Mohamed Satti

• Onyebadi, U.; Satti, M. S., 2022, "Does local news always dominate newspaper front-page news? A study of the Kuwait Times, 2017–2019", Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, May 15(2): 204 - 221.
  Abstract: Newspapers publish the most important stories on their front pages. In this study, the authors analyzed front-page news stories in the Kuwait Times, between 2017 and 2019, to determine whether local news was more prevalent than international stories or vice versa. The study also categorized and examined the front-page stories published in that period. Results show that the Kuwait Times published fewer local (31.7%) than international stories (68.3%). Stories about government and politics (46.8%) were most prominent. These findings contradict the expectation that newspapers generally publish more local than international stories. The caveat is that Kuwait’s expatriate population is about three times that of locals.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2020.1869287

• Satti, M. S., 2020, "Al jazeera arabic and al jazeera english websites: Agenda-setting as a means to comparatively analyze online news stories", Communication and Society, January 33(1): 1 - 13.
  Abstract: This study seeks to investigate similarities or differences in the content of news stories published on Al Jazeera Arabic (AJA) and Al Jazeera English (AJE) websites. Guided by agenda-setting theory 2,400 online news stories were analyzed. Findings indicate that on fewer than 8% of the time do AJA and AJE display the same news story on their websites. Since Al Jazeera’s target audience differs depending on the language, the study argues that AJA and AJE set the agenda for two sets of news consumers. This is fairly significant as Al Jazeera seeks to play a greater role in news dissemination to a global audience. Al Jazeera deliberately seeks to highlight a certain news item, such as the almost daily coverage of the crisis between Qatar and four other Arab countries in the summer of 2017, thereby actively engaging in agenda-setting. Findings also indicate that AJA publishes more news stories pertaining to the Arab world than AJE. AJA’s coverage of the African and South American continents is relatively low compared to the Arab region, thereby directing audience’s attention to events and issues closer to Al Jazeera’s home base of Qatar. The study also argues that news consumers play a significant role in determining the news items displayed by news outlets.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.15581/003.33.1.1-13

• Satti, M. S.; Memani-Mbunyuza, L.; Onyebadi, U., 2019, "Diversity and the media: A curriculum examination and proposal for journalism and mass communication education in Africa.", IGI Global: 54 - 79.
  Abstract: This chapter investigated the curricula of journalism and mass communication programs in African universities. Sixty-seven programs in public and private universities located in all regions of the continent were examined. The major findings show that diversity and the media courses were taught in 58% of the sample. Programs in the sample from North Africa did not have the course or its equivalent. And, with the exception of Southern Africa, most of the programs in other regions of Africa mainly limit their diversity courses to gender issues. To better prepare journalism students for the coverage of a diverse world, this study recommends that diversity and the media courses be requirements in journalism and mass communication programs in Africa, with the courses expanded to include other elements of diversity such as social class, age/generation, race/ethnicity, religion, and geographical/physical location.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335741507_Diversity_and_the_Media_A_Curriculum_Examination_and_Proposal_for_Journalism_and_Mass_Communication_Education_in_Africa

  http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5079-2.ch003

• Satti, M. S., 2017, "Musical messages: Framing political content in Sudanese popular songs", IGI Global: 187 - 203.
  Abstract: This research analyzes the political content in Sudanese music. The aim is to scrutinize and interpret the meaning of such political content and to place it in a historical context of the country's post-independence history. The songs of some of Sudan's most respected musicians of the current era such as Mohamed Al Amin, Abdel Karim Al Kabli and Mohamed Wardi are examined. Guided by framing analysis, the study employs six framing devices: nationalist/patriotic, responsibility, loyalty/allegiance, assimilation, ethnocentric and superiority frame. The aim of the investigation is to deconstruct the content of nationalistic songs to fully appreciate the roles they play in both popular culture and in the political arena. Results suggest that Sudanese popular music is high in nationalistic/patriotic and loyalty/allegiance but low in assimilation content. Results also indicate that Sudan's post-independence history is rich with songs that reflect the country's political situation.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313793009_Musical_Messages_Framing_Political_Content_in_Sudanese_Popular_Songs

  http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1986-7.ch010

• Satti, M. S., 2015, "Framing the Islamic state on al Jazeera English and the BBC websites", Journal of Arab and Muslim Media Research, March 8(1): 37 - 53.
  Abstract: This study examines the media coverage of the Islamic State (IS) currently vying to establish a caliphate in the Middle East. The websites of Al Jazeera English (AJE) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) were scrutinized in order to determine how they framed IS. This study suggests eight framing devices to this media coverage: The Islamic fundamentalist; religious differences/intolerance; crimes against humanity; the aggressive nature of IS; the aggressive nature of coalition forces; a desire for peace; religious tolerance; and humanitarian. Results suggested that both AJE and the BBC frame IS as an aggressive entity with fundamentalist tendencies, whose main agenda centres on fighting against those who stand in its way. The study also highlights how the coalition forces are similarly framed as having an aggressive nature, although this aggressiveness is warranted, since they are ‘the forces of good fighting against evil’. Results also suggest that IS is framed as an extremist organization that exhibits considerable religious intolerance. Coverage by AJE and the BBC also tended to humanize the victims and to dehumanize those who were victimized.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/jammr.8.1.37_1

• Satti, M. S., 2013, "International media and local programming: The case of Kuwait", Arab Media and Society, May (18)
  Abstract: The last decade has witnessed the acceleration of the phenomenon of media systems going global. Whereas media entities had previously relied on a national audience, going global has promised exposure to an increasingly diverse and sophisticated subscriber base. Although globalization is not a new occurrence, the global presence of media and its targeting of an international audience is a relatively new one. Particularly in the last two decades, media entities have increasingly targeted an international audience as a means of extending their reach and influence. While global media systems now have the ability to distribute media content to a worldwide audience, this phenomenon has undoubtedly created some concerns, especially in small markets such as Kuwait in the Gulf. This study will examine the proliferation of international programming in Kuwaiti film and television. The results will show that while non-Kuwaiti, primarily US, content dominates movie theaters, Kuwaiti television preserves a stronger sense of national identity through its programming, thus showing the limits of globalization on local media markets.

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