Public Order Events in the Headlines: The Media Construction of Threat and Dangerousness of Public Order Events in Israel
| Date | 01 December 2011 |
| Author | Badi Hasisi,Revital Sela-Shayovitz |
| Published date | 01 December 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2011.13.4.249 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 13 Number 4
Public order events in the headlines: the
media construction of threat and
dangerousness of public order events in
Israel
Revital Sela-Shayovitz‡ and Badi Hasisi†
‡(Corresponding author) The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.
Tel: 972 2 533 4538; email: ron15r@netvision.net.il
†The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel.
Submitted 11 March 2011; revision submitted 24 July 2011;
accepted 28 July 2011
Keywords: public order events, protest paradigm, threat hypothesis,
repressive policing, news media coverage, minority protests
Revital Sela-Shayovitz is head of non-formal
ABSTRACT
Education Studies at David Yellin Academic Col-
This paper examines the role of levels of threat on
lege, and an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate
the newspaper coverage of public order policing. We
School of the Criminology Institute at the
distinguished between macro/national and micro/
Hebrew University. Her main research focuses
local types of protest involving the Arab minority
are the effects of terrorism on the law enforce-
in Israel, and tried to illustrate how threat was
ment system and violent crime, and the media
constructed differently by the media. Following the
coverage of crime.
protest paradigm and the threat hypothesis, we
Her research has been published in Europe
focused on the newspaper construction of the threat
and the US in, for example, British Journal of
of two violent public order events in which police
Criminology, Journal of Experimental Crimino-
used live ammunition against members of the
logy, Feminist Criminology, Violence against
Israeli Arab minority: the October 2000 events
women, Crime and Media.
(macro) and the Pki’in 2007 event (micro). Our
Badi Hasisi serves as a deputy chair of the
analysis shows that the newspapers highly
Institute of Criminology, the Hebrew University.
emphasised the perceived threat of the October
He received his PhD from the Department of
2000 events — much more than in the Pki’in
Sociology at Haifa University in 2005. In 2006 he
2007 event. Furthermore, in the October 2000
visited the School of Criminal Justice at SUNY
events the coverage was mainly episodic and pro-
Albany for postdoctoral study, and in 2007 he
filed the Israeli Arab protesters as ‘an enemy
started at the Institute of Criminology at the
within’, while in the Pki’in 2007 event, report-
Hebrew University. His main research focuses on
ing was more thematic and contextualised the pro-
policing divided societies, police–minority rela-
test within the social problems of the Druze
tions, protest policing and, lately, policing terror
minority in Israel society. The fact that the Israeli
and airport security. His research has been pub-
Arab minority is perceived by the State as a dis-
lished in Europe and the US in eg, British Journal
sident minority (‘the enemy within’), whilst the
International Journal of Police
Science and Management,
of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Behavior,
Druze Arabs are not, influenced the way public
Vol. 13 No. 4, 2011, pp. 297–311.
DOI: 10.1350/ijps.2011.13.4.249
Criminal Law and Criminology.
order events were covered by the media.
Page 297
Public order events in the headlines
INTRODUCTION
constructed the threat and covered public
Periods of social conflict highlight the
order events, both on the macro and micro
important role of the media in the social
levels. The current study attempts to syn-
construction of threat in protest events. In
thesise the ‘protest paradigm’ mechanism of
fact, the media are the general public’s main
framing with the ‘threat’ hypothesis by
source for gaining a view about the nature
examining the role of newspapers in the
of the conflict and threat posed by protest-
framing of the threats of two severe protest
ers to the public order, political elite and
events involving Israeli Arab minority pro-
police forces. Moreover, the ‘protest para-
testers. In addition, the analysis seeks to
digm’ (Chan & Lee, 1984) assumes that the
shed light on the effect of the level of threat
media act as a gatekeeper by covering the
on the journalists’ tendency to use the
protest from the perspective of the socio-
‘protest paradigm’s’ mechanism of framing
and coverage of repressive policing.1
political ruling elites. Accordingly, social
The study focuses on two unique and
groups which are threatening the estab-
severe public order events in which Israeli
lished order are more likely to be framed in
Arab minorities took part. The first (macro
an episodic and critical manner than from
level) event refers to the October 2000 riots
within a thematic frame. Moreover, media
and the second (micro level) event relates to
coverage often tends to ‘delegitimise’ and
the Pki’in 2007 incident. These two events
‘marginalise’ these groups by using the nar-
have several common features, mainly due
rative structure of violent protest (Baylor,
to the fact that the police became involved
1996; Chan & Lee; Gamson, 1989; Jasper &
in a life-threatening situation and used live
Poulsen, 1995; McLeod, 1995; McLeod &
ammunition against protesters. The current
Detenber 1999; McLeod & Hertog, 1992;
study conducted a comparative analysis of
Murdock, 1981; Shoemaker, 1984).
the newspaper coverage of the events in
By the same token, the ‘threat’ hypo-
order to shed light on the way the media
thesis argues that the perceived threat is one
have differentiated between the two events
of the leading explanations in understand-
and constructed separate threat profiles
ing the police’s response to protest events
(macro versus micro) for each one.
(Earl & Soule, 2006; Earl, Soule, &
McCarthy, 2003). According to this hypo-
Media coverage and protest policing
thesis, two key dimensions are involved, ie,
The coverage of social conflicts in media
macro and micro. The macro dimension
reports has a central role in the public’s
generally refers to the threat posed by pro-
opinion and the manner in which ‘reality
testors to the political elite and the means
definitions’ are formulated (Avraham,
employed by these protestors in order to
Wolfsfeld, & Aburaiya, 2000; Dor, 2001;
challenge the government (violent versus
First, 2002). Most social movements have
non-violent). The micro dimension refers to
limited resources for gaining public visibil-
the situational interactions between the
ity and therefore, in order to advance their
protest group and the police (the ‘seeing
goals, they need to organise protests. How-
blue’ approach), and the factors that affect
ever, the ‘framing’ literature suggests that
police performance during the course of
the media can be favourable toward some of
the protest event (Earl & Soule). While the
the social protest groups which challenge
‘threat’ hypothesis is commonly used to
the elite control group for a limited time
analyse the police’s response to public order
(Mann, 1993; Sampedro,, 2000). Still, in
events, we utilise this analytical framework
the long term, the media do not remain
in order to examine the way that the press
favourable toward protest groups and
Page 298
Sela-Shayovitz and Hasisi
may undermine their agenda (McLeod &
The mechanisms of framing protest
Hertog, 1999; Smith et al., 2001).
groups are divided into several categories:
The ‘protest paradigm’ (Chan & Lee,
narrative structures; techniques of delegit-
1984) focuses on news report patterns that
imisation and marginalisation; and reliance
typify the coverage of social groups which
on official sources (McLeod & Detenber,
challenge the established order. According
1999, p. 5). The narrative structure is related
to this concept, social protest groups are
to the way the media tend to focus on the
commonly framed in terms of conflict and
protestors’ violent actions, often character-
deviance from the status quo by focusing on
ising demonstrators as ‘deviants’ and ‘crim-
the legality of their actions rather than on
inals’, and thereby obfuscating the social
the issues they are raising. In particular,
issues raised by them (Gitlin, 1977; Hall,
groups which are viewed as radical in their
Clarke, Critcher, Jefferson, & Roberts,
beliefs and strategies are often profiled by
1978). Findings from prior studies confirm
journalists in line with the paradigm,
this hypothesis and indicate that journalists
namely, more negative and critical (Baylor,
frequently use violent protest narratives
1996; Chan & Lee; Gamson, 1989; Jasper &
which cast the event as a battle of ‘police
Poulsen, 1995; McLeod, 1995; McLeod &
versus protesters’, rather than drawing pub-
Hertog, 1992; McLeod & Detenber 1999;
lic attention to the social issue at stake
Murdock, 1981; Shoemaker, 1984). This
(McLeod & Hertog, 1998). Indeed, violent
model is based on earlier studies which
protest is a criterion of newsworthiness,
indicate that the news media tend to ‘dele-
although not all social protests become vio-
gitimise’ and ‘marginalise’ groups which
lent (McLeod & Detenber, 1999). In his
challenge the socio-political elite (see
pioneering analysis of the anti-Vietnam war
Cohen, 1980; Murdock, 1981). Media sup-
protest, Murdock (1981) describes how
port for the status quo is rooted in the news
journalists set out to cover the protest in the
production process, since media coverage
anticipation of violence. The main focus of
by its very nature is consistently unable to
this coverage was the violence, although
comprehend or interpret in an unbiased
...
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