The Relevance of Gatekeeping in the Process of Contemporary News Creation and Circulation in Saudi Arabia Abdullah Almaghlooth A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Digital Media at the University of Salford School of Arts and Media 2013 i Table of Contents List of tables and illustrations ........................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... vii Abbreviations ................................................................................................................. viii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Objectives .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Rationale for the study ................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Significance of the study ............................................................................................. 3 1.3.1 Contribution to knowledge ...................................................................................... 3 1.3.2 Importance of the study to Saudi Arabia................................................................. 4 1.4 Research questions ...................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Study design, process and methodology ..................................................................... 7 1.6 Conceptual framework ................................................................................................ 8 1.6.1 History of gatekeeping ............................................................................................ 8 1.6.2 Print newspapers in Saudi Arabia ......................................................................... 10 1.6.3 Electronic newspapers ........................................................................................... 12 1.6.4 Blogs ..................................................................................................................... 12 1.6.5 Microblogs ............................................................................................................ 13 1.6.6 Religious and social effects on Saudi media production ...................................... 13 1.7 Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................ 14 Chapter 2: The Impact of Technology on Journalism 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Resistance to early print technology ......................................................................... 21 2.3 Resistance to twentieth-century print technology ..................................................... 24 2.4 Tensions in Saudi newsrooms ................................................................................... 26 2.5 Journalism and the internet ....................................................................................... 29 2.6 The prevalence of blogging ....................................................................................... 36 2.7 Microblogging and the influence of Twitter ............................................................. 39 2.8 Technology as a new gatekeeper............................................................................... 42 2.9 Technology, journalism and society ......................................................................... 44 2.10 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 53 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework: Gatekeeping 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 55 3.2 Gatekeeping............................................................................................................... 55 3.3 Criticism and discussion of gatekeeping ................................................................... 57 3.4 Gatekeeping in Saudi Arabia .................................................................................... 59 3.5 Twitter gatekeeping ................................................................................................... 71 3.6 Saudis on Twitter ...................................................................................................... 78 3.7 The power of Twitter and its limits ........................................................................... 84 3.8 The growing impact of gatekeeping in the digital era............................................... 86 3.9 Gatewatching: an alternative model .......................................................................... 88 3.10 Why gatewatching cannot replace gatekeeping ...................................................... 90 3.11 Summary ................................................................................................................. 92 ii Chapter 4: Study Design, Process and Methodology 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 93 4.2 Research process ....................................................................................................... 93 4.3 Research philosophy ................................................................................................. 94 4.4 Research approaches ................................................................................................. 98 4.5 Research strategy ...................................................................................................... 99 4.6 Time horizon ........................................................................................................... 100 4.7 Research questions .................................................................................................. 101 4.8 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 101 4.9 Participant observation ............................................................................................ 105 4.9.1 Rationale and purpose of participant observation ............................................... 106 4.9.2 Observation protocol ........................................................................................... 106 4.9.3 Advantages and disadvantages of observation .................................................... 107 4.9.4 Research participants .......................................................................................... 109 4.10 Interviews .............................................................................................................. 110 4.10.1 Interview questions ........................................................................................... 110 4.10.2 Interviewees ...................................................................................................... 112 4.11 Data analysis ......................................................................................................... 115 4.11.1 Organizing the data ........................................................................................... 117 4.11.2 Immersion in the data ........................................................................................ 117 4.11.3 Generating categories and themes ..................................................................... 118 4.11.4 Coding the data ................................................................................................. 118 4.11.5 Offering interpretations ..................................................................................... 119 4.11.6 Searching for alternative understandings .......................................................... 119 4.11.7 Writing the report .............................................................................................. 120 4.12 Ethical issues ......................................................................................................... 120 4.12.1 Approval and consent ........................................................................................ 121 4.13 Translating the interview questions ...................................................................... 122 4.14 Summary ............................................................................................................... 122 Chapter 5: Observation 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 123 5.2 Alriyadh ................................................................................................................... 123 5.2.1 The importance of Alriyadh within the mainstream Saudi media ...................... 123 5.2.2 Justification of the observation method .............................................................. 125 5.2.3 Setting ................................................................................................................. 126 5.2.4 First observation of Alriyadh .............................................................................. 129 5.2.5 Second