The Effective Media Tool in Communicating with Arab Audience - Essay Example

THE EFFECTIVE MEDIA TOOL IN COMMUNICATING WITH ARAB AUDIENCE Which of the four media tools, (Newspaper, Radio, Internet or Television) is mostly preferred by Arab audience in the Middle East I. Rationale In moving forward towards my PHD Degree in Journalism, my focus of research will be the Arab audience. Being a journalist from Middle East, this study will help me identify which medium should be used to effectively convey message and news to the Arab audience. Many factors will give me a competency in doing this research. I was born and reared in that region. During my work in the media field in the Middle East, I was in direct contact with people and their concerns. The study about the audiences has always been an essential part of my undergraduate and graduate studies. Additionally, I am a native Arabic speaker and I have easy access to the researched region and its population with regards to surveys. This study enables me to apply my research techniques and know the role of each medium in influencing public opinion. II. Aims and Objectives The aim of this project is to identify what media tool will be effectively used for Arab audience in the Middle East. III. Specific Aims 2.1 To measure captured Arab audience using television. 2.2 To measure captured Arab audience using radio. 2.3 To measure captured Arab audience using newspaper. 2.4 To measure captured Arab audience using online media website. IV. Abstract The September 11 terrorist attack in New York City and the recent bombings in London made communication with the audience of Middle East a main priority for United Kingdom and other countries. Arab audience have become a very important issue for the western countries. Infact, the BBC World Service, will be launching an Arabic TV station dedicated in communicating with the audiences in the Arab world. This paper examines political, physiological and social issues that affect an audience towards the medium. V. Review of Literature Continuous research and study on the issue will be helpful, not only from the academic point of view, but from the strategic side as well. Such research will be very important in building better relationships, and better understanding between the western world and the Middle East population. There are assumptions that the Middle East audience are only watching TV and does not listen to radio or read newspaper. Based from the World Fact Book, the number of television broadcast stations in Saudi Arabia alone, as of 1997 is 117 and the number of radio broadcast stations as of 1998 is 74 of which the AM broadcasting is 43 and the FM broadcasting is 31. There are also several publications and newspapers of which AME Info currently carries more than 50,000 news articles as well as full contact and activity details of more than 200,000 companies from 14 countries across the Middle East.1 In the United States alone, there are 64 Arab publications to cater 4 million Arab-American readers. The preferences of people when it comes to receiving information depend on the person's activities and lifestyle. The convenience of receiving the information should also be considered. In obtaining information using a newspaper and other written publications, a person has to use his eyes and mind for reading. He also has to use his hands to scan through the pages. Unfortunately, as the era of technology develops, news can be easily accessed anywhere. So, people, rather than sitting down and have a good read, they prefer to access news through internet, radio and television. This causes a major drop down in the newspaper industry. Since the launch of the internet, it has captured more than 12 million users concentrated mostly in the urban areas of Middle East. Infact, the launch of Alanwar.com catch the interests of young audiences and even the western countries of which 51% of its viewers were from United States of America and Canada.2 On the other hand, radio, as a media tool is more accessible. It caters to audiences inside and outside their homes. A person can listen to the radio while driving a car, washing the clothes, cooking and doing other activities. It only required a sense of hearing to be able to access information. Research and analysis from the Arab Advisors Group revels that close to 82 per cent of Saudis listen to FM radio. 54 per cent listen to FM radio on a daily basis.3 For television as a media tool, a whooping 14,850,000 or 65% of Saudis watch television of which 9,652,500 are connected with cable/satellite. The figures above are based on Kamal G. Darouny's presentation during the "9th International Advertising Association World Education Conference", last October 12-15, 2000, at Miami, Florida. Today, many cable and satellite companies are growing because of the popularity of television in Arab communities. With the success of Aljazeera TV which is known to be the most controversial news channel in the Middle East, the BBC World made a decision to replace its Arabic service from radio to a TV station in 2006. USA, on the other hand has launched Alhurra TV to communicate with the Middle East audience and is now reaching the 40 percent of the weekly audience of Aljazeera TV.4 VI. Discussion Point The role of media, whether it is Television, Radio, Newspaper or online media website is to spread news, facts and other important and political information to its audience. Based on the statistics, close to 89 percent of Arab households in Saudi Arabia have satellite television and 90 percent of surveyed households prefer to watch satellite television programming in Arabic or with Arabic subtitles.5 Television companies are studying the audience patterns and viewing time slots so that the programs aired on a particular time will match to its audience, may it be a child who prefer cartoons or an adult who watches news. Colour quality and sound is also a vital character to effectively convey message and news to the Arab audience. Audience will directly be attracted to these features especially if the TV programs are perfectly tailored to suit the televisions market. In the political side, the interest of the western countries to the Middle East audience is quoted by Peter Einstein, CEO of Showtime when he said "We wanted to position it as Western programming made for the Middle East.". Infact, Showtime offers over 51 premium channels of predominantly Western television entertainment including four sports and four movie channels. 5 It is obviously clear that more and more Middle East audience watch televisions and even subscribe cable/satellites to cater their viewing needs, thus, television is the effective media tool for Arab audiences. VI. Methodology The methodology that I adopted in this research is analysis of data and surveys conducted in different countries of the Middle East. Aside from that interview is conducted to the manager of a newspaper company in the Middle East. List of References Electronic Resources November 24, 2004, FM Radio in Saudi Arabia, AME Info [Online] Available at: http://www.ameinfo.com/56430.html July 14, 2005, AME Info undergoes first Middle East audit, Strategiy.com [Online] Available at: http://www.strategiy.com/advertising_medianew.aspid=20050714161710 October 25, 2005, World Service confirms Arabic TV, BBC News [Online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4374130.stm March 29, 2006, Field Listing - Population, World Fact Book [Online] Available at: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2119.html Kamal G. Darouny, October 2000, The Revolution of the Arab Satellite TV Stations Versus the Local Broadcast Media in the Arab Countries, Allied Media Corp. [Online] Available at: http://www.allied-media.com/ARABTV/arab_sat.html Joe Khalil, Spring 2005, To Pay or not to Pay Free Western Entertainment Channels Seek Pay Package Audiences, Transnational Broadcasting Servies, [Online] Available at: http://www.tbsjournal.com/khalil.html Serving the Lebanese and Arab Communities Globally, Alanwar.com [Online] Available at: http://www.alanwar.com/anwar/advertising_online.shtml Read More