This article deals with mass media in modern democratic societies, using the example of Israeli news reports in German television (TV) news. Central to this interest are processes of mediating politics: political socialisation and education; that is to say, empowering citizens via TV news to participate in democratic processes. The article outlines the current state of TV news making in Germany. Against this background, whilst focusing on TV news production, processes of alienation within the making of news as well as a process of alienation making by the news are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 6 notes.)