Today is one of those extraordinary days in TV news. History is playing out live and being broadcast to millions. There are stories emerging and changing the whole time, both on television and on social media. Benjamin Netanyahu may or may not go to Egypt. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto may or may not come to Israel.
Split screen coverage abounds, with rolling coverage from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, southern Israel, Sharm El-Sheikh, the West Bank and Gaza. The Israeli hostages, held and tortured by Hamas, for over two years are home.
TV News vs Social Media
I’ve made my feelings about the mainstream coverage of the last two years very clear. Maybe, when the dust settles, I’ll return to that topic. For now, the infrastructure of those institutions is letting us watch Donald Trump address the Knesset. At the same time, we’re seeing hostages returning to their families in Israel. Prisoners, convicted of some heinous crimes, and detainees have been freed in exchange. Images of them bank in the West Bank and Gaza are going around the world too.
While social media is is providing some of the most moving pictures of the hostages being reunited with their families in Israel, it does not have the capacity to provide the kind of coverage traditional TV news does. On days like this, we understand that more than ever.
Above all, it feels like the dynamics in the Middle East and beyond have changed. (T&Cs apply.) A sense of momentum is coming through our screens. Do not adjust your dial. It’s the kind of day where you remember where you watching TV news.