International broadcasting and the management of foreign public opinion [Ressource électronique] : the case of Al-hurra television in the Arab street / by Aziz Douai

Ph. D. : Mass communications : Pennsylvania State University : 2009

Bibliogr. p. 203-218

This research project broadly addresses the viability and the shifting roles of U.S. international broadcasting to the Middle East, as a tool of public diplomacy in the post 9/11 political climate. Specifically, investigating the indirect influence of the U.S. sponsored Al-Hurra Television on Moroccan viewers and Arab public opinion is a main purpose of the study. The overall theoretical approach to the investigation of Al-Hurra Television here is based on the insights of indirect media influence theories, particularly Third Person Effect, to probe the "effects" that audiences assume this type of media has on public opinion. In that sense, this study assesses the "perceived effects" of Al-Hurra Television through the prism of presumed influence. It provides the first cross cultural test of the Third Person Effect in an Arab or Muslim culture, drawing on the strengths of different methodologies, quantitative and qualitative data analyses. The topic of Al-Hurra Television's promotion of "political reform" is the issue that respondents had to react to in focus group interviews and surveys. The findings from quantitative analyses suggest that Al-Hurra Television has a negligible influence on the attitudes of its viewers, with less support for the existence of Third Person Effect hypothesis. The qualitative analysis, however, proposes that "indirect influence" of Al-Hurra Television exists, supporting Third Person Effect research. Discussion of these findings leads to the construction of a taxonomy of Al-Hurra Television audiences. Indirect media influence is further connected to the reception of the rhetoric of public diplomacy and international broadcasting. This study thus suggests new linkages between media theory and the policy rhetoric surrounding international broadcasting