A one-man show: Journalist Reuven Pedatzur and the Arrow missile project 1994–2012

Abstract

This article seeks to examine whether, in an age where anyone ostensibly can become a journalist without the backing of any professional and responsible system, a single journalist can bring an important topic, related to a central security issue in a given society, to the attention of the media and of decision-makers. To this end, this study compared the salience and framing of coverage of the Arrow missile project in the Israeli press and among Israeli journalists to the coverage of two other complex topics – the Dolphin submarine project and the Merkava tank project. Two Israeli newspapers were examined: Ha’aretz, which appeals mainly to intellectual readers, and the mass- circulation Yedioth Aharonoth. The findings show that the Arrow project received much more salient coverage than the other projects examined, thanks to the salience Reuven Pedatzur, Ha’aretz journalist, afforded the project. Moreover, Pedatzur’s negative framings of the Arrow project were the most salient, such that the project was framed more negatively than positively, as was also the case for the Merkava tank project, which was framed negatively by Ha’aretz journalist Amnon Barzilai, though its salience was much lower. Hence, the findings of this study contribute to constructing a normative and effective model for journalistic work. The model centers on personal affinity for the topic covered, a sense of mission regarding the need to change the policy of a political institution, specialization in and study of the topic under consideration, a solid standing in the world of journalism, journalistic experience, backing from high quality and anti-establishment journalistic institution and support from the military (the air force in this case) and the political elite.