| Abstract [eng] |
The representation of Palestine in Lithuanian Media: An Analysis of LRT is a thesis on Palestinian representation in Lithuania’s national broadcaster. Media outlets have significant influence on public knowledge, shaping not only the facts that are made available to the public but also how those facts are interpreted and understood. Through their coverage, media outlets can guide societal perceptions, influence opinions, and shape the positions people adopt on various issues. This is particularly important when it comes to complex, highly sensitive topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where media portrayals can deeply affect public sentiment and international relations. In this context, Lithuania’s national broadcaster has the responsibility to remain objective and provide high-quality coverage to the public. This raises an issue for the research – despite the fact that Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT is supposed to be unaffected by external influences and act as an objective news provider, it has recently faced criticism for adopting a biased position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The object of this research is the representation of Palestine. Accordingly, the aim of this thesis is to analyse the discourse formed by the national broadcaster on the issue of Palestine and whether it has changed depending on the dynamics of the conflict. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are set: 1. Conduct a literature review and provide a theoretical framework, establishing the criteria to be used in the analysis; 2. Select LRT articles based on the chosen keyword ‘Palestine’; 3. Perform a discourse analysis to determine how LRT frames Palestine in the context of the conflict; 4. Present conclusions and recommendations for further research. The study begins by the presentation of the theoretical framework, which consists of the media bias, representation, and framing, providing an understanding of how media outlets shape reader’s positions, news evaluation, and public discourse in general. Then the methodology used in the research – discourse analysis – along with the data and analytical tools, is introduced. The empirical section provides the analysis, structured according to the theoretical framework, and present LRT’s representation of Palestine. By conducting a discourse analysis and employing framing theory, it was demonstrated that during the research period, from October 7, 2022, to October 7, 2024, LRT framed Palestine through the lenses of victim, aggressor, foreign partners, and Lithuania's security. The data revealed that Palestine was most frequently portrayed through the victim frame, accounting for 41.3% of articles mentioning Palestine. This result indicates that written articles mentioning Palestine predominantly represent it as a victim of the conflict. This portrayal is expressed through an emphasis on civilian casualties and the resulting humanitarian crisis, the contextualization of the decades-long occupation, the distinction between Palestinians and the terrorist group Hamas, and support expressed by international actors and protests. It Is likely that the results could differ If the portrayal of Israel In the national broadcaster were included in the study. This thesis does not examine the differences in the portrayal of the conflict actors, which could provide deeper insights into the discourse on this issue. |
