What officials say, what media show, and what publics get: Gaza, january 2009

This article maps the fundamental dimensions of media coverage of contemporary war. It defines and discusses three major dimensions: Arenas of war news (the homefront, the opponent's media field, and international media); the main script used for positioning the protagonists (power, vulnerability and disaster); and the degree of correspondence between coverage sought by officials and that presented by the media. Here, the political and ideological nature of the regime is highly relevant. Using the case study of the fighting between Israel and the Hamas in the Gaza strip in 2008/2009, we demonstrate the interplay and multifaceted relations between these dimensions.