A Disintegrating Ritual

The Reading of the Deri Verdict as a Media Event of Degradation

Bibliographic Data

ID23238124
AuthorsYaacov Yadgar (0000-0001-7736-9314, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume20
Issue2
Pages204-223
Publication date2003-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Studies in Mass Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0739-3180 • E-ISSN: 1529-5036
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07393180302780
OpenAlexW1971626602
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited17

This article examines the live broadcast of the reading of the verdict in Arieh Deri's trial. First, it is established that the reading of the verdict was a unique case of a radiophonic – not a televised – media event. The main implication of this is that the court, as the organizer of the event, enjoyed a privileged position vis-à-vis the media in determining the message to be transmitted. The article then explores the question of the event's script. Through an interpretative analysis of the event's text, it is established that the reading of the verdict is best categorized as a media event of degradation. Examining the social implications of the event for Israeli society, the article argues that in situations lacking a coherent and agreed-upon center of values and identity, media events of degradation, seen as one type of ritual, may catalyze social disintegration.

Aesthetics · Art · Event (particle physics) · Identity (music) · Media event · Media studies · Political science · Reading (process) · Sociology · Verdict · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies

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