South Africa’s Michelle Makori makes her mark on global TV channel

STEVEN KRAWITZ

i24News is an international, 24-hour news and current affairs television channel, headquartered in Jaffa, Tel Aviv. It has been broadcasting in English, French, and Arabic from Jaffa since July 2013. In February 2017, i24News launched its live American programming, and began broadcasting across the US from studios in New York’s Time Square and Washington DC.

Makori was part of the small team of seasoned journalists who launched i24News’ expansion into America, where it is now available from New York to Los Angeles.

“We are capitalising on the disillusionment in the US with mainstream media,” says Makori. “There is a need and desire for fact-based, insightful coverage, and analysis of global, and particularly US and Middle Eastern, events. That’s what we provide.”

Makori finds that most American domestic news channels serve as echo chambers that fixate on the editorial bottom line of pro-Trump or anti-Trump, with good quality news coverage ignored.

She believes international news services also suffer from a lack of objectivity when covering Israel. i24News addresses these issues, she says, pointing to the station’s mission statement, “Because what happens in the Middle East doesn’t stay in the Middle East.”

i24News is the brainchild of Israeli-French billionaire Patrick Drahi. Drahi was born in Morocco, and is considered to be one of the richest people in both France and Israel. He lives in Geneva, Switzerland, and keeps a low profile. Drahi is the founder of Altice, a telecommunications group based in the Netherlands with vast media and technology assets across Europe.

Drahi started i24News in the aftermath of Operation Pillar of Defence in November 2012. He was in Israel during that war against the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and was forced to flee into bomb shelters when Hamas rockets were fired into Israel.

When he tuned into international news channels to follow the events he was living through, he was astounded at how Israel was portrayed as the aggressor, and by absence of coverage of how Israelis, himself included, were experiencing the trauma of living under constant terrorist attacks. i24News was Drahi’s way of redressing this skewed coverage.

To help bring his vision to reality, Drahi turned to Frank Melloul, a French diplomat and media specialist who had helped launch news channel France24, and who advised numerous French presidents on public relations.

Makori had met Melloul a few years prior when she was in Israel celebrating her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Her mother insisted that she should meet Melloul, who had already launched i24News in Israel.

They were impressed with each other, and when the New York-based English language channel was being launched, Melloul reached out to Makori to help spearhead the project. She became the editor-in-chief and anchor for the channel’s flagship show, ClearCut with Michelle Makori.

Melloul, whom Makori describes as “an inspiring, hands-on, and engaged” chief executive, assembled a diverse team in Israel and in the US.

“In our newsrooms, we have Israeli, Arab, French, British, Australian, American, and a number of South African journalists and producers. We create a truly global perspective and, of course, a variety of opinions. As journalists, we strive for objectivity, but as individuals, we have our own subjective political positions. We are certainly not all in agreement – but that’s our strength. There is no single editorial position being pushed,” says Makori.

Makori says of i24News, “We are not owned or controlled by any government. We are not a state broadcaster like the SABC in South Africa or the BBC in the United Kingdom. And we are not beholden to any political party.

“In Johannesburg, I have heard people describe us as pro-Israel. We are pro-truth. Perhaps viewers are so used to blatantly anti-Israel coverage that when you report things as they are, it appears to be pro-Israel. For example, in our coverage of the Gaza border riots, we reported that many of those killed were Hamas terrorists, some armed with explosive devices, who were attempting to infiltrate Israel’s borders. We say it’s not just a peaceful civilian march, as portrayed by others. That’s just the reality on the ground. We are not being pro-Israel, we are just being pro-facts.”

Makori launched her television career at the SABC as an anchor and producer for SABC African television, an Africa-wide news service. One of her career highlights was interviewing Nelson Mandela. She also recalls being reprimanded when she referred to Hamas as a terrorist organisation, a deviation from the SABC’s preferred script of freedom fighters.

From early on, Makori says, she has been forthright and held strong opinions, but has pursued balance and objectivity in her reporting.

She studied journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand after graduating with a BA degree, majoring in law and psychology. She obtained a post-graduate honours in media studies and journalism cum laude. “I am a proud Wits graduate,” she says. “I feel my education always holds up against Ivy League peers and colleagues.”

During the early years, Makori made a mark in South Africa, with Cosmopolitan magazine voting her as one of its top 30 awesome women in 2004.

In 2005, Makori moved to New York after getting a break and landing a coveted anchor position on Bloomberg TV. After five years at Bloomberg, Makori went on to report for CNN Money while getting some Wall Street experience at GFI and obtaining her financial advisor license. In 2011, she started working on TV fulltime, and joined CGTN, China’s international news channel, where she helped launch the English language channel and covered American business and finance.

CGTN is one of the international news channels carried by DStv, and Makori’s mother, Hana, who still lives in Johannesburg, would tune in every morning at about 03:00 to watch her daughter, while marking matric Hebrew essays.

Hana is a well loved and respected high school Hebrew teacher. Her father, Yoram, is a businessman. Both are avid fans, watching her shows online.

Makori makes a point of ensuring that news about Africa is prioritised on her show. “I think it’s important to cover Africa and South African stories on my show. We have a reporter in Johannesburg, and I aim to give viewers an insightful look at developments on the continent. It’s part of the global picture.”

Makori is poised on air and in person. Her off-screen time is spent reading, attending the odd TED talk, and making regular visits home. As she puts it, “I feel very connected to South Africa. I am proud to have grown up here.”

• KosherWorld has secured a co-operative marketing arrangement with i24TV and will be giving away a free three-month subscription to the news channel (worth R150) – that can be accessed on cell phone, computer or television – to all its customers. On Israeli election day (9 April), there will be three huge screens broadcasting events and analysis on i24NEWS at KosherWorld in Glenhazel.