Community Magazine August 2016

Straight from the Field: TPS Provides Media Outlets with Accurate News From Israel DAVE GORDON The examples are legion. The national media’s reporting on Israel has been rife with carelessness and agenda-driven tilt, especially just after a terrorist attack or an IDF incursion has occurred. Israel is often held to a different standard, with its reactionary measures exacerbated by errors of omission or commission on the part of reporters. It’s hard to say whether these issues stem more from ignorance, biases, naïveté, hatred, ill-will or lack of information. Whichever the case, it appears petitioning and making community outrage known only goes so far. The problems in reporting recur regardless, with frightening frequency. That’s part of the reason Tazpit Press Service was created. An Israeli-based organization, it seeks to impart the facts to the media, to fill the gap when reportage misses the mark. Tazpit Press Service (TPS) touts itself as the only Israeli syndicated news agency covering news in Israel. As the leading information provider in Israel, Tazpit provides nearly 200 mainstream media outlets with information to balance their coverage. With nearly 250 photographers and a similar number of reporters, they dispatch their staff around the clock so that there’s ongoing coverage of events in Israel. Thanks to Tzapit, both subscribers and the general public have quick access to reliable and high-qualitymaterials. “TPS is a change in perception,” says its CEO Eyal Amotz. “Tazpit aims to uncover the truth and teach the next generation of the media. [They’re] changing the global media game.” Eyal Amotz spoke last March at the AIPAC conference in Washington, DC and has also visited NewYork, all to raise awareness for Tazpit. Community Magazine interviewed Mr. Amotz just after his recent trip to North America. CM: Why and when was Tazpit started? What was the inspiration for its creation? Amotz: Tazpit started in 2010, after I realized the power of the camera in the field. I saw events where the photographers edited the reality, and thus made impact on the coverage, and basically twisted reality. At first I lent five old cameras I received as a contribution for use. Slowly material begin to accumulate and I started to learn how the media works. I discovered the great effect of the news agencies on coverage. In fact, the great majority of the world’s information is based on three international news agencies: Reuters, AP and AFP. After learning the facts, I concluded that what was missing was an Israeli news agency to provide articles, photos and videos straight from the field to the various media outlets. That is how we started to build the agency, and now we are a significant factor in the arena. The highlights of the agency are reliability, speed and quality. CM: Tell me how you brought together the team necessary to report and photograph stories. Was it difficult to do? How did you find them? Amotz: After some reporting success in the field, we received publicity in the Israeli media. Immediately, hundreds of inquiries flooded in from volunteers who wanted to take part in the activity. They knew and understood the importance of reporting. These were volunteers who had training in photography and journalistic ethics. Today, we have significantly grown. CM: Tell me about the team. Howmany people are there in all, what kinds of backgrounds do they have and where do they operate from? Amotz: Thephotographersarehighlydiverse.Someareeventphotographers who we have converted to photo journalists, others are citizens who live near places where news events take place, and a few are professional journalist photographers who contribute their experience. There are photographers as young as 18 years of age, and there are female photographers who are as old as sixty. There are residents of Judea and Samaria, and there are residents who are Druze or Bedouin. The diversity allows us access to and understanding of a very interesting Israeli reality. CM: What has been the biggest challenge? Amotz: The biggest challenge is the marketing challenge. Since our work is spread out with media all around the world, there is a need to reach every editor, and convince them of the quality of our material. Eyal Amotz, founder of the Israeli news agency TPS. 56 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE