The importance of the mass media as a center of power in the public political and security arena in general, and in the realm of national security in particular, has increased in recent decades. This project aims to explore the dynamics between the media and the security realm while analyzing the social and political effects and implications that are derived from this relationship. The project focuses on a variety of research areas pertaining to this interface, including the media’s role and performance during routine periods of calm and periods of warfare; the media’s role in civil-military relations and the manner in which it covers military campaigns; bereavement, casualties, and the media; freedom of expression and the needs of national security; the essence of strategic communications and how to effectively manage the field (information, awareness, and the work of spokespeople); security and media economics; the military and security in culture; civil society, protest, and security; delegitimization (BDS) and the media; terrorism and the media; the relationship between the media and public opinion; social resilience and the media; law, the media, and national security; security censorship; the media’s role in the relationship between the political and military echelons; trends in the consumption of news on national security; types of internet activity, with an emphasis on the social networks; and examination of the media discourse on the shapers of Israeli public opinion and the Israeli leadership.
