How the Influence of Media Can Destroy Communities and Nations - Research Paper Example

Student’s Name Academic Title (If applicable) Position at the University Nationality Student’s Occupation Private Address The Influence of the Media in the Destruction of Nations and Communities Table of Contents ABSTRACT 3 1.0 INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 Problem Statement and Justification 4 1.2 Research Objectives, Questions, and Hypothesis of the Study 5 1.2.1 General Objective 5 1.2.2 Specific Objectives 5 1.2.3 Research Questions 5 1.2.4 Hypothesis 5 1.2.5 Limitation of the study 5 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Influence of Media as a Destruction Tool 6 3.0 METHODOLOGY 8 3.1 Research Design 8 3.2 Data Collection 8 3.3 Sampling and Sample Size 8 3.4 Data Analysis 9 3.5 Validity and Reliability 9 3.7 Ethical Consideration 10 REFERENCES 11 APPENDIX 13 Research Schedule 13 ABSTRACT Television and the internet have grown to have great influence in the communities despite being mismanaged at some point. The main objective of the study is to determine how the influence of media can destroy communities and nations. The study will use a research design while the data will be collected from the Broadcast Monitoring System with the sample being the countries that define Arab uprising. The data collected will be analysed through content analysis. The validity of the study will be improved through a pilot test while reliability will be enhanced through applying the test-retest technique. The study will also take into consideration anonymity and confidentiality while it will be limited on Aljazeera as media. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Media has a great influence on lives today. Internet, movies, radio and television form part of the modern media and have influenced the cultures and actions in the world. In the past fifty years, modern media programs such as Al-Jazeera have transformed the aspects of the globe with some parts of the world getting destroyed by civil war. Stations such as Aljazeera have been associated with war in the Arab nations such as Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. The study will enable an understanding of the effects of media on the communities through a critical analysis of the factors related to its influence. 1.1 Problem Statement and Justification Television and the internet have grown to have great influence in the communities despite being mismanaged at some point. As a result of misplaced interest, media have been using to incite war in communities thus leading to damages, war, internally displaced persons, and refugees as in the case of Syria. According to Harb, Aljazeera, through its live coverage and website, played a role in the Arab spring that led to Tunisia and Egypt revolution. Understanding the influence of media will enable people to become aware thus cautious of the propaganda that they produce. As a result, the study will enable the prevention of wars and its related outcomes like refugees and internally displaced persons. Failure of which, media will keep on causing conflicts of interest to their owners, thus making the general public suffer. The study, therefore, aims to add more information to the already existing knowledge on the negative impacts of media. 1.2 Research Objectives, Questions, and Hypothesis of the Study 1.2.1 General Objective The general objective of the study is; to determine how the influence of media can destroy communities and nations. 1.2.2 Specific Objectives The objectives of the study are: to; 1. Verifying if the media was the cause of protests in the Arab societies 2. Assessing if the media was culpable for spreading the social protests in Arab uprising 3. Determine the influence of media as a social empowerment tool among its users in Arab Uprising context 1.2.3 Research Questions 1. Was media the cause of protests in the Arab societies? 2. Was media culpable for spreading social protests in the Arab countries? 3. Did media have an influence on Arab community as a social empowerment tool? 1.2.4 Hypothesis The null hypothesis of the study includes: 1. Media was not the cause of social protests in Arab societies. 2. Media is not culpable for the spread of social protests in the Arab communities. 3. Media did not have an influence on Arab community as a social empowerment tool. 1.2.5 Limitation of the study The study aims to focus on the Al-Jazeera as a broadcaster. Some challenges that it seeks to experience include translation of the information from Arabic to English since even the machine might not appropriately and logically order the sentences. However, the development of the software used in the translating machines has continuously improved the outcome of the process. The study might not be able to address all the extraneous variables due to the complication of the issues; however, most of the variables have been addressed. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The study entails a review of authoritative and reliable documents. That is, it majorly focuses on the peer-reviewed journals. Literature reviews entail a critical analysis and comparison of the documents relating to media as a destruction tool. 2.2 Influence of Media as a Destruction Tool According to Ghazal (143), the media can create peace or conflict in a society, depending on the ideologies that it is set. It further argues that the language used to pass the information at a given time and space could lead to conflicts as in the case of 2014-2015 Syrian uprising. In agreement, Cherkaoui (17) argues that management of media could determine its influence and even cause conflicts. He affirms that Al-Jazeera's editorial line had been corrupted through a political process thus leading to Arab uprising and Muslim Brotherhood in specific. As a way of protecting their image, Campbell and Hawk argue that such like media station turns to blame on other media for their negative impacts on the society. For example, Al-Jazeera tossed the blame to the social media after being held reliable for the Arab revolution. In most instances, media fraternity serves the interest of the owners or the people that manage them. According to Kraidy, there has been a paradoxical reaction to the relationship between the Arab uprising and media. Media influenced the development of the uprising and, on the other hand, the conflicts led to the sprouting of more media content and portals. The sprout as witnessed in Egypt has been like an act of taking advantage of the chaotic situation. Harb argues that social and broadcasting media played a crucial role in the Arab revolutions. Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera through their satellite challenge engaged the social media user in the call for political change in some of the Arab countries like Egypt and Tunisia. The satellite technology increased the influence of the broadcasting media in developing of the conflicts. Eltantawy and Wiest (1207) agree with the work of Harb that social media was also a critical tool used in the cause of conflicts in some of the Arab nations. Even though they are considering it in a positive perspective, the two argue that social media was instrumental in the Egyptian revolution of 2011 that so the protests that led to the resignation of the state's dictatorial leader. Eltantawy and Weist (1222) found out that social media can be used as a tool for collective action thus able to develop social movements. The youth in today's society are often on the social media thus can respond to the calls for the social action due to their close interaction with the platform. 3.0 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design The research design to be used for the study is a case study. The research will consider taking Al-Jazeera for the study. It will aim at taking an intensive analysis of the Al-Jazeera contents to determine if it had a link to the Arab revolution in countries like Syria, Tunisia, and Egypt. 3.2 Data Collection The study aims to utilise data from the Arab Spring Archives and Broadcast Monitoring Systems that exists online and in universities. Broadcast Monitoring System is an archive that entails the broadcasts of international television. Being a system that can be searched, the data to be collected will include the news broadcasts, interviews, and media reaction of the same. The use of the Arab Spring Archives is to enable the capturing of all Broadcasting Monitoring System that relates to the Arab Spring or revolution events. 3.3 Sampling and Sample Size The data will be collected from the Broadcast Monitoring System as per the dates of the Arab Spring in specific countries. The data to be considered will include the Al-Jazeera broadcast before and during the conflicts. The countries to be considered in the sampling will include Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. Refer to Table 1 below. Table1: Timeframe of Arab Uprising Country Conflict Start (Approximate Date) Conflict End (Approximate Date) Tunisia December 2010 January 2011 Egypt January 2011 January 2014 Libya February 2011 November 2011 Yemen January 2011 January 2015 Syria January 2011 Up to Date Bahrain February 2011 December 2011 Source: Jaromir (71) 3.4 Data Analysis Data will be analysed through a content analysis of the information from the Broadcast Monitoring System and Arab Spring Archive (Abdul-Nabi 2015). It will entail translating and transcribing the information obtained from the sources. The translation, transcriptions, and videos will be analysed. After which social communication in the social networks such as Facebook and Twitter will be enumerated and arranged on the speaker response format. First, the analysis will take consideration of the frequency of the communication during the time in the mass media as an attempt to link it with Al-Jazeera broadcasts. The themes of the communication will, therefore, be developed from the transcripts, thus the development of the common narratives. Second, there will be an analysis of the discourse of the clips to help determine the way Al-Jazeera communicated its information to the society. The process will help determine the characteristics of Al-Jazeera communication and its motivations to the Arab uprising. 3.5 Validity and Reliability The validity of the study will be improved through conducting of pilot study in which I will visit the Broadcast Monitoring System and Arab Spring Archive and determine the type of information that exists. Furthermore, the features of the Broadcast Monitoring System will make the study valid since the documents are independent of the news channels such as Al-Jazeera. Reliability will be determined through a test-retest process. The process entails using the instrument on the same group twice with a time lapse rate in between to determine reliability. The results are, therefore, compared to find the coefficient which is directly proportional to the extent of reliability. 3.7 Ethical Consideration The study will aim at maintaining the confidentiality of some of the information that are deemed delicate. It also will ensure on the maintenance of anonymity of the people that featured on the clips. Images that might be tormenting will not be used in the report neither will face the people that appear in the images be put in public to prevent trauma. REFERENCES Abdul-Nabi, Zainab. "Based on the peace journalism model: Analysis of Al-Jazeera’s coverage of Bahrain’s uprising and Syria’s chemical attack."Global Media and Communication 11.3 (2015): 271-302. PDF. < http://gmc.sagepub.com/content/11/3/271.abstract > Campbell, Heidi A. and Diana Hawk. “Al Jazeera’s Framing of Social Media During the Arab Spring.” CyberOrient 6.1 (2012). HTML. < http://www.cyberorient.net/article.do?articleId=7758 > Cherkaoui, Tarek. "Al Jazeera’s Changing Editorial Perspectives and the Saudi-Qatari Relationship." The Political Economy of Communication 2.1 (2014): 17-32. PDF. < http://polecom.org/index.php/polecom/article/view/28/205 > Eltantawy, Nahed, and Julie B. Wiest. "The Arab spring| Social media in the Egyptian revolution: reconsidering resource mobilization theory." International Journal of Communication 5 (2011): 1207-1224. PDF. < http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/1242 > Ghazal, Ansam. "A Critical Discourse Analysis of SANA and Aljazeera English Channel's Coverage of Syria's 2014-2015 Uprising." International Journal of English Linguistics 5.3 (2015): 143. HTML. < https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3- 3721294401/a-critical-discourse-analysis-of-sana-and-aljazeera > Harb, Zahera. "Arab Revolutions and the Social Media Effect." M/C Journal14.2 (2011). HTML. < http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/364Two > Jaromir, Hanzal, et al. "Al Jazeera in Central European media: 9/11 and the “Arab Spring” compared." Central European Journal of Communication 8.1 (14) (2015): 63-78. PDF. < http://ptks.pl/cejc/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/05-hanzal.pdf > Kraidy, Marwan M. "Media Industries in Revolutionary Times." Media Industries 1.2 (2014). HTML. < http://www.mediaindustriesjournal.org/index.php/mij/article/view/45/87 > APPENDIX Research Schedule Activity Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Literature Review Developing a Proposal Developing Data Collection Instruments Collecting Data Analyzing Data Developing a Research Report Submitting of the Research Report Read More

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction The study entails a review of authoritative and reliable documents. That is, it majorly focuses on the peer-reviewed journals. Literature reviews entail a critical analysis and comparison of the documents relating to media as a destruction tool. 2.2 Influence of Media as a Destruction Tool According to Ghazal (143), the media can create peace or conflict in a society, depending on the ideologies that it is set. It further argues that the language used to pass the information at a given time and space could lead to conflicts as in the case of 2014-2015 Syrian uprising.

In agreement, Cherkaoui (17) argues that management of media could determine its influence and even cause conflicts. He affirms that Al-Jazeera's editorial line had been corrupted through a political process thus leading to Arab uprising and Muslim Brotherhood in specific. As a way of protecting their image, Campbell and Hawk argue that such like media station turns to blame on other media for their negative impacts on the society. For example, Al-Jazeera tossed the blame to the social media after being held reliable for the Arab revolution.

In most instances, media fraternity serves the interest of the owners or the people that manage them. According to Kraidy, there has been a paradoxical reaction to the relationship between the Arab uprising and media. Media influenced the development of the uprising and, on the other hand, the conflicts led to the sprouting of more media content and portals. The sprout as witnessed in Egypt has been like an act of taking advantage of the chaotic situation. Harb argues that social and broadcasting media played a crucial role in the Arab revolutions.

Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera through their satellite challenge engaged the social media user in the call for political change in some of the Arab countries like Egypt and Tunisia. The satellite technology increased the influence of the broadcasting media in developing of the conflicts. Eltantawy and Wiest (1207) agree with the work of Harb that social media was also a critical tool used in the cause of conflicts in some of the Arab nations. Even though they are considering it in a positive perspective, the two argue that social media was instrumental in the Egyptian revolution of 2011 that so the protests that led to the resignation of the state's dictatorial leader.

Eltantawy and Weist (1222) found out that social media can be used as a tool for collective action thus able to develop social movements. The youth in today's society are often on the social media thus can respond to the calls for the social action due to their close interaction with the platform. 3.0 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design The research design to be used for the study is a case study. The research will consider taking Al-Jazeera for the study. It will aim at taking an intensive analysis of the Al-Jazeera contents to determine if it had a link to the Arab revolution in countries like Syria, Tunisia, and Egypt. 3.2 Data Collection The study aims to utilise data from the Arab Spring Archives and Broadcast Monitoring Systems that exists online and in universities.

Broadcast Monitoring System is an archive that entails the broadcasts of international television. Being a system that can be searched, the data to be collected will include the news broadcasts, interviews, and media reaction of the same. The use of the Arab Spring Archives is to enable the capturing of all Broadcasting Monitoring System that relates to the Arab Spring or revolution events. 3.3 Sampling and Sample Size The data will be collected from the Broadcast Monitoring System as per the dates of the Arab Spring in specific countries.

The data to be considered will include the Al-Jazeera broadcast before and during the conflicts. The countries to be considered in the sampling will include Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. Refer to Table 1 below. Table1: Timeframe of Arab Uprising Country Conflict Start (Approximate Date) Conflict End (Approximate Date) Tunisia December 2010 January 2011 Egypt January 2011 January 2014 Libya February 2011 November 2011 Yemen January 2011 January 2015 Syria January 2011 Up to Date Bahrain February 2011 December 2011 Source: Jaromir (71) 3.

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