Al Jazeera Centre for Studies has released the fourth issue of Al Jazeera li Dirasat al-Itisal wa al-I’lam (Al Jazeera for Communications and Media Studies) (July 2024). Most studies and research in this issue delve into various media issues and challenges within the broader local and international context of the war waged by Israel against Gaza since 7 October 2023. The course and developments of this war have significantly impacted numerous fields, particularly the media sector. This impact spans across various dimensions and levels, including the freedom of local and international journalists in covering the war and their protection from violations and war crimes. It also encompasses the production of media discourse and its independence from political and financial influences, as well as the use of media in the context of the genocide faced by the Palestinian people. Additionally, it comprises issues related to the freedom and transparency in the distribution and reception of media content.
Correspondingly, this issue features a study that examines the Israeli war on Gaza and its role in engineering the media genocide of the Palestinian journalistic community. Another study investigates the trajectory of news framing during the war in Western media discourse, examining the stages and contexts of transformation in narratives and representations of Israeli and Palestinian identities. It explores the journalistic frameworks, backgrounds, objectives and challenges underlying these narratives. A separate study analyses the facets and dimensions of the crisis in Western media discourse, particularly within French media, under the dominance of the Israeli narrative and its alignment with its arguments. Entitled “The Structure of Zionist Discourse and the Dialectic of Semantics: From the Enlightenment of ‘Self-Emancipation’ to the Brutality of Genocide”, it traces the escalation of anti-Zionist discourse and its interpretation of the dynamics of the war on Gaza in the first half of 2024, amidst expanding protests and student sit-ins at universities in the United States and Europe. The issue also includes studies on the role and functions of Israeli digital propaganda in the war, as well as pro-Israel media discourse.
Furthermore, there is a study that examines the Lebanese media landscape, exploring the professional, legislative, political and economic challenges that have made it one of the most contentious topics in the country. Another study delves into the relationship between the media system and the political regime in Sudan from 2011 to 2023. It investigates legal regulations, economic and administrative structures of journalism and media, and their effects on press freedom. The study also analyses media practices, journalistic ethics, journalists' perspectives, and their role in shaping public political discourse.
The issue contains a variety of other studies as well, along with a research contribution to the Modern Media Dictionary, a book review and reports on recently defended university theses.
The issue is available (only in Arabic) here.
Previous issues are available (only in Arabic) here.