The Selection: The 25 Most Influential Haredi Journalists in Journalism 2021

September 26, 2021   

Less than 40 years have passed since the two party newspapers - Agudat Israel's Hamodia and Poalei Agudat Israel's Sha'arim - were the only media outlets for the Haredi public. Two information channels, if you don't count the "neisses" conversations in the mikvehs, which were dominated by a handful of writers-journalists, the mouthpieces of businessmen and politicians. We need to remember this when today, not even four decades later, the Haredi public receives information from such a wide variety of channels that the mind of a sane person may sometimes become confused: four dailies (and several more in email versions), three radio channels, about 10 websites, four weeklies, two freebies, news lines, dozens of Shabbat leaflets, social networks, and who-knows-how-many discussion and news groups on the WhatsApp application. To be more precise, most of these media outlets have only grown or gained momentum in the last 15 years. The welcome competition, as well as the need for more sections of the press to serve them, led to the multiplication of dailies, radio channels, Shabbat bulletins and news channels; technological development accelerated the establishment of websites, and from the forums of the early 2000s, where anonymity reigned, a flood developed that swept tens of thousands onto social networks, with complete exposure - with names, photos and personal details exposed for all to see. With the opening of so many information channels, a real need arose for hundreds of new media professionals. The handful, a few dozen editors and reporters, who had worked on a limited number of channels until then, could not satisfy the accelerated development - and hundreds of new journalism graduates were drawn into the world of Haredi media over the years. In most cases, these were young, 'news'-minded people, yeshiva students and avrechims, to whom the media world beckoned. Some of them turned out to be exceptionally talented, others arrived equipped with the determination to become real journalists. And among them were many whom commentator Yaakov Rivlin once described to me as "chatterers." All these hundreds of journalists - editors, commentators, broadcasters, reporters, columnists - changed, for better and for worse, beyond recognition, the world of Haredi media.

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But the change also occurred in another way: in the past, the secular media consumer accepted the Haredi - the one who had already been invited for an interview on the radio or in the newspaper - through the mediation of the secular journalist or editor (or wearing a knitted kippah, in a small number of cases) for all that this implied. Articles by Haredi were almost never published in secular media outlets, certainly not in a central position. The Haredi world, to a certain extent, received coverage in those days in the political context or when exciting stories emerged that served the curiosity of editors or the ratings. Today, it must be admitted, the situation is dramatically different: Haredi journalists are responsible, in many media outlets, for Haredi coverage; some of them have also been integrated into other key roles - as correspondents, political commentators or prominent investigators. Articles by Haredi journalists - some of whom appear on the list of "influential" - are regularly published in prominent positions, in the written and online media. Many others are invited to panels or studio appearances. Part of this welcome change is attributed to the upheaval wrought by social media, which has changed the entire world of media. Suddenly, secular surfers, and especially media people, were exposed to their Haredi colleagues, who maintain active accounts with tens of thousands of curious followers - and a direct connection was created between the parties, without mediation or filter. This effect is evident on social media, in the personal connections that have been created, but not only that. It has also increased the influence of those media people beyond their home audiences in their media outlets.

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Choosing the '25 Most Influential in Haredi Media' is not an easy task. Some will say that if they had been editors, other names would have been chosen. It may turn out that there is some truth in what they say, but this list is my personal choice. Naturally, since I have been in the Haredi press world for several decades, some of those who appear on the list are close friends, others I have worked with for quite a few years, there are also those who were my students - those I was with when they took their first steps in the media world, and there are also those who are competitors or with whom I have no acquaintance. Along with this, I must present a full disclosure and explanation here: my wife, the political commentator Shari Roth, also appears on the list. She appears here not because I am her husband, but because in my humble opinion, she would find herself at this time, in any such list - and rightly so. However, I chose not to write the column about her. I asked the editor of 'Haredim 10', Eliezer Heun, to take on the task - and he happily did so. I chose not to rank the list. I believe that it is not possible to decipher or quantify the influence of which of them is greater. Since, in my opinion, each one influences his field in a different way. The columns on the chosen ones will appear starting tomorrow, and throughout the coming month, without any particular priority. - - - The writer is the founder of the websites COL, 'Behadrei Haredim' and 'Haredim 10'. He has edited and written about 20 books. He has worked and edited for years in Haredi and general weeklies. The team: The Rebbe of Politics: The Man Who Invented Haredi Political Commentary Foreshadowing and saying: The editor-in-chief who, after 10 years, can afford to smile A householder in the homes of the ultra-Orthodox public, a familiar face on the screens in the secular sector Knowledge and opinion have made the political commentator a sought-after interviewee. Father of the Revolution: The popular presenter whose voice is most recognizable in every Haredi home Erlich on Twitter: Between editing a prestigious magazine and inflammatory columns in Yedioth’ ‘'Sir of Joy': The broadcaster who attracts tens of thousands of listeners every noon The most successful match: The two 'biters' who spill the secrets of the Haredim No more working in the sewers: Ultra-Orthodox reporters deliver kick-ass journalism Commentator and lawyer: 'Dismantles' politicians Monday-Thursday, NGOs the rest of the week Dana on the road: from videos filmed in the car to radio and television programs Pulling the strings: Blumenthal & Hadad and their war on 'fake news' and the crooks Cohen's View: The young boy photographed by Nayes became the 'face' of 'Shabbat Square'’ A Secret in Broad: The Publicist Who Influences Millions in Four Languages Charting the Way: The Hasid who Shapes the Minds of Tens of Thousands of Sephardim And Moshe said: The tough presenter who made the interviewee scream, "You're a piece of shit."“ A Sign of Life: A Publicist Who Tells an Entire Generation of Children and Adults About Themselves