Shaping the News in Saudi Arabia - Thesis Proposal Example

Shaping the News in Saudi Arabia Factors Influencing the Published News in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia News gives us information about everything, from individuals to whole nations. Saudi Arabia, as an important and influential Muslim country, is more accountable than most when it comes to publishing and shaping news. This dissertation will provide information about the measures and steps taken to ensure that the news is relevant in this country. The thesis would be dependent upon observing two major newspapers in Saudi Arabia (Alyoum and Alriyadh), and interviews with prominent people working within them. The main purpose of this dissertation is to find and verify the factors that influence the news in Saudi Arabia. Within this framework, this dissertation would also attempt to identify the key problems facing the news industry in Saudi Arabia,. If there are factors challenging the relevance of the news, this dissertation would also suggest how the Arab media could address this by targeting its problematic areas. Table of Contents Topics Page Numbers Introduction 4 Needs Statement 5 Components of the Dissertation 5 Comparison of newspapers 5 Observations at Alyoum and Alriyadh 6 Steps taken to ensure the relevance of the news 6 Factors that influence the news 6 Finding problematic areas 6 Interviews with people working in both of the newspapers 6 Suggesting a proper solution for the problems 6 Conclusion 6 Theoretical Frame Work 6 Methodology 7 Literature Review 8 Methodological Limitations 9 Conclusion 9 Introduction Freedom of the press has always been a contentious issue of debate. This is partly because the media take rather too much advantageof their own position to carry on with their secret agendas, meaning it can become problematic for people and nations. News has always been a factor with the power to make or break anything. Whether it is a person, a business p, a country or a nation, throughout history news and the media have been able to transform them from princes to paupers. Countries and their leaders are concerned about what is published about them in the print and electronic media. Nobody, and no country, wants to be portrayed poorly in front of the entire world, as news is the only power with the ability to shatter your image. Collin Powell described it well when he said that, “Bad news isn’t wine. It doesn’t improve with age” (“Brainy quotes”). Therefore, bad news can only get worse, providing a negative view about someone or something, and that, in the eyes of the public, will probably never change. Terrorism and religion are two major burning issues for the media. Every form of media, whether print or electronic, tries to air as many stories on these two topics as possible, especially when interrelated. Countries where these kinds of terror attacks occur in the name of religion are prone to be seen as victims, while the countries blamed for them are portrayed in an extremely bad light. When the news is concerned with Muslim countries, especially in the Middle East, the first thing that comes to mind is whether it is related to terrorism or extremism; it is rare to expect positive news when a Muslim country is the subject. This leads Muslim nations to take extra care regarding how its image is portrayed in the media. If a story specifically involves the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia, the media is not been given the freedomsof press due to reasons like government pressure etc.. News presented to viewers in these countries goes through a substantial amount of processing and pre-viewing before being aired. Sometimes very little truth is present in the information eventually given to the common people. However, this does not mean that those involved in the media are not trying their best to get the truth out to the people. Alyoum and Alriyadh are two major newspapers in Saudi Arabia that provide information about the Kingdom, alongside a reasonable amount of content on other Middle East countries and the wider world. They could be called the international standard newspapers in Saudi Arabia, and are excellent examples of the print media in the Kingdom; as such, they are a wise choice to focus on in this dissertation. Needs Statement The basic need of this research paper is to provide a conclusion on how news is shaped in Saudi Arabia, and the factors that influence it. Is the procedure of selecting news relevant enough or does it need more effort and improvement? The dissertation has to show that, whether a country is a secular state or not, its people should enjoy a free press, as this determines that a nation is open minded and offers basic rights to its people. It is also important to suggest a solution for the problems identified in the dissertation. Therefore, a sound solution for the key problems should be presented in this research. Components of the Dissertation The dissertation will include the following components: Comparison of the two newspapers with each other, and against other international newspapers that are available to people in Saudi Arabia Observations about the procedure that news goes through before appearing in these two newspapers Steps that are taken to ensure the news is relevant and not a fabrication Factors that affect the selection of news in the newsroom Identification of the problematic areas within these factors that should be removed to make the news more trustworthy Interviews with those who handle the news in each of the newspapers Suggestions for solutions to the problems these newspapers face in trying to publish relevant news A conclusion of whether or not the news presented to the readers is relevant or not Theoretical Frame Work When working upon a thesis or dissertation, many points of view and theories emerge, which in turn raise several questions. When concentrating on the topic of news in Saudi Arabia, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is a Muslim state, and widely known as an orthodox Muslim country. The question arises of how people perceive news in a country where the law has a very powerful hold upon them. Do they rely upon their own news networks, do they prefer foreign networks (e.g. CNN, BBC) and do the local people trust their own networks? The second question is whether the news on the local networks is reliable; trust is established through reliability, so it is vital to know if the news is reliable or not. The third question is whether any factors influence the news. Does government interfere in matters of the media, changing the ugly truth to a sweet fabrication, or does it allow the media a freedom of press? Methodology .the method of this research requires that the mentioned news papers (Alriyadh and Alyoum) are deeply analyzed.  Thorough interviews would be conducted with the news handlers at each of the newspapers, with pertinent questions including the criteria for selecting the news, the sources by which they collect their news, what kind of news they prefer to publish and whether or not selection criteria have changed over the years. It would also be asked whether there are any outside influences, such as government, that alter the decision of whether to publish certain news items or not. Another relevant question would be whether being a Muslim country has an influence when choosing the right news, especially today when Muslim countries have a negative image in many parts of the world. These two newspapers would be compared to each other, making it easier to establish how much appropriate the newsis.. They would then be compared with other newspapers from overseas, allowing the significance of the international news to be determined. All of the selected news will be compared with print media, electronic media or both. This process would help in checking the relevance of the news media in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, both of the newspapers’ operations would be observed. From the starting point to the finished product, it is important to know what happens to the raw data that comes in before it is finally published as a piece of information for readers. These observations would focus on each procedure undertaken in order to modify the news. This would range from identifying the source from which the news was originally taken to how the news is presented to its readers. Finally, the factors that influence whether a piece of news is published for readers or not must be highlighted. After the process of observation and interviewing individuals is completed it should be easier to see how the news is shaped in Saudi Arabia, and whether there is any fabrication or not. There would also be answers to the questions of whether the news selection criteria has changed over the years, and if being a Muslim country changes the views of those responsible for selecting news and presenting it to readers. The problematic areas would also be highlighted so that suitable and practical solutions can be presented. It would be important to identify the kinds of problems that can be addressed, and those that cannot be eradicated from the news selection procedure. The conclusion would show the reliability in the process of choosing and presenting news in Saudi Arabia, and aspects of the procedure that need to be improved. There would also be an explanation of how a commoner in Saudi Arabia would perceive news delivered by their local networks. Literature Review A thorough examination of editions of both Alyoum and Alriyadh would identify all controversial news stories that have been printed. These news items would be highlighted if they included substantially different information from the same story run in other newspapers and print media. For that comparison, newspapers like the New York Times and The Herald would be used. Electronic media news (e.g. CNN and BBC) would also be essential to conduct a comparison with similar news in the Saudi newspapers. Finally, a thorough analysis of the interviews would allow every detail gleaned from the discussions to be put to use. Methodological Limitations The biggest limitation for this dissertation is the lack of sources available for the literature review. One cannot go beyonde anything then using the news articles which are available by Alriyadh and Alyoum and compare it with other kind of news which is available, whether in print or in electronic form. No textual references can be made as most of the research is based upon the news which is printed in the newspapers mentioned above. Conclusion The most important part of every dissertation is its conclusion, as it shows whether the research has been fruitful. The conclusion of this dissertation would explain whether the news in Saudi Arabia is relevant or not, and would offer solutions to the problems faced by the networks. At the end of this research, it would be reasonable to conclude that news plays a vital part in the running of any country, including Saudi Arabia. Work Cited "news quotes-brainy quotes." brainy quotes. brianyquotes.com, n.d. Web. 13 Jan 2011. . Read More