The Media Campaign in the 2003 Israeli Elections

The main characteristics of the media campaign in the 2003 Israeli elections include the coverage and implications of political scandals and limited retreat from postmodern campaign communications. Political scandals, primarily involving the ruling Likud party and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, accompanied the relatively short 2003 campaign. The media's role in political scandals, particularly during election campaigns, has not been sufficiently studied. Most existing research deals with scandals in the United States and Italy, and with the personal affairs of politicians such as the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. ¹