The Political ‘Love-affairs’ of Yedioth Ahronoth and Ma’ariv in the First Decade of the State of Israel

Abstract

This article looks at a little known phenomenon: the relationship between Israel’s political parties and the two leading, privately-owned evening newspapers, Ma’ariv and Yedioth Ahronoth. Both were ready to forgo their independence, at least to some degree, and cooperate with the parties and government to gain exclusive information and economic benefits.

Based on archival documentation, most of it appearing in research literature for the first time, the article illustrates this phenomenon through four deals: Yedioth Ahronoth with the leftist party Mapam; Yedioth with Mapai (Labor); Ma’ariv with Mapai; and Ma’ariv with the Progressive Party.

The findings show that the seeds of the capital-government-press relationship, which in recent years has led to wide media coverage of police investigations, were sown shortly after the establishment of the state. The authors conclude that the distinction between a party-oriented press and an independent one, which is common in Israeli media studies, is an elusive, volatile phenomenon.