Broadcast Media and Their Social Network Sites: The Case of Palestinian–Israeli Representations and Capabilities

Abstract

This study examines how media representations of Palestinian–Israelis differ between broadcast media outlets and their social networking sites, using the “capabilities approach” as the theoretical framework. The study presents a quantitative content analysis comparison of the frequency and context of appearances of Palestinian–Israeli interviewees on all news and current affairs programs broadcast on the five major Israeli broadcast networks over twelve months, as well as the simultaneous appearances of the interviewees on the programs’ Facebook and Twitter accounts. The results suggest that social networking sites of broadcast media are more enabling of capabilities for Palestinian–Israelis relative to the broadcast media themselves. Thus, with changing consumption patterns and technological developments, this analysis points to the importance of examining social networks in addition to traditional broadcast platforms, for a more comprehensive understanding of which capabilities are enabled through traditional mass media as they expand their reach to new technologies.

The participation of Palestinian-Israeli politicians in public and commercial television and radio in Israel as capability

“…Indeed, a complex relationship exists between these two types of media suggesting a multidimensional interaction in which content flows in both directions (Fook and Simmonds, 2013; Weaver and Willnat, 2016) leading to the conclusion that that the rise of social media has not diminished the importance of traditional media in Israeli society today. In a parallel study we conducted (Shomron and Schejter, 2019b) we demonstrate how the interviews of Palestinian-Israelis described in this study are promoted on the social networking applications Twitter and Facebook simultaneously to their broadcasting on the traditional networks, interestingly in a significantly higher ratio than their ratio in the mass media feed itself.…”

“…Indeed, despite television and radio's central role in society, extensive research has pointed to high levels of under-representation and misrepresentation of Palestinian-Israelis in the electronic media (Bar-lev, 2007; First, 2016; First and Inbar-Lankeri, 2013; Laor et al., 2004, 2006; Shomron and Schejter, 2019b, 2020b). For example, Palestinian-Israelis comprised of 1-4% of characters on news programs on commercial television (First and Inbar-Lankeri, 2013) as well as on public television (Bar-lev, 2007).…”

“…For example, Palestinian-Israelis comprised of 1-4% of characters on news programs on commercial television (First and Inbar-Lankeri, 2013) as well as on public television (Bar-lev, 2007). Moreover, they are regularly portrayed in the negative context of violence and crime (Bar-lev, 2007; First, 2016; First and Inbar-Lankeri, 2013; Laor et al., 2006; Shomron and Schejter, 2019b, 2020b), and tend to appear in less of a professional or educated capacity relative to the Jewish-Israeli majority (Bar-lev, 2007; First and Inbar-Lankeri, 2013; Laor et al., 2006; Shomron and Schejter, 2019b, 2020b). This underrepresentation and misrepresentation have been found to negatively affect Palestinian-Israelis’ ability to realize their capabilities through the mass media (Shomron and Schejter, 2020a, 2020b).…”

The Intervention of Digital Media Technology on the Visual Language of Radio and Television

“…Literature [14] dissected the supportive role of social media, such as television, in the process of misinformation and correction by measuring and calculating the dissemination data of broadcast television media and its exposure to corrective information. Literature [15] used a quantitative content analysis method to assess the role of the guidance of perceptions of the Palestinian-Israeli issue under social media networks, stating that the broadcast media has changed the traditional impression of the mass media.…”

Undergraduate students and time spent on social networking sites: A study of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

“…They have already started conquering digital platforms: all the major global news channels have their accounts on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. One of the recent studies shows the importance of examining these platforms to understand the new capabilities of traditional media (Shomron & Schejter, 2019). Other recent findings suggest that TV news networks' 'production and dissemination behaviors have not changed in a significant way ' (Cárdenas et al, 2020).…”