Freedom of "The Press"

After Israeli marines enforced the blockade against Gaza, I wasn't surprised to be awakened from my reverie by the sound of left knees jerking in newsrooms all over New Zealand. The Press however was particularly egregious and unprofessional in its coverage of the event. Have a look at today's coverage for the latest example. Quoting professional useful idiot (more on him later, I don't use that term lightly) Mike Treen, Christchurch's paper of record informs us that:

"One commentator said that [on Monday] Israel successfully turned its war against Palestine into a war against the world in targeting a flotilla of people who were clearly peaceful and which contained hundreds of people from different countries," Treen said.

"It just brought home to people in a way they didn't understand before that the occupation turns the Palestinian people, and Gaza in particular, into an open prison which they control."

Got that? "One commentator said..." Is it usual journalistic practice to use a third hand unattributed quote? Sounds more like sloppy, lazy, anything as long as it fits the anti-Israel narrative, reflexively left wing scribbling.

And Mike Treen? This is the man who supported the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, so I think we can see where he's coming from.