To anyone familiar with press coverage of dental/medical missions to Israel, it's clear that Arutz Sheva scooped the Cleveland Jewish News with its coverage of this compelling story.
(Kfar Sava, where the Ohio dentist delegation was hosted, is known to suffer from a disproportionate number of dental problems as compared to the rest of the country.)
Dr. Stuart Rosenrosen was part of the Ohio delegation.
Arutz Sheva and CJN are known for their fierce journalistic rivalry that has spanned decades. Sources told Not Another Israel Blog that some staff in Cleveland were preparing for the worst in light of this latest professional blow.
"Even the senior editors were updating their resumes," one intern said on condition of anonymity.
"The Jewish community in Cleveland deserves better from their hometown Jewish paper," she added. "I'm personally and professionally embarassed we didn't get this story first. I don't know how I'll be able to show my face Friday night at Agudath B'nai Israel (Synagogue).
But media experts said that the rivalry between the two publications demonstrates the vitality of the American Jewish press and it's longstanding commitment to the highest journalistic standards.
"The American Jewish press is constantly reinventing itself to survive in the everchanging and highly competitive world of Jewish news," explains Prof. Marty Rosen, who teaches journalism at the State University of New York at Albany.
"It's not so important whether it was Arutz Sheva or the Cleveland Jewish News that got the story," said Rosen. "It's important that someone did - and that just shows that American Jewish dentists who visit Israel are getting the press coverage they deserve and which the Jewish reader in America demands."
