Mass Media and Communication - Assignment Example

Mass Media and Communication - Ans 1-Ans: The role played by social media in bringing about changes to society can be named revolutionary, with regard to the recent uprisings in Egypt and other Arab nations. In Egypt, especially, traditional media lie television and newspapers were still reluctant to come out openly against the government despite Hosni Mubarak falling from power and authorities officially backing off, “the intelligence services remained active under the radar” (Saoud cited in Owais, 2011, p. 9). Since the Egyptian national newspapers, TV editors and directors who had idolized Mubarak until now, suddenly changed stand and went to the extent of defending the youth, they lost their credibility and the trust of the people. The trust that was lost in the traditional media of mass communication became the gain of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, and the internet became a strong weapon with which the people could communicate information and their protests regarding the ongoing matters. “It is the best source of information, and people depend on it because they no longer trust the Egyptian national media” (Wael cited in Owais, 2011, p. 11). This claim is supported by the Dubai school of government which published the Arab Social Media Report (2011), “With around 4.7 million Facebook users, Egypt constitutes about 22% of total users in the Arab region” (p. 4). Egypt, Tunisia and the Arab world has been “galvanized” through speedy communication facilitated by social networking sites on the internet, and has helped them organize political protests and muster support, thereby ensuring greater democracy in the nation building process in these countries in future (Owais, 2011, p.12). 2-Ans: The responses and the behaviors of the people and the media have had a transforming effect on each other. While the people of the Arab nations preferred to connect to the internet and social networking sites in order to get speedy and authentic information, the authorities were reluctant to allow people to exercise political freedom and clamped down on traditional media. In Egypt for example, even though internet usage was not initially high, “84% of those who are online say they visit social networking sites for news about Egypt's political situation” (Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, 2012). Social media has affected the fall of governments and has made its presence known even in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and Libya. In response to the impact of social media as a popular mass communication method, traditional media of mass communication like the press, radio and TV are also undergoing change; newspapers and TV and Radio offer online content, some of them free of cost in a bid to ward off competition; they have had to reflect the interests of the people in terms of content rather than support the seats of authority; and in terms of economic viability too, they face stiffer competition to attract advertisements (Brown, Guskin and Mitchell, 2012). 3. Social media have thus forced communities rethink their strategies by offering immediate glimpses of the real events happening in the Arab countries to the world outside. Authorities controlled mass media communities like print and television thereby presenting to the people only censored news of the events which did not give the full picture. In Tunisia and Egypt and Yemen, youth communities took to the streets with smart phones and uploaded pictures and news online to counter the control strategies of the authorities. The traditional strategy of the state-controlled radio, print and television and satellite television media has been to follow the version of events dictated by the authorities irrespective of the travails of the people. Opposition views were not aired as a matter of policy either on the television or in print. Repression forced youth communities to fully exploit the advancement in communication technologies and they used social networking sites to update information as a strategy, “the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. "New [or social] media outlets that use bit.ly links are more likely to spread information outside of the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry" (Aday, Sean, Farrell, Lynch, Sides, and Freelon 2012). They used it to organize protests within the region and also communicate information outside the region. 4. Ans: To a great extent, it appears that the social media are gradually taking over from the traditional media like television and print. This is because of the advantages offered by the technological revolution in communication like internet and smart phones and this has opened the demand for more balanced and truthful reporting of news. Many youth from the Arab world have their higher education abroad in the western countries and therefore are at ease with the use of smart phones, social networking tools, use of gadgets and can even offset some of the rules that restrict some types of content from being accessed on the internet. Their education has enabled them to use social media to communicate to all interested within the region and outside the region on the current happenings in the Arab region, without the censors of authorities, “tech-savvy youths who represent 50% of the population are able to outwit their elderly rulers whose average age is over 70” (Owais 2011, p. 12). Arab Social Media Report (2011, p. 16) highlights this “Although there are variations in the percentages of youth in different Arab countries, young Facebook users (between the ages of 15 and 29) consistently dominate across the board in all Arab countries, exceeding the percentage of youth population. This indicates that they are main driving force behind the growing Facebook penetration rate.” Furthermore, the possibility of updating current news even as they are taking place, presenting various dimensions and views of the common man and middle-class population has given social media an edge over other media. These appear to be credible reasons for their popularity, and if not immediately, gradually social media may dominate the mass communication scenario in the Arab world. 5. Ans: Different mass media adopted different strategies to communicate to the people and counter the immediacy of social media. First, the print media, almost all Arab nations were adopting the line of the government and authorities, ignoring ground realities of the discontented people; the high-handed approach of the authorities were all reported instantly to the world through Twitter and Facebook (Owais, 2011). Consequently, print media had to change its strategies, and after the uprising, they elected their own editorial board; writing styles changed, reported corruption charges of people in power and investigative journalism is considered worthy now; governments have been forced to liberalize press restriction all over Arab nations (Owais, 2011, pp. 12-3). Second, Television has been impacted too, and conducting more talk-shows that take into consideration the views of the opposition and people get to see a different point of view (Owais 2011, p. 10). Thirdly, Satellite television like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya serve as the alternates to state-owned news channels in Libya; in Egypt also they have been compelled to play a more independent role and have aired arguments between ministers and intellectuals as a reflection voicing public opinion (Owais 2011, p. 13). Fourthly, audio communities like Radio have also adopted different strategies to meet the challenges of the social media, like going online thereby cutting operations costs and reaching wider audiences; they have also changed the content of programs aired and reporting styles in order to attract advertising and retain listener rates (Rosenstiel 2012). These are the strategies used by various mass media to counter social media. References Aday, Sean, Farrell, Henry., Lynch, Marc., Sides, John., and Freelon, Deen. 2012 "Blogs and Bullets II: New Media and Conflict After the Arab Spring." Peaceworks: United States Institute for Peace. July 2012. Arab Social Media Report. 2011 Dubai School of Government. Vol. 1. No. 1pp. 1-20. Brown, Heather., Guskin, Emily., and Mitchell, Amy. 2012 Project for Excellence in Journalism. Available at: http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/role_social_media_arab_uprisings Owais, Rasha: 2012. “Arab Media during the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia: Time for Change” in Middle East Media Educator, 1(1), 2011, 9-13. Available at: http://ro.uow.edu.au/meme/vol1/iss1/2 Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. 2012 “Egyptians Embrace Revolt Leaders, Religious Parties and Military, As Well”. Available at: http://www.pewglobal.org/2011/04/25/egyptians-embrace-revolt-leaders-religious-parties-and-military-as-well/ Rosenstiel, Tom 2012. “Arab-American Media: Bringing News to a Diverse Community” Available at: http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/press_release_8 Read More