This dissertation sets out to investigate the role of the press in effecting political and socio-economic changes in the Bahraini society prior, during and after the Reform Act which was issued by King Hamad Bin Issa Al-Khalifa in February 2001. To this end, the author has used qualitative and quantitative research methods. This was carried out through content analysis of archival data, questionnaires and in-depth structured interviews. The population was randomly selected from journalists, intellectuals, women in key positions as well as media specialists. Qualitatively, the results point to some dramatic changes in varied areas. The press has brought about enhancing the margin of freedom of expression which is depicted in both the coverage and discourse of newspapers discourse. More importantly, the press has a remarkable role in women political empowerment which had been almost absent prior to the Reform Act. Quantitatively, a wider range of topics and issues, some of which are quite sensitive, are now addressed with relative transparency. Another significant change is the increasing number of newspapers. Before the Reform Act there were only two Arabic newspapers, now there are seven Arabic and two English newspapers. Despite such promising changes, some informants continue to believe that the margin of freedom of expression is somewhat restricted and there are some topics and issues that cannot be approached adequately. In light of the results of this study, it can be concluded that the press has effected some major political, social, economic, educational, etc. changes in Bahrain, albeit not quite satisfactorily.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:570896 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Al-Fadhel, Jehad Abdulla |
| Publisher | University of Bedfordshire |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10547/133569 |
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