PBS Ombudsman Slams Anchor for Mocking Netanyahu: ‘Inexcusable’

In a column, Michael Getler says Ifill’s tweet is “inexcusable for an experienced journalist who is the co-anchor of a nightly news program watched by millions of people over the course of any week”.

Second, even if Ifill couldn’t resist the temptation to re-tweet Obama Admin talking points, she could have done so without comment.

On Wednesday, PBS anchor Gwen Ifill sent out a tweet about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that’s gotten her in hot water. Netanyahu had gone so far as to address a joint session of Congress to plead his country’s case against the deal that many believe will enable Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon with a minimal amount of interference from the United States and the rest of the world community. She also has a talented eye for the ironies and political turnabouts in the daily flow of news that contributes to her presence. The, merely, “Take that, Bibi”, linked to a report on rising help for the Obama administration’s Iran deal amongst Democratic members of Congress. Ifill’s response to that tweet was widely criticized by conservatives.

“PBS and the NewsHour are greater than any particular person, and tweeting doesn’t look like a software, in these instances, that’s applicable for sustaining credibility, which is the bedrock for information organizations”, Getler added.

Getler asked Ifill about why she posted such a thing, and she told him she wasn’t sharing her own sentiment.

Was one of America’s most respected news personalities taunting the prime minister of Israel on Twitter over his failed efforts to derail the Iran nuclear agreement? Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald, a frequent media critic, wondered if the PBS ombudsman would have been bothered if Ifill had “lightly mocked” Russian President Vladimir Putin, Cuban President Raul Castro or the leaders of the Iranian regime.