Document 2354811

The American University in Cairo
School of Global Affairs and Public Policy
THE JESTER’S FRAME: THE ROLE OF POLITICAL SATIRE IN SHAPING EGYPTIANS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CURRENT ISSUES (CASE OF BASSEM YOUSSEF’S “ALBERNAMEG”) A Thesis Submitted to
The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of Arts
by Salma Tharwat Ismail
under the supervision of Dr. Hussein Amin
December 2014
The American University in Cairo
School of Global Affairs and Public Policy
THE JESTER’S FRAME: THE ROLE OF POLITICAL SATIRE IN SHAPING EGYPTIANS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CURRENT ISSUES (CASE OF BASSEM YOUSSEF’S “ALBERNAMEG”) A Thesis Submitted by
Salma Tharwat Ismail
to the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
December/2014
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Master of Arts
has been approved by
Dr. Hussein Amin
Thesis Adviser
Affiliation: American University in Cairo
Date: December 21, 2014
Dr. Naila Hamdy
Thesis Second Reader
Affiliation: American University in Cairo
Date: December 21, 2014
Dr. Rasha Allam
Thesis Third Reader
Affiliation: American University in Cairo
Date: December 21, 2014
Dr. Naila Hamdy
Department Chair
Date: December 21, 2014
Ambassador Nabil Fahmy
Dean of GAPP
Date: December 21, 2014
ii DEDICATION In loving memory of my dear friend, Mahitab Khalil
Mahi was a role model in every sense of the word…
as a teaching assistant, later on as a work colleague and friend,
and ultimately as the beautiful human being that she was.
You will always be alive in our hearts.
May your lovely soul rest in peace.
iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone who has helped
me through my master’s.
My dear family, for putting up with the ups and downs through it all…
My dad, for his sacrifice and endless support. You always gave me that extra push
whenever I felt that I wanted to give up. I have learned from you that the greatest
investment anyone can leave their children is a good education, as no one can take
that away.
My mom, for her relentless love and care, for teaching me that education is much
more than books and classes, information and a degree; for always telling me that
every situation and person we meet has something to teach us. Most of all, for
showing me that true education is a change in our way of thinking.
Yusra, my sister and lifelong best friend… You were always there whenever I needed
to vent. You managed to put a smile on my face by offering a helping hand or with
your wonderful sense of humor. You always reminded me to take time for myself,
and that when I do, I should have fun to the fullest and not feel guilty about it.
Marwan, my husband and my love, for showing me the true meaning of compromise.
You have made everything easier with your love, patience and understanding.
You’ve given me a peaceful home where I could concentrate on work when I needed
to, or just leave all the stress behind… Thank you for being my sky full of stars.
Yara, we started out as work colleagues and winded up the closest of friends. Sharing
this experience with you made it a whole lot easier. You have taught me that there
comes a point after a great deal of hard work when one has to stop worrying and just
believe that everything will work out for the best.
iv To my professors for their encouragement, and my dear friends at work for their care
and support, sharing the stress right before the deadlines and the happiness and relief
when each semester came to an end.
Dr. Hussein Amin, my thesis supervisor, for being an epitome of hard work. I have
learned a great deal from you, from being a sea of knowledge to the way you deal
with your students, always encouraging us to reach our full potential and treating us
as young scholars. Thank you for everything.
v ABSTRACT This study investigates the socio-political characteristics of the Egyptian political
satire show, Albernameg’s audience, as well as whether the audience considers the
show a source of news. This is studied in relation to the effects of the show on its
viewers’ perceptions of current issues. The uses and gratifications approach and the
framing theory are used as a theoretical framework. Qualitative content analysis
resulted in choosing perceptions of two issues: the AIDS & virus C detection device,
and coal introduction as an alternative source of generating electricity in Egypt, as the
media frames that were used as a basis for the survey questions. The qualitative
content analysis revealed that the two issues were framed negatively on Albernameg.
The survey findings show that Albernameg audience is politically interested and
attentive, exhibits low internal political efficacy and slightly high levels of external
political efficacy, with levels of political knowledge ranging between medium and
high. More than 50% of the sample considers Albernameg a source of news. The
results suggest the presence of framing effects in relation to the two issues under
consideration. Heavy viewers exhibit more negative perceptions of both issues.
Viewers who watched the show for information and those who watched for
entertainment both have negative perceptions of the two issues. There is an inverse
correlation between perceived credibility of Bassem Youssef and viewers’
perceptions of both issues. The higher the level of political knowledge, the more
negative the perceptions of the two issues. More politically knowledgeable viewers
are also slightly more likely to perceive Bassem Youssef as a credible source of
information than less politically knowledgeable ones. These results pose political
satire, and more specifically Albernameg, as a media literacy platform and a strong
tool for influencing public opinion.
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 INTRODUCTION PROBLEM STATEMENT SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1 4 4 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 5 A. USES & GRATIFICATIONS 1. BASIC ASSUMPTIONS 2. MOTIVATION & MEDIA CONSUMPTION 3. MEDIA ORIENTATION B. FRAMING 1. THE THEORY & FRAME TYPOLOGY 2. MEDIATING PROCESSES 3. FRAMING & PUBLIC OPINION 4. MODERATORS OF FRAMING EFFECTS 5. A PROCESS MODEL OF FRAMING 5 5 6 8 10 10 11 12 13 15 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 17 A. THE SATIRE GENRE B. PARODY AS MEDIA CRITICISM C. POLITICAL SATIRE & DEMOCRATIC CULTURE D. SATIRE AUDIENCES’ POLITICAL PROFILES 1. AFFINITY FOR POLITICAL HUMOR 2. POLITICAL EFFICACY 3. POLITICAL INTEREST & KNOWLEDGE E. POLITICAL SATIRE IN EGYPT F. OVERVIEW OF BASSEM YOUSSEF & ALBERNAMEG 1. HOW IT ALL STARTED 2. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF THE SHOW 3. ALBERNAMEG IS BACK 4. HONORS & AWARDS 5. THE PLAGIARISM INCIDENT 6. ALBERNAMEG GOES OFF THE AIR 17 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH QUESTIONS & HYPOTHESES 30 A. RESEARCH QUESTIONS B. HYPOTHESES C. OPERATIONALIZATION OF VARIABLES 34 35 37 vii 17 18 19 19 20 22 23 24 24 25 26 27 27 28 CHAPTER 5: METHODOLOGY 45 A. QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS B. SURVEY C. DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE 45 53 53 CHAPTER 6: DATA ANALYSIS 55 RESEARCH QUESTION 1 RESEARCH QUESTION 2 HYPOTHESIS 1 HYPOTHESIS 2 HYPOTHESIS 3 POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE & AUDIENCES’ PERCEPTIONS 55 63 67 70 74 77 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION & DISCUSSION 83 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS 90 91 93 BIBLIOGRAPHY 94 APPENDIX 107 QUESTIONNAIRE – ARABIC VERSION QUESTIONNAIRE – ENGLISH VERSION 108 113 viii TABLES Table 1: Age
55 Table 2: Gender
56 Table 3: Educational level
57 Table 4: Occupation
58 Table 5: Interest in politics and public affairs
59 Table 6: Attention to politics and public affairs
59 Table 7: Political interest and attention
60 Table 8: Political knowledge
61 Table 9: Internal political efficacy
62 Table 10: External political efficacy
62 Table 11: Reasons for watching Albernameg
63 Table 12: News Sources
64 Table 13: Credibility of Bassem Youssef
66 Table 14: Mean scores of watching for information and watching for
entertainment in terms of perception of the AIDS & virus C detection device
67 Table 15: Difference between watching for information and watching for
entertainment in terms of perception of the AIDS & virus C detection device
68 Table 16: Mean scores of watching for information and watching for
entertainment in terms of perception of using coal to generate electricity
68 Table 17: Difference between watching for information and watching for
entertainment in terms of perception of using coal to generate electricity
69 Table 18: Mean scores of level of viewership in terms of perception of the
AIDS & virus C detection device
70 Table 19: Significance between different levels of viewership in terms of
perception of the AIDS & virus C detection device
70 Table 20: Difference between levels of viewership in terms of perception of
the AIDS & virus C detection device
71 Table 21: Mean scores of level of viewership in terms of perception of using
coal to generate electricity
72 Table 22: Significance between different levels of viewership in terms of
perception of using coal to generate electricity
72 ix Table 23: Difference between levels of viewership in terms of using coal to
generate electricity
73 Table 24: Correlations between perceptions of the AIDS & virus C detection
device and using coal to generate electricity, and perceived credibility of
Bassem Youssef
74 Table 25: Mean scores of viewers who perceive Bassem Youssef as credible
and those who do not, in terms of perception of the AIDS & virus C detection
device
75 Table 26: Difference between viewers who perceive Bassem Youssef as
credible and those who do not, in terms of perception of the AIDS & virus C
detection device
75 Table 27: Mean scores of viewers who perceive Bassem Youssef as credible
and those who do not, in terms of perception of using coal to generate
electricity
76 Table 28: Difference between viewers who perceive Bassem Youssef as
credible and those who do not, in terms of perception of using coal to generate
electricity
76 Table 29: Mean scores of different political knowledge levels in terms of
perception of the AIDS & virus C device
77 Table 30: Significance between different political knowledge levels in terms
of perception of the AIDS & virus C device
78 Table 31: Difference between political knowledge levels in terms of
perception of the AIDS & virus C device
78 Table 32: Mean scores of different political knowledge levels in terms of
perception of using coal to generate electricity
79 Table 33: Significance between different political knowledge levels in terms
of perception of using coal to generate electricity
79 Table 34: Difference between political knowledge levels in terms of
perception of using coal to generate electricity
80 Table 35: Mean scores of different political knowledge levels in relation to
perceived credibility of Bassem Youssef
81 Table 36: Significance between different political knowledge levels in relation
to perceived credibility of Bassem Youssef
81 Table 37: Difference between political knowledge levels in relation to
perceived credibility of Bassem Youssef
82 x FIGURES Figure 1: Age
Figure 2: Gender
Figure 3: Educational level
Figure 4: Occupation
Figure 5: Political interest and attention
Figure 6: Political Knowledge
Figure 7: Reasons for watching Albernameg
Figure 8: News sources
xi 55 56 57 58 60 61 63 65