Factors associated with the muslims` use of CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera : |ba uses and gratifications perspective

Abstract

Major previous studies on global media have hitherto been concentrating attention on the investigation of the hegemonic effects of such media on the audience. Hence, the global media audience members are generally perceived as passive and weak message recipients who are easily susceptible to global media effects. However, the gratifications scholars criticise this hypodermic needle assumption of global media and argue that the diverse global media audiences have their interpretative frameworks and that they are not only active in selecting the media that can gratify their needs, but also in ascribing their own meanings to global media messages. The scholars, therefore, stress the need for more investigations into the global audience media gratifications in different cultures and societies. The present study intends to fill this gap, especially in the context of Muslim environment. This study explores the Uses and Gratifications Theory to examine the gratifications sought and obtained by Muslims from the use of three popular global satellite news channels, the CNN, BBC and Al-Jazeera and their level of trust in the media. Results show that these three channels are widely used by Muslims, but out of the three major news gratifications tested, which are the need for cognition (NFC), the need for personal integration (NPI) and the need for ‘ummatic’ integration (NUI), only NFC recorded a statistically significant positive relationship with the Muslims’ use of global media, after subjecting the data, collected through a cross-sectional method and self-adminstred questionnaire, from a sample of Muslim nations’ post-graduate students in selected Malaysian public universities, to the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses as well as the structural equation modelling technique. This is, however, attributed to the relatively low Muslims’ trust in the reports of the channels, as the findings show that trust plays no significant role in the Muslims’ global media use behaviour. Following the implications of the findings, this study emphasises the need for the three global satellite news channels to strive hard to raise the level of Muslims’ trust in their reports, so as to gain their confidence. It also stresses the need for Muslims nations’ indigenous media to improve on their services, in order to reduce the Muslims’ dependency on foreign media for news gratifications. It also urges various Muslim government authorities to provide a congenial atmosphere, which is crucial for news media to thrive. This study also recommends the need for Muslims’ extensive private and public participation in the ownership and control of global media and the application of the Islamic ethics of journalism, so as to ensure a free, neutral, responsible and vibrant Muslim national and global media. This study attempts to advance the theory by expanding the Uses and Gratifications Approach to examine the Muslim global media use behaviour and it recommends the application of the combination of the “uses and effects” theory to further understand the uses and effects of the Muslims’ use of the global media.