This new project considers the impact of Israeli English-language news websites on the transnational dissemination of news to a global public interested in the Middle East generally, and in Israel and Palestine specifically. The project focuses on the transformative role of translators and editors of such sites in producing news about this region. So far, I have conducted about three months of ethnographic research with the online editors and translators of a major Israeli news source (2010 and 2011) and intend to continue the research over the coming years.

This research now includes a digital component to track, archive, and visualize the use of Israeli English-language online news across the digital newsscape. To develop the necessary digital tools, I am collaborating with Dr. Anya Tafliovich of UTSC’s Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Kirsta Stapelfeldt of the Digital Scholarship Unit of UTSC Library. We have done a great deal of development so far with the help of a great team of undergraduate students, and will continue to update our website. Please check us out.