Bottlenecks in the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The coverage of the first and second intifada in the Flemish press

Bibliographic Data

ID12904625
AuthorsAnnelore Deprez (Ghent University Hospital, corresponding author), Karin Raeymaeckers (0000-0002-8887-054X, Ghent University Hospital)
Year2011
Volume4
Issue2
Pages185-202
Publication date2011-07-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedia War & Conflict (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1750-6352 • E-ISSN: 1750-6360
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1750635211406612
OpenAlexW2065937463
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited25

Various authors suggest that the public’s knowledge of the Israeli—Palestinian conflict is inadequate. As it is generally accepted that public opinion on international news items is mainly formed by media content, the international media are often held responsible for sustaining the prevailing misconceptions about the Israeli—Palestinian conflict by covering the conflict parties in a biased and imbalanced way. This study focuses on the representation of Israelis and Palestinians in the news coverage of the first and second intifada by the Flemish press. By way of a content analysis, evolutions and discrepancies in the coverage of both intifadas are described in a longitudinal analytical perspective. The authors conclude that the portrayal of the Palestinian actors shifts from a rather positive view during the first intifada period to a more critical portrayal during the period of the second intifada. At the same time, there is an opposite move in the representation of the Israeli actors in the conflict. Although our results show differences in the distinct portrayals, they do not provide sufficient evidence to conclude unequivocally that the coverage of the first and second intifada is unbalanced. Indeed, the authors find that while some variables definitely favour the Israeli point of view (e.g. the use of sources), others clearly sustain the Palestinian side (e.g. the individualization of victims). In other words, the Flemish dailies cover the first and second intifada in quite a balanced way, contrary to what international studies on the coverage of the Israeli—Palestinian conflict have concluded regarding the media in different national settings

Content analysis · Flemish · Media coverage · Media studies · Period (music · Political science · Politics · Public opinion · Representation (politics · Social science · Sociology · History · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access