Study reveals anti-Netanyahu nature of Yedioth coverage

A recent study performed by the Ifat Group, a leading Israeli company in media and business information, shows that Yedioth Ahronoth has explicitly negative coverage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel Hayom has recently covered Yedioth's blatant attempt to oust Netanyahu from power and many have spoken against Yedioth.

The study, whose results were provided to Israel Hayom, analyzed Yedioth Ahronoth's coverage over the past six months, including Operation Protective Edge, the budget crisis and the election, and objectively determined whether Yedioth's attitude toward the politicians in those articles was positive, neutral or negative.

One example was Yedioth's attack on Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein after he ruled that Netanyahu was not involved in criminal wrongdoing, or its coverage of and support for the anti-Israel Hayom bill.

A quick look at Yedioth's senior columnists reveals the following: Sima Kadmon wrote more than 20 articles on Netanyahu during the past six months, and all were negative. The coverage that Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon received from her, on the other hand, is almost never negative. Lapid's coverage was 47% positive, 47% neutral, and Kahlon even had a 50-50 split on positive and neutral coverage, without any negative framing.

Yedioth's Nahum Barnea, like Kadmon, is unable to publish anything positive about Netanyahu. Out of 13 articles written by Barnea, 92% were negative.

Barnea's take on Lapid was decidedly more neutral (50%), whereas Kahlon was covered in the most positive light, with zero negative articles, and 50% positive and 50% neutral articles.

A look at the larger Yedioth Ahronoth news umbrella, which includes website Ynet, shows 770 items on Netanyahu, of which 40% are very negative, compared to 12% for Kahlon.