Abstract
This paper attempts to evaluate Al-Jazeera Arabic Channel talk shows’ treatment of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s case by posing two main questions: the first deals with the amount of coverage granted to this issue. One of the research hypotheses arises here, namely that the coverage was remarkably intense, which may be explained by Al-Jazeera’s dedicated position on the issue. This is explored in this paper through analysis of content and by interviewing the director of news at Al-Jazeera channel, Asif al-Humaidi, and by surveying previous studies that have linked Al-Jazeera’s previous positions to Qatar’s official stand, particularly that the Khashoggi incident took place in the midst of the Qatari-Saudi political crisis. The research samples include four talk shows: “Without Borders,” “Beyond the News,” “Rest of the Story” and “Scenarios,” over the course of a month since Khashoggi’s disappearance. The analysis shows that Khashoggi’s case received 93% of the total coverage of the four programs during the monitoring period.
 The second question deals with several items in the professionalism category, in terms of balancing time granted to the guests, and the degree of objectivity shown by the presenters during the dialogue. It was found that the rate of the presenters’ interventions during guests’ presentation was 57%, in addition to temptations utilized during the dialogues. Another question arises regarding the extent of hate speech in these talk shows, which amounts to 69.4%, by analyzing several items, most notably emotional mobilization, which rated 40.7%.
Highlights
Results of the second question: What kind of dialogue was taking place in the episodes of the talk shows that dealt with the Khashoggi case on Al-Jazeera?
Table (3) shows that most of the dialogues that took place in the talk shows covering the Khashoggi case on Al-Jazeera were opinion dialogues, a type of dialogue that aims at knowing the opinion of the interlocutor on a certain topic
Mixeطd مختلSuggeءsاtرinآgطرحAnalyبtيiلcساaلأl اDiscuبsيsالiسoلأn اPropبaيgالaسnلأd اa. It is clear from table (6) that the most common method used in the dialogues with the hosted guests in the talk shows related to the Khashoggi case on Al Jazeera were the discussion methods that are based on suggesting ideas and requesting opinions and suggestions from the guest and the public
Summary
Throughout the twentieth century, the world witnessed structural changes that led to the collapse of many constants, and the launching of a series of changes and interactions that continue to expand and deepen to present many phenomena and issues on the dialogue table.Mass communication has been able to be the arena in which this most effective event is practiced, especially in the programs of satellite channels, because of the popularity of these channels and the novelty of the issues presented, and the attractiveness of the dialogue in a manner and content (Ananza, 2017).Specialized satellite news channels, through their news, opinions, programs and various content, especially talk shows, contribute to shaping and guiding the public opinion of the society, and working to identify the trends of individuals and to shape their perception of the various issues and current events, as a result of the different advantages, characteristics and influences it enjoys. (Al-Halahleh, 2012). Mass communication has been able to be the arena in which this most effective event is practiced, especially in the programs of satellite channels, because of the popularity of these channels and the novelty of the issues presented, and the attractiveness of the dialogue in a manner and content (Ananza, 2017). Specialized satellite news channels, through their news, opinions, programs and various content, especially talk shows, contribute to shaping and guiding the public opinion of the society, and working to identify the trends of individuals and to shape their perception of the various issues and current events, as a result of the different advantages, characteristics and influences it enjoys. Talk shows are one of the most popular programs and patterns on maps and program cycles in specialized satellite news channels Individuals accept it as a public window dealing with various issues and events, supported by analysis, interpretation, explanation and presentation of different perspectives. It makes viewers better able to observe reality, get acquainted with the current events, to form opinions about them, increase their ability to discuss
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