How Netanyahu gov’t media reforms risk deepening Israeli press bias

• Media freedom organisations and opposition lawmakers have criticised sweeping media reforms pushed through by Israel’s right-wing coalition as part of a legislative blitz before the parliament’s dissolution in advance of elections later this year.
• The parliament, or Knesset, last week approved the bill that could give the government a far greater say in Israel’s news and broadcast sectors.
• The controversial measure strips away traditional oversight safeguards, eliminates requirements for minimum journalism standards and lifts longstanding limits on cross-ownership, among others.