ABSTRACT
The story line is a frame into which a journalist can place seemingly random events and give them coherence. It simplifies the narrative thread, reducing it to manageable dimensions by using a single overarching theme so that each dramatic incident can be highlighted as it occurs and each "chapter" of the ongoing story can be slotted in easily and given a context. As subsequent events in the Middle East were to show repeatedly, and the intifada was to highlight, story lines, when adopted in haste, can become a snare, distorting both the journalist's and the public's perception of events. Fixed story lines are popular because it is extraordinarily hard for any journalist to get an overview when events happen in rapid succession and have to be tracked in detail. The story line that was supposed to aid the analyst and the audience to make events more understandable was holding back both the reporter and the audience from acquiring new perceptions.
