Mediatizing Gaza: An Introduction

Abstract

This full-length article introduces a special issue on the mediatization of Gaza. Beginning with a discussion on the ‘remarkable’ debate that took place on the MeCCSA mailing list during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in July-August 2014, the article goes on to consider the role of the media in the conflict, and the relation between media and war, more generally. The article provides an overview of recent events in Gaza, the critique of media coverage of the conflict and recent literature on mediatization theory, before summarising the contents of this special issue of Networking Knowledge. The issue features articles on media coverage of Gaza by BBC World, the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz; the use of social media by the Palestine Solidarity Movement and young adult Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; critical documentary photographs of ‘unspectacular’ violence; and data visualisations of audio and visual tweets during the 2014 assault on Gaza. It closes with an interview with Helga Tawil-Souri on the ‘digital occupation’ of Gaza.