Forde, Sydney L and Freedman, Des (D. J.). 2025. Arm’s length or joined at the hip? Public service media’s coverage of Gaza. Communication, Culture & Critique, ISSN 1753-9129 [Article] (In Press)

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Abstract or Description

Critiquing normative articulations of a public versus commercial media binary, we explore the contradictory juxtaposition of democratic expecta- tions assigned to public service media (PSM) broadly, alongside actual PSM reporting. We examine US and UK PSM coverage of two major events related to the bombardment of Gaza and subsequent humanitarian crisis in the months following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Contextualized within the UK, US and Israel’s historical and ongoing colonial violence within Palestine over the past 75 years, we assess cover- age that stands in contradiction to the often fetishized notion of PSM’s role in serving a broadly conceived and normatively accepted “public,” and challenge the independence afforded to existing PSM structures via a critique of the notion that PSM organizations operate at “arm’s length” from government. Throughout our analysis, we nd evidence of systematic failures and highlight PSM’s use as an instrument perpetu- ating state power and control.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcaf003
Additional Information:	This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Communication, Culture & Critique following peer review. The version of record is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/ccc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ccc/tcaf003/8038012.
Data Access Statement:	The data underlying this article are available on the websites cited.
Keywords:	media bias, Gaza, Palestine, Israel, BBC, public service broadcasting, public media
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
Dates:	Date Event 28 January 2025 Accepted 24 February 2025 Published Online
Item ID:	38639
Date Deposited:	03 Apr 2025 11:54
Last Modified:	03 Apr 2025 15:13
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/38639

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