Combining the representation approach with the framing concept: Television news coverage of the Arab population in Israel during conflict

Abstract

This article examines the portrayal of Israel’s Arab population in the Hebrew media, with particular attention to coverage by the national television channels of two violent incidents: events surrounding the first Land Day (30 March 1976) and events of the protests in October 2000, at the start of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Our purpose is twofold: first, to explore how Israeli Arabs are portrayed during violent conflict, and, second, to examine the means of presentation in terms of a time frame, in accordance with the view that the presentation process is dynamic. The research relied primarily on qualitative analysis of media content, but attention was also paid to the quantitative aspects of the coverage. Here we used two complementary theories — the representation approach and the framing concept. At the core of both these theories lies the constructionist approach, which serves as their point of origin.