Abstract
The Gaza war controversy over positions of showing (‘hill of shame’ vs. ‘Gaza street’ views) throws into relief the moralizing power of a particular way of seeing, witnessing, that organizes Western war and conflict reporting around demands for pity about human suffering rather than demands for justice over the causes of war. Insofar as witnessing functions as the key mode of seeing in Western media, this article argues, it becomes responsible for reproducing hierarchies of place and human life that prioritise Western over non-Western suffering as a cause of emotion and action for media publics.
Notes
A different version of this article appears in Allan, S. (Ed.). (2009). Routledge Companion to News and Journalism. London: Routledge.
1. Mishkhas, A. How did the Media Cover the War in Gaza? Retrieved June 8, 2009, from http://www.khaleejtimes.com/index00.asp January 25, 2009.
2. Examples drawing on 27th March and 8th April reports (CitationChouliaraki, 2007a; Citation2007b).