This week, there was a shake-up in the world of Israeli television: for the first time, Channel 14 beat Channel 12 in the number of viewers who watched the newscast. The channel celebrated the achievement, and Channel 14 commentator Shlomo Filber claims: This is no coincidence, this achievement will be repeated.
In a post he published on the X account, Filber wrote that the return of Hadar Goldin, the war that ended, and the turnaround in news ratings are all connected.
""Last night, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was returned home after 11 years, a month and a day ago, a ceasefire agreement was signed and all the hostages were returned, and last Thursday, a little history was made when Channel 14 led for the first time in the number of viewers in the main newscast on Channel 12.
""Hadar Goldin's return home after 11 years left 4 final casualties in Gaza. Few believed that two years after the outbreak of fighting, this would be the balance. Exactly a month ago, an agreement was signed to cease fighting in Gaza and return all the hostages, both alive and dead. Hamas, as usual, abuses and violates every agreement. But Israel, backed by the US, is squeezing everyone's return from it. Just before the implementation of the next difficult stage of disarming Hamas.
""During two years of war, the public was glued to the screens, constantly updated on the news. The channels, for their part, filled the studios with commentators and broadcasts focused on the events. In Israel, news systems have long been not just commercial entities with ratings motives, they are active players who participate in shaping public political consciousness.
""In the last three years, the protests and the war have shifted many viewers to Channel 14, its exposure has increased almost fourfold, placing it in a head-to-head battle with Channel 12 – which was for years the strongest edition in Israel, and last week, for the first time, Edition 12 fell to second place and Channel 14 took the premiere. Is this a one-time event or a trend?""
Filber explains: "In this battle of the giants, each channel chose its own narrative for the events. Channel 14 adopted the narrative of victory in the war, and Channel 12 the narrative of the release of the hostages. Each channel chose to amplify and emphasize a different goal. Channel 14 broadcast commentary and reports on the battles, victories, progress and achievements. And Channel 12 focused on the hostages, the families, the square and the headquarters that were established, and the message of stopping the war and returning all the hostages now! This demand was voiced even before the victory over Hezbollah, Iran and the overthrow of the Syrian regime.
""Channel 12 gave a wide platform to every mother, every kidnapped family, to every cry and criticism that exerts emotional pressure. The hidden hope was that the disappointment and pain for the kidnapped and the families would translate into public anger and erosion of support for the government and its moves, which would ultimately lead to early elections.".
""It didn't happen. The whole nation wanted the kidnapped people home, but half of them felt that they were being used politically and stayed away from the screen and the square.".
Filber, as a Channel 14 man, expresses hope: "Let's hope that in the near future the last of the kidnapped will return home, and thus the public narrative that Channel 12 has been riding on for three years will also fade away. The elections were not brought forward, the protest and anger are being forgotten and are converging on a political channel in the form of the Democratic Party. And the majority of the public is happy with the almost complete victory that Netanyahu brought.".
On the other hand, "Channel 14 is now riding on the success of its narrative over the past two years. Also maintaining the fighting spirit, the adherence to victory and the demand to eliminate our enemies ourselves. And also not to return without all the hostages. In the end, we got both a (almost) complete victory, and the hostages. While Channel 12 is currently looking for a new national narrative.
""All of this leads to the conclusion that Channel 14's leadership is not accidental and is not a one-time thing.".
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