Question one
Ideas on the role of the media in political conflicts have taken the form of advocacy in terms of mitigation that is based on agenda setting role of the media. In a sense, the media is regarded as the body that decides to place attention on particular political conflict thereby making it a matter of interest. Wolfsfeld, Segev and Sheafer conclude that the role of the media can be best understood from the perspective of developing an understanding of the implications of political factors. Later one can infer on the role of the media given the influences and dynamics in the political climate. This is evident in the use of say social media where situations in the political climate warrant action from individuals to use social media in order to set the agenda on political discussions. For instance, Eltantawy & Weist (2011) contend that the Egyptian revolution was occasioned by the need for mobilization that was, as a result, of the political temperatures in the country. In situations where the political temperatures are at normal levels per say the need for political mobilization in the media is zero. This confirms that the role of the media in political situations is majorly dependent on the political climate.
Principles in war coverage of the media as presented in a presentation titled ‘Role of the Media in Second Lebanese War and Gaza Operations namely; rallying around the flag, control over events, control over information and support for the war finds that he role of the media in wars is twofold. One is that the media acts as a mirror of society reflecting what is happening in the political climate and sharing these with audiences. Secondly, the media play an agenda-setting role majorly on the principle of control over information and support for the war. However, the notion that the media at the beginning of the war tend to rally behind the flag is worth revisiting since media is traditionally meant to play a neutral role in reporting on conflicts (Nagesh, 2014).
These ideas resonate in the lecture module titled ‘The Political Contest Model’ which observes that politics influences media content. Hence, politics comes first followed by media coverage. This means that the media merely depend on the developments in the political climate from which they can draw inferences for coverage or agenda setting. However, this does not tow line with the fact that media decides on which aspects of political on goings to focus on in effect resulting in what is commonly known as agenda setting. It can be observed that the attention that media sources accord to political events make such events headline in the press and other media outlets. The result of which is determining the agenda on the political conflicts, in essence, political factors play a central role in the determination of the agenda of the media. Competition over the news media can hence be understood from the perspective of the context for political power and hence shaping the agenda of the media altogether.
Politics to a great extent also serves to polarize media coverage where in most instances media would make reports that are bias to the advantage of the faction of the political conflict that they support. This in effect confirms the fact that the political developments serve as the pining on the direction that is taken by the news media in terms of coverage. Discussing this matter further the coverage of death during war lectures maintains that journalists report on death based majorly on what is termed as ‘politically acceptable news.’ In a sense, this sort of coverage is meant to develop justification and champion support for struggles and or wars.
In conclusion, the media plays important role political conflicts as it is central in setting the agenda in regard to the reasons for the development of the war. Whereas the media depends on politics to report on it, it as well can shape the course of political events by influencing the direction of discussions and focus on issues that the war is characterized by. The media does this by directing attention on issues in the war that suit them and their audiences in one way, or another.
Question Two
There are important lessons that senior officers in the Israel defense forces can infer from in understanding the role of the media in political conflicts. The first lesson has to do with understanding the impact of social media in the development of discussion on political issues especially in mobilization. To this end, the lesson to be drawn is that the role of social media in political conflicts is based on matters that are still in the early stages of research and, therefore, cannot easily be predicted. Social media plays a vital role in providing a platform for discussions upon which issues can be presented and discussed. The Israel defense leadership need to understand the risks that social media can present in the form of interference in its intelligence and management of the security organs in Israel. According to Tagrhreed (2012), social media can be utilized in creative ways to achieve a myriad of purposes. Therefore, it becomes of absolute importance that the monitoring of social media be made a priority during political conflicts to safeguard political interests.
Other sentiments about social media in political conflicts are that it can as well be utilized to further the agenda of certain political factions. In this regard, social media can be used to set the agenda of the government and assist in the spreading of propaganda; taking advantage of the possibilities that are achievable through social media especially in regard to the mobilization of the masses. The Israel defense forces can marshal support for its agenda through social media an important lesson that is reflective in the power of the social media in mobilization such as was experienced in Egypt and Libya in the recent past (El-Khalili, 2013).
The second lesson that the leadership of the defense forces in Israel can learn in understanding media's role in political conflicts is concerned with vested interests of the media outlets. Vested interests in championing efforts behind their flag are seen as the most central in the media’s agenda in regard to shaping news about the war. Therefore, the Israeli government can champion local media to develop its agenda and make it its priority while at the same time ignore remarks in international media regarding certain issues about the war as in most cases such media is likely to be polarized on coverage of the political conflict depending on their home country and its interests in the war.
Another pertinent concern for the leadership of the defense forces in Israeli regards the control over the situation of the conflict. In this regard, the defense forces should learn that the lesser their grip on the activities on the ground in regard to the conflict, the greater the control that the media has on the information that is developed and transmitted through their media outlets. Therefore, the Israeli defense forces need to cap the information that is transmitted through media by ensuring that it has control over the region where the conflict is ensuing and that it has control on the information that flows in and out of the region of the conflict. This will help the leaders understand the role of the media in regard to furthering its agenda on the political conflict.
The final lesson that the defense forces in Israel need to learn is that the media cannot report on issues of political conflict unless they receive tip-offs from the elite in the society who have influence over the political climate in the situation. In this regard, this is an important lesson in understanding the mandate of the media with regard to the contributions that they can make in the development of conflicts during situations of war.
The lessons that can be drawn in understanding media's role in war reporting are not limited to the four discussed. It is, therefore, the prerogative of the Israeli government and the leadership of its defense forces to continuously engage with the media and meticulously commit resources and time to developing strategies that will serve to positively influence their faction on political conflicts covered by the media between Israel and its enemies.
References
El-Khalili, S., 2013. Social media as a governmen propaganda tool in post -revolutionary Egypt. First Monday: Peer Reviewed Journal on the Internet, 4 March, 18(3).
Eltantawy , N. & Wiest , J. B., 2011. Social Media in the Egyptian Revolution Reconsidering Resource Mobilization Theory. International Journal of Communication, Volume 5, pp. 1207 - 1224.
Nagesh, G., 2014. FCC to Propose New 'Net Neutrality' Rules. The Wall Street Journal, 23 April.
Taghreed, A.-g., 2012. Creative use of Social Media in the Revolutions of Tunisia, Egypt & Libya. Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Science, January, 6(6), p. 147.
