RECONFIGURATION OF HEGEMONY IN THE REPRESENTATION OF IRAN'S POWER IN INEWS AND TVONE REPORTING REGARDING THE IRAN–US–ISRAEL CONFLICT (JUNE 2025–MAY 2026)

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the reconfiguration of hegemony in the representation of Iran’s power in the news coverage of iNews and tvOne regarding the Iran–U.S.–Israel conflict during the period June 2025 to May 2026. The study is motivated by the increasing intensity of the conflict, which occurs not only in the military domain but also in discursive struggles within mass media. Media play an important role in shaping public perceptions through processes of social construction. This research adopts a critical paradigm with a qualitative approach and employs Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis method, which consists of textual analysis, discursive practice, and sociocultural practice. The research data were obtained from iNews and tvOne news coverage related to the Iran–U.S.–Israel conflict during the study period. The findings show that iNews tends to represent Iran as an actor with strategic capacity and resilience in facing geopolitical pressure, while tvOne emphasizes Iran’s offensive capabilities through reports on successful attacks against Israel. These differences indicate a process of meaning negotiation in media coverage that is not fully aligned with dominant global narratives about Iran. From Antonio Gramsci’s perspective of hegemony, these findings indicate a reconfiguration of hegemony marked by the emergence of alternative representations of Iran’s position and power in international conflict. Thus, media do not only function as producers of dominant discourse but also as arenas of ideological struggle and meaning construction in the public sphere.