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Unstoppable Trends

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Unstoppable Trends Thesis Master of Global Journalism 2006-2008 Örebro University UNSTOPPABLE TRENDS The Impact, Role, and Ideology of Yemeni News Websites WALID AL-SAQAF Superviser: Stig-Arne Nohrstedt 20 May 2008 A Word of Gratitude I would like to acknowledge my two university mentors, Stig-arne Nohrstedt and Roland Stanbridge. Aside from being the ones who helped me carry out this thesis academically, they are the ones who assisted me throughout my ordeal, which was a consequence of the Yemeni government's ban of my website Yemen Portal . I can still recall their gentle words of encouragement and support. To them I am ever grateful particularly as I believe that they will continue their support for me in working for, what I believe, is a noble cause. And through them, I would also like to express my gratitude to Örebro University for standing up for me and for sending an official memo to the President of Yemen asking him to lift the unjust ban. They have demonstrated how a university and its student could come together in defense of the freedom of expression and research. The courageous stance of the university should be respected and admired for it has also shown that academia and activism can sometimes go hand in hand to achieve a higher purpose. Then I also want to acknowledge my colleagues in class, Calixte, Adriana, Ning, Victor, Bussaba, Jacky, Besnik, and Alex. All have shown support in many ways during my troubles and have helped lift my spirit to face the odds that I confronted. Last but not least, I would like to thank my loving wife Afaf and my two wonderful daughters Rania and Sarah, whose endless love keeps me going on and on. ii To AAABDULAZIZ ,,, and AAAZIZZIZAAAA Rest in peace… iii Table of Contents DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ VII LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................................IX LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... X ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................XI 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................. 3 1.1.1 Yemen and media: a historical glimpse .................................................................................. 3 1.1.2 Internet in Yemen .................................................................................................................... 6 1.1.3 Yemeni websites: a historical preview .................................................................................... 7 1.1.4 Yemen Portal........................................................................................................................... 9 1.1.5 The Yemeni News Cyber Space............................................................................................. 11 1.1.6 Personal background ............................................................................................................ 12 1.2 PURPOSE ..................................................................................................................................... 13 1.2.1 Research questions................................................................................................................ 13 1.2.2 Personal motive .................................................................................................................... 13 1.3 LIMITATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 14 1.3.1 Technical limitations............................................................................................................. 14 1.3.2 Theoretical approach limitations.......................................................................................... 16 1.3.3 Interview-related limitations................................................................................................. 16 1.3.4 Ban of Yemen Portal ............................................................................................................. 17 1.4 THESIS OUTLINE ......................................................................................................................... 17 2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................ 19 2.1 PREVIOUS RESEARCH .................................................................................................................. 19 2.1.1 Research on Internet in Yemen ............................................................................................. 19 2.1.2 Research on Internet in the Arab world................................................................................ 21 2.1.3 Research on online news....................................................................................................... 26 2.2 THEORETICAL APPROACHES ....................................................................................................... 29 2.2.1 New media theory.................................................................................................................. 30 2.2.2 The World Wide Web ............................................................................................................ 31 2.2.3 Immediacy............................................................................................................................. 33 2.2.4 Hypermediacy ....................................................................................................................... 36 2.2.5 Remediation .......................................................................................................................... 37 2.2.6 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 40 3 METHODS AND MATERIAL........................................................................................................ 41 3.1 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................... 41 3.1.1 Cases analyzed...................................................................................................................... 42 3.1.2 Sampling approach ............................................................................................................... 43 3.1.3 SPSS variables ...................................................................................................................... 45 3.2 CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ................................................................................................. 46 3.2.1 Sample of articles.................................................................................................................. 46 3.2.2 CDA phases........................................................................................................................... 49 3.3 INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................................... 50 3.3.1 Interview type........................................................................................................................ 50 iv 3.3.2 Interview themes ................................................................................................................... 51 3.3.3 Sample of interviewees.......................................................................................................... 52 3.3.4 Interview schedule................................................................................................................. 55 3.3.5 Questions for each of the themes .......................................................................................... 57 3.4 GENERALIZABILITY , VALIDITY , AND RELIABILITY ...................................................................... 58 4 RESULTS AND FINDINGS............................................................................................................. 61 4.1 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................... 61 4.1.1 Mechanism of data gathering................................................................................................ 61 4.1.2 Yemen's news websites explored ........................................................................................... 63 4.1.3 Government sources: doing more, getting less ..................................................................... 65 4.1.4 Readership and comments .................................................................................................... 67 4.1.5 Some websites do better than others ..................................................................................... 69 4.1.6 Summary and discussion of the findings ............................................................................... 74 4.2 CDA: IDEOLOGICAL TENDENCIES OF YEMENI NEWS WEBSITE .................................................... 76 4.2.1 Event and sources analyzed .................................................................................................
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