Contemporary Palestinian Media Discourse: a Semantic study in the light of Arab Rhetoric

This study aims to provide a broad exploration of the media discourse in terms of Arab rhetoric conventions. The study started by explaining the term ‘discourse’, its aspects, types, and means of expression in general; moving from whence to discuss its characteristics, requirements for its delivery, in particular the interaction between its constituents - both form and content – or what has been termed as “context of situation” by semanticists; all of which are aimed to suit recipients in their various levels of understanding. This section draws attention to the vital need to establish connections between linguistics and media pointing out that at earliest phases, Arab media relied heavily on Arabic language researchers. The study then elaborated on the instruments available to the media discourse developers to help them master their craft. At the practical level the study reviewed manifestations of pragmatics, which is one of the most salient features of political media discourse, as clear in misrepresentation, resisting translation, unverified and precarious news delivery and lack of authenticity. The study then concluded with recommendations and references.