Overcoming Hate: Jewish Minority Voices’ Strategies for Participating in the News Media
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Abstract
For a well-functioning and inclusive democracy, it is crucial that minority voices can participate in public debate and express their opinions through the news media. However, media participation can be demanding, especially considering the proliferation of online hate. Based on in-depth interviews with 15 self-identified Jews who have participated in Norwegian media as Jews, this article explores the strategies Jewish minority voices employ when participating in the news media, both to position themselves and achieve their aims as representatives of a small-sized and vulnerable minority, and to deal with the risk of and experiences with antisemitism. The findings show that it can be demanding and distressing, but also rewarding to participate in the media as a minority voice, and most often the motivations and gains outweigh the risks. Although it is common to experience antisemitic hate speech in the wake of media participation, this has not led the participants to withdraw from public engagement. Consequently, this article argues that hate speech does not necessarily represent a boundary for public participation. However, participating as a minority voice requires strong motivation, emotional resilience, and the ability to focus on the positive outcomes of media participation, including the possibility of social change.
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Antisemitism Jewish Perceptions of Antisemitism Jewish - Non - Jewish Relations Interviews Main Topic: Other Media Newspapers, Magazines and Periodicals Representation
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Link to article including link to pdf, Overcoming Hate: Jewish Minority Voices’ Strategies for Participating in the News Media
Bibliographic Information
Overcoming Hate: Jewish Minority Voices’ Strategies for Participating in the News Media. 2023: https://archive.jpr.org.uk/10.1080/17512786.2023.2246030
