Aziz Douai

New Media Influence on Social and Political Change in Africa

While transitioning from autocracy to democracy, media in Africa has always played an important role in democratic and non-democratic states; focusing on politicians, diplomats, activists, and others who work towards political transformations.New Media Influence on Social and Political Change in Africa addresses the development of new mass media and communication tools and its influence on social and political change. While analyzing democratic transitions and cultures with a theoretical perspective, this book also presents case studies and national experiences for media, new media, and democracy scholars and practitioners.

News as business: the global financial crisis and Occupy movement in the Wall Street Journal

Abstract This article examines a leading US business newspapers coverage of the global financial crisis (GFC) and Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the most influential international business newspaper with a global audience, is used as a case study. Although the GFC and OWS are closely related, we found significant differences in the way that they were reported in business news. Specifically, we found divergent frames in the WSJs coverage: an ‘institutional’ framing of the GFC starkly differs from a ‘hegemonic’ framing of OWS. We relate this framing divergence to (1) the instability and inconsistencies in journalisms ‘occupational ideology’ and (2) the challenges social movements encounter in influencing public discourse.

Circulating health rumors in the ‘Arab World’: A 12-month content analysis of news stories and reader commentary about Middle East Respiratory Syndrome from two Middle Eastern news outlets

The Internet provides great opportunity for news as well as entertainment. One such use is to keep abreast of public health concerns. As news outlets’ websites give the audience the privilege of interacting and posting comments as an ‘anonymous user’ following the posted story, these initial comments trigger further comments—which can lead to speculation, rumor, and inaccurate information. The purpose of the current study was to compare one year of news and comments about the outbreak of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome from two major Middle Eastern online news outlets from June 2013 to June 2014. All stories and reader comments about this topic were collected from Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiya and reviewed using framing analysis to determine their framing and approach to the outbreak. The research focused primarily on how discussion and rumor may spread through both the stories as well as the controversial commentary sections.

The Mediated “Arab Spring” Foretold: Conclusions

This concluding chapter reassesses the book’s diverse contributions and concludes that the subtext of hope and positive change is embedded in the larger story of the “Arab Spring.” From a historical perspective, the odds of new media and communication technologies’ contribution to massive public mobilization for political and social change have never been greater given the proliferation and sophistication of these technologies. From a practical perspective, social and political change cannot but remain contingent upon human action, and ICTs can further human action for social justice and political change.