A Mediatised Conflict: The Mediatisation of Palestinian Split in Pan-Arab Transnational Satellite TV Journalism

This article explores the behind-the-scenes interplay between regional and Palestinian political actors through pan-Arab international satellite TV (PASTV) news media during the Palestinian internal conflict sparked in 2007 between Fatah and Hamas. The primary focus is on the influential role played by PASTV journalism in shaping the Palestinian political decision-making process during this interplay. The interplay between politics and news media forms the core discussion in the theory of ‘mediatisation’, which informs the theoretical framework in this article, also referring to such interplay as a struggle between ‘political logic’ and ‘news media logic’. Such a struggle reflects the difference between “neutral” and “participant” journalism and how that might influence political processes and political culture. From an informant’s perspective, the article examines how such transnational political communication took place, and the aims each political player attempted to achieve through the mediated reality shaped in PASTV journalism. The study demonstrates with evidence how the role played by PASTV journalism was not an accidental occurrence but an extension of their regional financers’ interests in the conflict. While trying to reinforce the political clout of their Palestinian ally and maximize public sympathy toward this position, the exacerbation and perpetuation of the split become consequences.