conflict & communication online, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2018
www.cco.regener-online.de
ISSN 1618-0747

Ibrahim Hazboun & Ifat Maoz
Palestinian journalists turn to social media: Experiences and practices of covering the asymmetrical conflict in Jerusalem

This study explores the use of social media platforms by Palestinian journalists covering events in Jerusalem within the context of the asymmetrical conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Our findings, based on data gathered from 10 in-depth interviews, reveal that social media platforms allow journalists to construct an autonomous space for sharing witnesses’ accounts while enabling them to partially avoid restrictions on reporting stemming from conditions of the asymmetrical conflict. The interviewees perceive social media platforms as a potential gateway for spreading alternative narratives to both local and international news arenas, however, our findings suggest that authorities in power still manage to impose restrictions on journalists that mirror the reporting restrictions that existed prior to the advent of social media.

The authors:
Ibrahim Hazboun is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A journalist since 1999. Mr. Hazboun covered the Israeli Palestinian conflict, peace negotiations, Israel Lebanon war in 2006 and the wars in Gaza. He also covered other regional and international revolutions and conflicts including Egypt, Turkey and the war in Syria. His research interests include journalistic practices during war and conflict, narratives of intergroup conflicts  and new media.
eMail: ihazboun@yahoo.com.

Ifat Maoz is a Full Professor, Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University. Prof. Maoz is a social psychologist researching psychology and media in conflict and intergroup relations. Her current main interests include cognitive processing of social and political information, dynamics of intergroup encounters in conflict, perceptual moral and cognitive aspects of conflict, peace and reconciliation, audience responses, and cognitive biases in conflict.
eMail: msifat@gmail.com