A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details 1 Online news: A study of ‘credibility’ in the context of the Saudi news media Naif Mutlaq Alotaibi Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Sussex December 2016 2 I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted, either in the same or different form to this or any other University for a degree. Signature: 3 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX Naif Mutlaq Alotaibi Online news: A study of ‘credibility’ in the context of the Saudi news media ABSTRACT This thesis explores the ‘credibility’ of news in Saudi Arabia, comparing online media with official newspapers. The latter are heavily regulated offering limited viewpoints. But the Saudi government has been less able to regulate online. Against a historical background of news development in Saudi Arabia, the thesis explores the rise of online from discussion forums established in the 1990s to online newspapers and social media. Largely qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups) plus a quantitative survey, were adopted to collect two sets of data: from educated readers, and from journalists working for online publications. Additionally, material from two news case studies was gathered. Questions concerned: how online news was evaluated by users compared to more traditional reporting; how producers perceived the distinctiveness of online titles and the issues they faced. The data from the case studies – an ‘internal’ news story, Corona virus and an ‘external’ event, Egyptian elections – was subjected to ‘frame’ analysis, addressing the different news coverage of official print titles, online news and independent Twitter accounts. Focus was on whether online reporting offered more varied viewpoints and greater reader participation, and whether there was evidence for more management of news by the Saudi authorities in relation to the internal as compared to the external news event. 4 The thesis argues that compared to official newspapers, online titles have largely gained greater credibility amongst educated Saudi users. They are regarded as offering different views, more ‘objective’ reporting and actively encourage reader comment. Findings indicate that online is less censored than official newspapers, but editors/journalists have learnt the skills of self-censorship to avoid blocking. Exchange of views on Twitter also demonstrate the possibility of distinctive voices and viewpoints being aired and argued over. In these ways, the relation between online news and readers/users begins to enable the formation of independent ‘public opinion’. 5 Dedication To my father, Mutlaq, who was illiterate, but taught me the most beautiful things in my life. 6 Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep appreciation and thanks to my supervisor Janice Winship for her guidance and patience and for providing me with valuable and timely feedback. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Saudi Culture Bureau in London for facilitating and supporting me during my scholarship. A special thanks and appreciation: to my beloved wife, Abeer, for her continuous support and encouragement; and for her help in taking care of our children when I was working on this project. Special thanks also extend to my lovely children: my eldest son Meshal for being a wonderful friend, my lovely daughter and flower of my life Alnayifah, the little man Mohammed, and finally the little one, Sauod, who was born in the first year of my PhD and went to live with his grandparents: I hope all of us can give him the time he deserves in the future. I would like to thank the participants, the Saudi users and the journalists who gave their time to take part in this research. I would like to express my thanks to everyone who helped me with my research, colleagues, friends, and loved ones who wished me success. 7 List of Abbreviations AFP French news agency ART Arab Radio and Television Ads Advertisement Aramco Saudi Arabian Oil Company BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CITC Communications and Information Technology Commission CNN Cable News Network KACST King Abdul Aziz’s City for Science and Technology MBC Middle East Broadcasting Centre NCB Saudi National Bank SMS Short message service SPA Saudi Press Agency UAE United Arab Emirates USA United States of America WHO World Health Organization 8 Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………...…………………3 Acknowledgements…………………...………………………………………………...6 List of Abbreviations………………………………...………………………………….7 List of Tables………………………………...………………………………………….14 List of Figures……………………...…………………………………………………...14 Introduction: ……………………………...…………………………………………….15 Introduction ………………………………...…………………………………………….15 Saudi society and online news ……………………………………...…………………16 ‘Arab Spring’ and social media ………………………………………………...………20 Research, theory and methodology …………………………………………..………28 Reflecting on methods ………………………………………………………..………...32 Structure of the thesis………………………..………………………………………....34 Chapter 1: History, Politics and Regulation in Saudi Arabia …………...……..39 1.1 Introduction ……………………………...…………………………………39 1.2 ‘Official’ media and individual ownership: the mid-1920s to the mid- 1960s………………………………………………………………………..41 1.3 The emergence of radio ………………………………………...………..56 1.4 Television: supporting nationhood ……………………………...……….60 1.5 ‘Institutional’ press: mid-1960s to 1989 …………………………………63 1.6 Challenges: the 1990s ……………………………………………………76 1.7 Conclusion …………………………………...…………………………….80 Chapter 2: From Credibility to the Public Sphere ………………………….........82 9 2.1 Debates about ‘Credibility’ …………………………...…………………..83 2.2 Habermas: public opinion and the public sphere………...…...………..92 2.3 News media: the formation and degradation of public opinion?...……95 2.4 Arab Studies: possibilities and limits to ‘public opinion', ‘public sphere' and the media …………………………...…….…………………………..99 2.5 Media mobilization ………………………………………..……………...101 2.6 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….. 107 Chapter 3: Methodology ………………………………….…………………………108 3.1 Introduction ………………………………….……………………………108 3.2 Research design and methods………………………...……………….109 3.2.1 Design of the study …………………………………………...…………109 3.2.2 Research methods ………………………………………………………116 3.2.2.1 The survey: using questionnaires………………...…….………………116 3.2.2.2 One-to-one interviews……………………………………………………117 3.2.2.3 Comparative method: using case studies ……………………...…….118 3.3 Doing the research………..……..………………………………………119 3.4 Data organization and analysis ……………………………….………..127 3.4 Ethical issues…………………...………….……………………………..131 3.5 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………..132 Chapter 4: The Development of Saudi Online Journalism: Towards a More Open Press? …………………………………………………………………………..134 4.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………134 4.2 Discussion forums on the Internet ……………………………..……..153 10 4.3 The emergence of Saudi online journalism ……………………...…..154 4.3.1 The first phase ……………………………………….………………….147 4.3.2 The second phase ……………………………………………………...148 4.4 Regulating online journalism …………………………………………..155 4.5 Challenges facing online journalism ……………………………….....163 4.6 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………165 Chapter 5: Producing Online News: Perceptions of Saudi Journalists .….167 5.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………..167 5.2 Online journalism in practice ……………………………...…………..168 5.2.1 News gathering …………………………………………………………168 5.2.2 Becoming an online editor …………………………...………………..170 5.2.3 Checking the reliability of news …………………………………...….172 5.2.4 Constraints and obstacles for Saudi online editors…………...…….175 5.2.5 Censorship of Saudi online news ………………………………..…...178 5.3 Winning and keeping readers………………...……………………….182 5.4 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………187 Chapter 6: Perceptions of Saudi Readers: The Credibility of Online Newspapers and Other Media…………………………………………..…………190 6.1 Introduction ……………………………...……………………………...190 6.2 The main findings of the survey ………………………………………191 6.3 The main findings of the interviews ……………………….…………..194 6.3.1 Accessing news ………………………………………………………..195 11 6.3.2 Evaluating and comparing ……………………………….……………199 6.3.3 What Saudi users liked or disliked in the online newspapers ….….202 6.3.4 On censorship and regulation ……………….………………………..204 6.3.5 Online debate and media ‘freedom’………..…………………………207 6.3.6 Professional standards……………….……………………….…….…210 6.3.7 Developments and Improvements…………………………………....213 6.4 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………..…215 Chapter 7: News Stories: Mainstream and Alternative, Offline and Online…………………………………………………………………………………...218 7.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………218 7.2 Saudi media and the Corona disease …………………………..……220 7.2.1 Background to the issue ……………………………...………………..220 7.2.2 Saudi official newspapers ……………………………………...………222 7.2.2.1 The ‘awareness and reassurance’ frame ………………..……..........223 7.2.3 Online newspapers …………………………….…………...…………..230 7.2.3.1 The ‘warning with some awareness’ frame …………………………..230 7.2.4 Twitter…………………………...…………………………………..……235