ABSTRACT
No war in the Middle East has been more drawn out, contentious and disturbing than the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Emma Heywood’s study of humanitarian news reporting of the War in Gaza 2014 examines the theme of compassion as it is applied as a news value in reporting of that conflict. She compares the stories produced by French news media outlets to those that emanate from the United Kingdom, and finds differences in the ways compassion is presented and discussed. She notes the various responses from viewers in both countries, finding that national foreign policy can be understood through prime viewers’ responses to the themes of conflict, compassion and victimhood.
