Joanie Margulies: Reporting the unbiased facts of Israel’s breaking news

Behind the Bylines: Breaking news coverage is the backbone of news, and in Israel, it comes with the added intensity of wartime coverage within the war. Joanie Margulies has been doing just that.

By AARON REICH NOVEMBER 2, 2024 06:42

Joanie Margulies at work at the Jerusalem Post office, holding a colleague's child on her lap. (photo credit: Courtesy Joanie Margulies)

In the modern journalist landscape, the backbone of any outlet is breaking news coverage, the trenches of journalism. 

News changes at a rapid-fire pace, especially during war. Everything needs to be reported accurately and quickly, while avoiding biases.

Not everyone can do it, but Jerusalem Post breaking news desk manager Joanie Margulies has weathered some of the most important news events of the last two years and come out even stronger.

Margulies, 30, a Long Island native, came to Israel with dreams of professional journalism, but her educational background did not prepare her for the intensity of breaking news coverage. But these past years of working during political instability, terrorist attacks, and a year-long war with Hamas and Hezbollah have turned her into a hardened veteran. 

In Jerusalem spoke with Margulies about her journey to journalism, how her views and previous notions about the industry have changed over time, and her experience covering breaking news of a war while also living through it. 

Joanie Margulies and dog Amelia. (credit: Courtesy Joanie Margulies)

What brought you to Israel?

My first trip was a teen tour in high school that I was forced to go on, but it changed my life. Israel became a place that meant a lot to me.

I spent a few years globe-trotting, living in new places, and eventually realized there was no other place I could set down roots aside from the US or Israel.

During my globe-trotting, the Jewish community was always there for me. It didn’t matter if I was in Cambodia or Peru – I met Jews from all over the world. I started becoming closer to religious Judaism, since it was more readily available, and I wanted to make that more of my routine. I knew moving to Israel would be one way to bring that to life.

What made you want to pursue a career in journalism?

I was always interested in media and loved going through newspapers and magazines.

I studied at the University of Oregon, which has one of America’s best professional journalism programs, and interned at a TV station in Accra, Ghana. But it wasn’t until I was working abroad that I realized how important journalism was.

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I was working at a school in Colombia as part of an initiative to bring English education to schools. I was in a town near the Venezuelan border, and a large percentage of my students had come from Venezuela, where there were a ton of issues. 

I thought to myself, ‘Here I am, this well-educated American, and I had no idea what these people were coming from.’ I barely even knew what was going on in the country I was living in at the time, let alone what was making so many people come from the country next door illegally.

I started to look at global news coverage very differently. My next job was at an English camp in Istanbul, Turkey, where I used a combination of late-night talk shows and newsroom models to teach. It made me remember what I loved about my journalism education and experience in the first place. 

What brought you to ‘The Jerusalem Post’?

When moving to Israel, I came with two goals. I wanted to start my journalist career and I thought Israel is a land of opportunity, so I was going to make my career happen here. It might not be the same kind of industry as it is in the US, but it’s still cutthroat – honestly, I think it’s more cutthroat here than anywhere else.

My other goal was to get my master’s degree, so I joined the University of Haifa diplomacy track. I wanted to report on global issues and understand the basis of these conflicts, both in Israel and abroad.

Around the same time my courses finished, I applied to the Post and quickly heard from then-managing editor Tamar Uriel-Beeri. After taking a difficult application test, I came in, terrified, for an interview and got the job.

I took every opportunity I could get. Within a few weeks, I was doing my first freelance pieces. 

What does your work with the breaking news desk entail?

The desk keeps us busy. I spent half a year waking up at 4:30 a.m. to get to Jerusalem for early morning shifts, and I worked my share of overnight shifts.

It doesn’t matter how much formal education you have or that you studied the best journalistic methods – nothing will prepare you for working on the breaking news desk of a Middle East daily.

One of my first experiences is coming into the office early in the morning. It was just me and two other people, and just 10 minutes after we got into the office, we heard ambulances. There were bombings at different bus stops in Jerusalem, some near the office. Kids were killed.

I didn’t have time to process everything until I got home. I spent the whole day taking every bit of information in stride, seeing it as not something to get emotional about. I felt I owed it to the public to get this information out there. But unlike my counterparts in the US, I had to figure out if it was safe for me to take a bus or train back home to Tel Aviv. 

I spent a year and a half honing my news sense: What were the most important things for our readers and why it is crucial to get [the news] out quickly.

I was promoted last winter, and I knew that managing the desk would come with different responsibilities. I was up for the challenge. 

What was it like working during political instability and war?

I started in the heat of the Ukraine-Russia war. I learned a lot about conflict that I didn’t learn in a formal diplomacy program.

When the judicial reform protests began, I dipped my toes more into Hebrew news coverage. I wrote some incredible front-page stories from that time.

These weren’t just small local protests. They shook the entire country and made so much noise that they spread internationally and were regularly featured on 60 Minutes. Huge groups from both sides of the political aisle were not happy with how things were being done and were making their voices heard in the streets.

Then came Oct. 7. I had gone to bed that night coincidentally wearing my “I <3 Iron Dome” T-shirt and I woke up to the consistent sirens. No one knew what was going on.

Within a few hours, I was able to see more. 

I saw videos from the Hamas attacks. I saw people lying in pools of their own blood in Sderot. These were the worst things I had ever seen, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it. 

Our bosses asked for everyone on the breaking news desk who could help to do so. I couldn’t even think about how scary everything happening was. I thought, ‘I am a journalist; this is what I’m here to do.’ I signed on the earliest I was legally allowed and worked until 7 a.m. the next day.

I became the first person at the Post to interview someone from the Supernova music festival, and the first to interview a relative of a hostage. I met Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was taken on Oct. 7. Ruby was outside the US embassy offices in Tel Aviv while he and others were trying to get US President Joe Biden’s attention. 

I wrote stories that were close to home. Omer Neutra was from a Long Island town about half an hour from where my parents live. When I reported on this Plainview native, who was abducted on Oct. 7, I didn’t know he was good friends with my former boss’s daughter. I didn’t know he was the close friend of someone who was once very close to me.

I helped cover the shootout at the Sderot police station, only to learn a friend of mine who was a police officer in Ashkelon got into a car and assisted during the shootout. I wrote about how so many people died, only to realize that someone I know just narrowly survived it. 

During the Iranian attacks and the invasion of Lebanon, I was reporting while in a stairwell for an hour. I was sending out continued push notifications, updating headlines, and trying to get the right articles out online.

Things don’t happen on our schedule, they happen when they happen. It doesn’t matter if there were already two terrorist attacks that day – there can still be more.

What are some misconceptions people have about your work?

One of the biggest is that we always know what is going on. I’m often the go-to person that people run to for information. But we’re all real people who need to unplug every now and then. If we don’t force ourselves to rest, we burn out fast. 

Another misconception is that we are all op-ed writers. None of us on the desk are. We leave our emotions and biases outside. I do my best to be as unbiased as possible. I don’t want people to look at my work and be able to tell where I stand. That’s not being a good journalist. 

I have my own opinions, but I would be doing myself, my readers, and my colleagues a disservice if I let that bleed into my reporting. That’s what op-eds are for. There’s no room for that when it comes to breaking news. 

What are some of your favorite anecdotes from your time at the ‘Post’?

It’s hard to choose. 

After spending an entire day near the Gaza border communities, I worked an overnight shift when the IDF rescued two hostages. It’s always really exciting to work during those shifts. 

But what’s really amazing is the support I get from the people I work with and the opportunities I get.

I’ve become very close to a lot of my colleagues over time. I’ve actually referred three people who are currently on our team and are excelling. 

What advice would you have for any aspiring journalists?

Real success, especially in this industry, comes from tenacity. It’s a very stressful job, and it requires thick skin.

But you also need to know your limits. Know when to put a story aside because it won’t be good for your health. 

Lastly, you will upset people, but we need to provide every bit of information we can. People get upset when they see a side or narrative they don’t agree with. In journalism, it is impossible to please everyone. You’re going to ruffle a lot of feathers, but every issue deserves to be covered from as many points of view as possible. 

There’s never just one side to any story.■