Editor’s Notes: Flydubai crisis shows why we need another major news agency - comment

Jerusalem Post editor Zvika Klein argues that the Flydubai incident, where a copilot allegedly stabbed the pilot and attempted to crash the plane, reveals a need for a second major international news agency to provide independent reporting and editorial choice beyond Reuters.

Jerusalem Post editor Zvika Klein uses the Flydubai incident, in which a copilot allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to crash a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, to argue for the creation of a new major international news agency. Klein recounts speaking with a passenger who described how passengers restrained the attacker with charging cables and an Israeli dentist treated the wounded pilot. He criticizes early Reuters coverage that used the headline "A pilot brawl" for obscuring the gravity of what Israeli officials described as a terrorist attack. Klein argues that editors need a wider range of independently gathered accounts and that another well-funded agency would provide additional teams pursuing stories, reaching witnesses others missed, and checking claims against documents. He envisions an agency with clear language, careful attribution, and reporters prepared to question assumptions, including from military spokespersons, aid organizations, and protest movements. Klein suggests inviting executives from The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Germany's Welt, The Telegraph, Le Figaro, and The Australian into discussions, and notes that AP and Reuters are the distribution models to study, with Reuters listing 2,600 journalists across 165 countries.