Making Sense of a Barrier: U.S. News Discourses on Israel’s Dividing Wall

Abstract

This study investigates mainstream U.S. newspaper discourses concerning the dividing wall that Israel built as a separation barrier from the West Bank. In so doing, it ultimately seeks to further explore news media’s role as agents of social control and influence. Findings indicate that in invoking the nationalism dimension, the news did not handle the primordial element adequately, and that emphasis on violence and revenge as well as the tragedy of child victimization was particularly prominent. The study argues that while the media’s role in social control and influence may be significant, the adequacy with which they perform this role is questionable.