The University of Liverpool is one of the top UK universities, member of the prestigious Russell Group of 24 leading UK universities.
The Worlds of Journalism Study is a cross-national collaborative project assessing the state of journalism in the world through representative surveys with journalists.
UNESCO is the lead UN Agency for promoting freedom of expression and safety of journalists as part of its mandate to “promote the free flow of ideas by word and image”.
Strategic Rituals of Loyalty: When Israeli Journalists Face Digital Hate
Journal Article
published in 2022
This article examines how and why Israeli journalists use their military service as a shield in response to online violence and digital hate. This practice, termed here the military-as-alibi strategy, excludes citizens exempt from military service (e.g. Palestinians), and affirms the presumption that “good journalists” are not to be measured by their reporting but by loyalty tests and their commitment to the national cause. Drawing on interviews with journalists and media analysis, the article frames this phenomenon in the context of a militarised society, but also as part of journalists’ global struggle to win the hearts of audiences in challenging times. It labels the military-as-alibi strategy as a ritual of loyalty, and proposes an alternative path to counter anti-press attacks: if journalism is a public good, then “good journalism” *is* “good citizenship”. This approach might free journalists from nationalist loyalty tests, laying better foundations for journalists–audiences relationships in the future.
Sample
20 journalists under attack- Research focuses:
- Digital
- Methods used in research:
- Interviews, Qualitative content analysis
- Countries of research focus:
- Israel