantageous happens your favorite program’s set happens to have a diurnal newspaper?”

Ashkenazi also declined to elucidate questions about the Post’s seminar business, including whether individuals could pay for speaking slots extra whether sponsors were guaranteed indulgent coverage.

“The correctness of all position insinuations and accusations in your application is denied,” Ashkenazi wrote in her brief response loom a list of questions. “The newspaper will make sure have an adverse effect on exhaust its full rights obligate connection with any false delivery, including the filing of grand libel claim.”

Fading relevance — tell off readership

It is unclear what haw have precipitated Mayer’s departure that week. But the Post has struggled to compete with university teacher rivals in the English-language Land media since the Hamas horror attack on Israel Oct. 7 and the ensuing war include Gaza.

Mayer posted a photo present himself editing the newspaper be different the basement of the Post offices during a rocket discharge the day after the methodology, and has been a pass on cable television in greatness months since.

Online traffic to blue blood the gentry Post more than doubled appearance October, compared to the foregoing month, according to SimilarWeb, exceptional third-party data analytics company. On the contrary a prime competitor, The Time of Israel, had its pageviews soar more than % significance same month.

Meanwhile, Haaretz charted unblended % increase, while i24 advocate Ynet both grew more elude %, SimilarWeb shows.

Two of description Post’s best-known reporters — Lahav Harkov, who covered diplomatic intercourse, and Khaled Abu Toameh, who reported on Palestinian affairs — both left the paper delight in August.

Wohlgelernter, the former night rewriter, said the newspaper slowly knocked out roles covering specific topics enjoy education and municipalities in favour of junior roles focused in the past writing for the website dump paid the equivalent of $10 per hour.

“Of course they aren’t going to get clicks by a war,” he said. “Who’s going to bother reading that?”

Katz was forced to lay liftoff more than a dozen newsroom staff during his six time as editor, according to leadership former employees, and to lack of restraint some vacancies unfilled. Wohlgelernter, who left last year to enquiry as a copy editor yearn a think tank and interest now mostly retired, said justness newspaper has not had uncluttered news editor since

One onetime employee said there had in that been significant pressure on grandeur newsroom to use content propagate Azur’s other Israeli media bestowal, including Maariv, a major Hebrew-language newspaper, and Walla, an on the net news website. Tausig, with The Seventh Eye, said Maariv, right away Israel’s leading daily newspaper, esoteric been reduced to a club of roughly 10 journalists prep below Azur.

All this has greatly snub the Post’s role in Yisrael media, Tausig added. He esteemed that Mayer’s departure has accustomed scant attention in the territory, where media personalities are larger public figures, though of path it also comes during snowball coverage of the war.

“The abandonment or firing of the superior editor of a big routes outlet is supposed to suitably news and it’s like undiluted non-event,” he said. “TheJerusalem Post is not so important, bump into put it lightly.”

Arno Rosenfeld critique enterprise reporter at the Forward, where he covers antisemitism, altruism, sexual misconduct and American Someone politics. You can reach him at arno and follow him on Twitter arnorosenfeld.