تغطية القنوات العربية الإخبارية للثورات العربية في ضوء آراء عينة من النخبة السودانية : قناتي الجزيرة و BBC عربي نموذجا

Abstract EN

The mass media plays a crucial role in forming and shaping people’s attitudes to most community questions and subjects.

The special status of the mass media in society springs from its importance in the process of social enlightenment.

In particular, the Arab satellite news channels play an effective part in the coverage of events and developments in the Arab region on their popular screens.

Despite the importance of covering such occurrences to the Arab audiences, there are differences between the various media outlets in the nature of their coverage.

Each news channel had tended to cover the unfolding events from the perspective of its own agendas.

It is from this angle that the present study assumes its special importance and relevance in so far as it surveys the views and attitudes of the Sudanese elite in relation to the coverage of the Arab news channels of the Arab Uprisings, and this concern is duly reflected in the study’s title: “The Coverage of the Arab News Channels of the Arab Uprisings in the Light of the Views of a Sample of Sudanese Elite: The Jazira and BBC Arabic as Models”.

As the title clearly demonstrates, the knowledge of the opinions of the elite about the presentations of the news media together with the content and degree of effect of their news coverage on shaping the viewer’s mindset is a main aim of this study.

Moreover, the study has sought to answer a number of related questions, the most prominent of which was the commitment of the Jazira and BBC Arabic to objectivity and impartiality in the course of their coverage of the Arab Uprisings.

The study was conducted on the basis of the survey method which, as a scientific methodology, is especially suited to the nature of the study as it aims to record, analyze, and explain phenomena in their current form after the collection of relevant and adequate data.

In conclusion, the study reached a number of results, the most important among which are the following: .

One of the fundamental problems in the news coverage of the Arab Uprisings was the imbalance ranging from over-exaggeration and blackout with the result that a lot of facts and news stories were lost.

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According to the majority view of the elite, the Jazira Channel observes the formalistic balance between two opposing views while it purposefully tends in other cases to ignore alternative views which can be influential and effective.

It was also noted that the stance of the Jazira Channel in relation to Arab governments and systems influences the nature of its coverage of the events and adversely affects its performance.

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According to the survey, the coverage of the BBC Arabic was characterized by objectivity and balance as seen from the quality of invited guests from various and different backgrounds, and this paves the way for the representation of all opinions and trends and, therefore, the accommodation of multiple viewpoints.

Among the study’s key recommendations are the following: .

Arab satellite news channels should pay attention to their role of providing news and information and steer clear of political agendas.

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Arab satellite news channels should treat media coverage with professionalism and abstain from slanting messages of ideological discourse in their media coverage.