Annotated Bibliography

Domingo, D., & Heinonen, A. (2008). Weblogs and Journalism: A Typology to Explore the Blurring Boundaries. Nordicom Review 29 10-12. Retrieved from http://jclass.umd.edu/classes/jour698m/domingoblogs.pdf
 

Domingo & Heinonen PhD investigate three variations of Weblogging by journalists within Media institutions in their typology of journalistic weblogs. Domingo & Heinonen illustrate media weblogs as a rather freeform expression of news, free from the editorial pressures of more public news media. While the authors might articulate this as a positive step towards transparency in the media, they also admit to a certain divergence from traditional journalistic practice that causes blogs to become sloppy and irrelevant. This might also be interpreted in the subject of tabloid journalism and reflect a redirection of news values from pressing issues to entertainment news. The authors break down media weblogs into three categories, outlining their important in online media. The first of these is the ‘special event weblog’ that covers breaking news and current affair, in the author’s own words; “the story is born and dies with the event’s newsworthiness”. These stories are very apparent through social media as well as large media institutions and are useful, as Domingo and Heinonen explain, in breaking news to the public as quickly as it happens. Opinion Weblogs make use of the unregulated nature of Weblogging by presenting issues through the authors own perspective and allowing personal opinion within the piece. These types of blogs are useful as they give the audience a chance to weigh in on a subject, creating an online forum for the issue through a comments section within the piece. News commentary weblogs are an elaboration on particular stories by correspondents or the author that aren’t published with the initial story. A useful extension of these weblogs is the author’s ability to interface with their audience, sharing sources and facts and receiving advice on how the story should be constructed.

Israeli Prime minister dissolves parliament for January election.

Pollard, R. (2012, October 11). Netanyahu calls early election to halt ‘turmoil’. The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/world/netanyahu-calls-early-poll-to-halt-turmoil-20121010-27dfb.html

Middle East correspondent Ruth Pollard reports on proceedings in Jerusalem through a fairly specific lens; though the article works its way through Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political standing within Israeli parliament and makes no allusions to the one-sidedness of the coming election, attention inevitably turns to the looming threat of Iran’s nuclear weapons programme. Recent tension between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama has led to perceived support of Netanyahu’s coalition party for Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who supports more direct action in Iran than the incumbent Obama. This opinion is resonated through-out other news sources, Al Jazeera’s Cal Perry reported that Mitt Romney is more willing to support Israeli military strikes. The Israeli PM has already been remanded by the U.S. for threatening words towards Iran at the UN general assembly, however Israel continues to threaten that the international community has “until the middle of next year” to halt Iran nuclear production permanently. Pollard assumes that the intensions of the Netanyahu administration are to win an unopposed election, strengthening the mandate for military action against anti-Israeli Iran; however through the media this has become relatively transparent. This assertion is supported by similar online news articles who give no allusion to the intention of warfare by Israel; however this article examines only the surface of the political and economic reasons behind the Likud party’s dissolution of parliament for the early election. 

Heller, A. (2012 October 15). Israeli Parliament dissolves for early election. Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10-15/israeli-parliament-to-schedule-new-election

Aron Heller’s Bloomberg article is a perfect example of Domingo and Heinonen’s special event weblog. Published on Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Heller’s article gives a deeper insight into political and economic reasons for the reschedule of Israel’s primary election. Heller opens by reinforcing the fact that Netanyahu’s party runs against an opposition that is fractured and leaderless. This is reflected in accounts of disorganization amongst parliamentary debate and the majority coalition that Netanyahu heads. Heller turns the focus to the administrations social and economic policies; massive protests in Tel Aviv against the growing division between rich and poor and complaints of segregation in the west bank throw doubts over Netanyahu’s strong campaign. Working from Jerusalem Heller is able to give a more intimate look into the politics behind Israel’s early election; unable to pass a budget under the fractured coalition government in power, economically minded Netanyahu (being the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel) believes that the economy cannot sustain until the elections previous scheduled date in October 2013, information that is reflected in the Al Jazeera news report. Heller’s article tips the weight toward Netanyahu’s political image amongst his opposing parties writing that the Likud coalition’s opposition will seek to capitalize on Netanyahu’s image as a cold capitalist in their bid for votes, as well as his controversial policies that involve religious privilege for ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Perry, C. (Producer). (2012 October 9). Israeli PM calls early election [News report]. Gaza: Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera’s Cal Perry is somewhat of a veteran of Middle Eastern correspondence and adds a new dimension in a news report on Israel’s early election. In footage from an interview we find that the opinion of Netanyahu’s rush to the poll is in a bid to engage Iran militarily confirmed by an Israeli citizen who declares that “he has no-one above him…. He can pass a budget, he can make a war, whatever he wants”. Again we see a negative connotation of Netanyahu’s intent in pushing forward the election; we can also perceive that this whole issue is very transparent, through society and the media. Adding to the scope of the subject, Perry gives voice to the Palestinian movement Hamas who claim that no Israeli government will give Palestinians their full right and that Jewish settlements on the west bank are obstructing the partition between the Islamist Hamas and the Jewish Israeli territory. These comments come not only in the wake of the anti-Zionist threats from fundamentalist Islam in Iran but also from accusations in the Knesset by opposition leader Shaul Mofaz of turning Israel into a bi-national state by bending to Hamas’ partition. Consistent with other representations of Netanyahu and the character of his government; Perry’s report from Gaza highlights the arguably undemocratic state of affairs within Israel, representing the Israeli government determined on a military conflict with Iran. While Al Jazeera is respected for its transparency, it holds a tendency to scrutinize acts of belligerence (easily perceptible in this event) in a leftist perspective.