Overcoming Hate

Jewish Minority Voices’ Strategies for Participating in the News Media

Bibliographic Data

ID12908680
AuthorsBirgitte P Haanshuus (0000-0001-6091-9498, University of Oslo, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume18
Issue2
Pages396-412
Publication date2023-08-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2023.2246030
OpenAlexW4385765899
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited35

For a well-functioning and inclusive democracy, it is crucial that minority voices can participate in public debate and express their opinions through the news media. However, media participation can be demanding, especially considering the proliferation of online hate. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 self-identified Jews who have participated in Norwegian media as Jews, this article explores the strategies Jewish minority voices employ when participating in the news media, both to position themselves and achieve their aims as representatives of a small-sized and vulnerable minority, and to deal with the risk of and experiences with antisemitism. The findings show that it can be demanding and distressing, but also rewarding to participate in the media as a minority voice, and most often the motivations and gains outweigh the risks. Although it is common to experience antisemitic hate speech in the wake of media participation, this has not led the participants to withdraw from public engagement. Consequently, this article argues that hate speech does not necessarily represent a boundary for public participation. However, participating as a minority voice requires strong motivation, emotional resilience, and the ability to focus on the positive outcomes of media participation, including the possibility of social change

Antisemitism · Democracy · Ethnic group · Judaism · Media studies · Minority group · News media · Norwegian · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social media · Sociology · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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