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A Main Document V202 ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: TELEVISION NEWS AND THE STATE IN LEBANON Jad P. Melki, Doctor of Philosophy, 2008 Dissertation directed by: Professor Susan D. Moeller College of Journalism This dissertation studies the relationship between television news and the state in Lebanon. It utilizes and reworks New Institutionalism theory by adding aspects of Mitchell’s state effect and other concepts devised from Carey and Foucault. The study starts with a macro-level analysis outlining the major cultural, economic and political factors that influenced the evolution of television news in that country. It then moves to a mezzo-level analysis of the institutional arrangements, routines and practices that dominated the news production process. Finally, it zooms in to a micro-level analysis of the final product of Lebanese broadcast news, focusing on the newscast, its rundown and scripts and the smaller elements that make up the television news story. The study concludes that the highly fragmented Lebanese society generated a similarly fragmented and deeply divided political/economic elite, which used its resources and access to the news media to solidify its status and, by doing so, recreated and confirmed the politico-sectarian divide in this country. In this vicious cycle, the institutionalized and instrumentalized television news played the role of mediator between the elites and their fragmented constituents, and simultaneously bolstered the political and economic power of the former while keeping the latter tightly held in their grip. The hard work and values of the individual journalist were systematically channeled through this powerful institutional mechanism and redirected to serve the top of the hierarchy. The journalist’s background and beliefs were irrelevant to this process. Finally, the study advanced a theory on television news grounded in the empirical evidence and focusing on modern news media as the redistribution and reorganization of communication. TELEVISION NEWS AND THE STATE IN LEBANON by Jad P. Melki Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2008 Advisory Committee: Associate Professor Susan D. Moeller, Chair Professor Shibley Telhami, Dean’s Representative Professor Emeritus Ray Hiebert Professor Linda Steiner Associate Professor Jillian Schwedler Dr. Carol Rogers TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................... i TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................ ii PART I..............................................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................................................1 A. Introduction........................................................................................................................................1 B. Overall Theoretical Lens....................................................................................................................3 C. Methodology ....................................................................................................................................13 PART II ..........................................................................................................................................................23 Chapter 2: Key Factors in the Development of Lebanese Mass Media ....................................................23 A. Culture and Politics: Lebanon, a Mosaic of Cultures in Flux .....................................................23 B. Economics and Technology: Highly Skilled Professionals, Poorly Equipped Media .....................33 C. Other Social Factors: Lebanese programs, Dizzying Content, Disoriented Identity .......................39 D. Legal Aspects of the System: Free Press, Guaranteed Freedoms, Expensive Licensing.................42 E. History of Lebanese News Media: Three Eras: Pre-Civil War, Civil War, Post Civil-War ............46 Chapter 3: History of Lebanese Television and Broadcast News .............................................................51 A. First Period 1956-1974: CLT, Tele-Orient and Foreign Influence .............................................52 B. Second Period 1975-1990: TL, Illegal Stations and the Civil War..................................................76 C. Third Period 1992-2000: New Media Law ....................................................................................122 D. Conclusion of Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................154 Chapter 4: Professional Norms, Values and Ambitions ..........................................................................159 A. Definition of Objectivity................................................................................................................160 B. Do You Believe in Objectivity and Does it Exist in Lebanon? .....................................................163 C. Obstacles and Limitations of Objectivity.......................................................................................168 D. How Do You Practice Objectivity? ...............................................................................................173 E. Conclusion to Chapter 4 .................................................................................................................177 Chapter 5: The Broadcast Journalist and the Institution..........................................................................183 A. The Power of the Institution...........................................................................................................183 B. Monitoring and Self-Monitoring....................................................................................................187 C. Institutionalization in the News Department:.................................................................................200 D. Conclusion of Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................225 Chapter 6: External Fears, Pressures and Obstacles................................................................................230 A. Relationships With and Perception of Politicians..........................................................................231 B. External Pressures, Threats and Appeasements .............................................................................238 C. “Red Lines”....................................................................................................................................244 D. Conclusion to Chapter 6.................................................................................................................255 Chapter 7: The News Department ...........................................................................................................258 A. The News Department Hierarchy: Generals, Lieutenants and Foot Soldiers ................................258 B. Instruments and Technologies: The News Department’s Weapons...............................................309 PART IV: NEWS CONTENT......................................................................................................................324 Chapter 8: News Sources and Newsworthiness.......................................................................................326 A. News Sources.................................................................................................................................326 B. Newsworthiness and the Rundown: Political Figures, Not Political Positions..............................344 Chapter 9: The Newscast Content: long boring official news.................................................................366 A. The Newscast Introduction ............................................................................................................367 B. Comparing the Rundowns..............................................................................................................382 C. Comparing the News Story: Al-Assad’s Speech............................................................................397 D. Analyzing Individual Rundowns ...................................................................................................421 E. Conclusion for Chapter 9................................................................................................................427 PART V: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................429 Ch. 10: Television News and the State in Lebanon.................................................................................429 APPENDIX A ..............................................................................................................................................448 REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................................450 ii PART I Chapter 1: Introduction A. Introduction This dissertation is a case study that inquires into
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