Egyptian Audience's Perception of Political Satire Show: An Analysis of the Perceived and Actual ...

126 Pages·2014·5.25 MB·English

by  Dina Younis

The American University in Cairo

School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Egyptian
 Audience’s
 Perception
 of
 Political
 Satire
 Show:
 An

Analysis
 of
 the
 Perceived
 and
 Actual
 Influence
 of
 Political

Comedy
 Programming

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 Dina Mohamed Younis

Under the supervision of Dr. Amani Ismail

July 2014
The
 American
 University
 in
 Cairo

School
 of
 Global
 Affairs
 and
 Public
 Policy

Egyptian
 Audience’s
 Perception
 of
 Political
 Satire
 Show:
 An
 Analysis
 of
 the

Perceived
 and
 Actual
 Influence
 of
 Political
 Comedy
 Programming

A
 Thesis
 Submitted
 by

Dina
 Mohamed
 Younis

to
 the
 Department
 of
 Journalism
 and
 Mass
 Communication

July
 2014

in
 partial
 fulfillment
 of
 the
 requirements
 for
 the

degree
 of
 Masters
 of
 Arts

has
 been
 approved
 by

Dr.
 Amani
 Ismail

Thesis
 Adviser

Affiliation
 ____________________________________________

Date
 ____________________

Dr.
 Naila
 Hamdy

Thesis
 Second
 Reader

Affiliation
 ____________________________________________

Date
 ____________________

Dr.
 Dina
 Bassiouni

Thesis
 Third
 Reader

Affiliation

 ___________________________________________

Date

 ___________________

Prof.
 Mervat
 Abou
 Oaf
 _________________________________________

Department
 Chair

Date
 ____________________

Dr.
 Laila
 El
 Baradei
 _________________________________________

Dean
 of
 GAPP

Date
 ____________________

  ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In
 the
 name
 of
 Allah,
 the
 Most
 Gracious,
 the
 Most
 Merciful.
 First,
 I
 thank
 god
 for

giving
 me
 the
 opportunity
 and
 blessing
 to
 conduct
 my
 MA,
 all
 of
 my
 success
 is

granted
 to
 him.
 Al
 Hamduallah.

Second,
 I
 would
 like
 to
 thank
 my
 father
 and
 mother
 for
 their
 support
 both

morally
 and
 finically
 through
 out
 the
 years
 from
 the
 beginning
 of
 my
 bachelor

degree
 until
 this
 very
 moment.
 My
 sister,
 Ayda,
 I
 will
 be
 forever
 grateful
 to
 her

for
 her
 continuous
 and
 unconditional
 love,
 support
 and
 blessing.

 Much
 thanks

goes
 to
 my
 brother
 and
 brother-­‐in-­‐law
 for
 their
 help.
 A
 huge
 thanks
 to
 my
 lovely

cousin
 Ayaat
 Ehab
 for
 her
 generous
 help
 and
 support.

Third,
 I
 would
 also
 like
 to
 express
 my
 utmost
 gratitude
 to
 my
 adviser
 Dr.
 Amani

Ismail
  for
  her
  continuous
  guidance,
  timely
  feedback,
  patience,
  and

encouragement.

 I
 am
 very
 thankful
 for
 her
 endless
 support,
 I
 could
 have
 not

continue
 this
 thesis
 without
 Dr.
 Amani
 and
 her
 willingness
 to
 generously
 donate

her
 time
 to
 help
 me
 when
 needed.

Fourth,
 I
 am
 particularly
 thankful
 for
 the
 constant
 help
 of
 my
 friends.
 Mariam

Amer,
 you
 have
 my
 deepest
 gratitude
 for
 all
 of
 your
 support
 and
 assistance.
 My

best
 friends
 Dina,
 Abeer
 and
 Haidy
 deepest
 thanks
 to
 you.
 To
 all
 of
 my
 colleagues

in
 B121
 I
 would
 like
 to
 Thank
 You
 for
 helping
 me
 distributing
 my
 survey
 among

the
 sample.
 Special
 thanks
 are
 extended
 to
 the
 boys
 of
 B121
 for
 their
 help
 and

for
 helping
 me
 with
 the
 data
 entry.

Fifth,
 I
 would
 also
 like
 to
 thank
 my
 committee
 members,
 Dr.
 Naila
 Hamdy
 and
 Dr.

Dina
 Bassiouni,
 for
 giving
 me
 their
 valuable
 time
 and
 accepting
 to
 be
 in
 my

committee.
  Their
  valuable
  critique
  and
  praise
  were
  highly
  appreciated
  and

helpful.

  iii
ABSTRACT

As
  more
  Egyptians
  continue
  to
  expose
  themselves
  to
  the
  political
  comedy

program
  Al
  Bernameg,
  scholars
  should
  seek
  to
  understand
  the
  audience’s

perception
 of
 the
 program.
 This
 study
 examines
 the
 perception
 of
 the
 Egyptian

audience
 on
 the
 political
 satire
 show
 Al
 Bernameg.
 The
 study
 aims
 at
 measuring

the
 perceived
 bias
 of
 Al
 Bernameg
 and
 the
 perceived
 and
 actual
 influence
 of
 the

program.
  This
  study
  seeks
  to
  explore
  the
  influence
  Al
  Bernameg
  has
  on
  its

audience
  in
  relating
  it
  to
  the
  Third
  Person
  effect
  theory.
  It
  examines
  the

difference
  between
  the
  actual
  purpose
  for
  watching
  Al
  Bernameg
  and
  the

perceived
 purpose.
 The
 study
 employed
 survey
 research
 as
 its
 primary
 source
 of

data
 collection
 to
 investigate
 the
 research
 hypothesis
 via
 a
 purposive
 sample
 of

508
 Egyptians.
 The
 research
 findings
 revealed
 a
 significant
 third-­‐person
 effect

pattern
 for
 the
 political
 satire
 program,
 especially
 among
 younger
 viewers.

  iv
TABLE
 OF
 CONTENTS

Title

  Page
 #

1. Introduction

  1

1.1. Introduction

  1

1.2. Al
 Bernameg’s
 Evolution

  3

1.3. About
 Bassem
 Youssef

  5

1.4. Egypt’s
 Political
 and
 Media
 Environment

  6

1.5. The
 Shift
 from
 Offline
 to
 Online

  8

1.6. Purpose
 of
 the
 Study

  11

2. Literature
 Review

  13

2.1. Political
 Shows

  13

2.2. Political
 Entertainment

  13

2.3. Political
 Satire

  14

2.4. Media
 Bias

  16

2.5. Humor
 &
 Politics

  16

2.6. Political
 Satire
 Shows

  18

2.6.1. The
 Daily
 Show
 with
 Jon
 Stewart

  18

2.6.2. The
 Colbert
 Report

  21

2.7. Media
 in
 Egypt
 Before
 January
 25th
 Revolution

  21

2.8. Media
 in
 Egypt
 After
 January
 25th
 Revolution

  26

2.9. Political
 Satire
 In
 Egypt

  27

2.10. Al
 Bernameg

  28

2.11. Egypt’s
 Acceptance
 of
 AL
 Bernameg

  29

2.12. Pro/Against
 Al
 Bernameg

  31

3. Theoretical
 Framework

  34

3.1. Social
 Comparison
 Theory

  34

3.2. The
 Third
 Person
 Effect
 Theory

  37

3.2.1. The
 Receptiveness
 of
 the
 Audience

  39

3.2.2. Factors
 Affecting
 the
 Third
 Person
 Effect

  39

3.2.3. Perceptions
 towards
 Persuasive
 Messages

  40

4. Research
 Hypotheses

  43

4.1. Research
 Hypotheses

  43

5. Research
 Design
 and
 Methodology

  47

5.1. Type
 of
 Research

  47

5.2. Method
 of
 Data
 Gathering

  47

5.3. Types
 of
 Survey

  48

  v
5.4. Approach
 to
 the
 Study

  48

5.5. Data
 Collection

  49

5.6. Sampling

  49

5.7. Sample
 Selection

  50

5.8. Questionnaire
 Design

  51

5.9. Pilot
 Study

  53

5.10. Operationalization
 of
 the
 Study
 Variables

  54

5.11. Measurements

  55

5.12. Statistical
 Analysis

  57

6. Results

  58

6.1. Description
 of
 the
 Sample

  58

6.2. Descriptive
 Statistics

  59

6.2.1. Frequencies

  59

6.2.2. Measures
 of
 Central
 Tendency

  59

6.3. Inferential
 Statistics

  70

6.3.1. Hypothesis
 Testing

  70

7. Discussion
 and
 Conclusion

  77

7.1. Discussion

  77

7.2. Conclusion

  83

7.3. Limitations
 of
 the
 Study

  85

7.4. The
 Significance
 of
 the
 Study

  86

7.5. Direction
 for
 further
 research

  87

Afterword

  89

Bibliography

  91

Appendix

  105

  Appendix
 A:
 English
 Survey

  106

  Appendix
 B:
 Arabic
 Survey

  111

  Appendix
 C:
 IRB
 Approval
 Letter

  116

  Appendix
 D:
 CAPMAS
 Approval
 Letter

  117

  vi
LIST
 OF
 TABLES

Tittle

  Page
 #

Table
 1.1
 Respondents’
 Gender

  59

Table
 1.2
 Respondents’

 Age

  59

Table
 1.3
 Respondents’
 Education

  59

Table
 1.4
 Number
 of
 Episodes

  60

Table
 1.5
 Political
 Interest

  63

Table
 1.6
 Talking
 about
 politics

  63

Table
 1.7
 Accurate
 Information

  64

Table
 1.8
 Trustworthy
 Information

  64

Table
 1.9
 Fairness

  64

Table
 1.10
 Provides
 me
 with
 a
 reasonable
 understanding

  65

of
 political
 issues

Table
 1.11
 Provides
 Egyptians
 with
 a
 reasonable

  66

 understanding
 of
 political
 issues

Table
 1.12
 Influencing
 my
 opinions

  68

Table
 1.13
 Influencing
 Egyptians’
 opinions

  68

Table
 1.14
 Well-­‐informed
 about
 political
 events

  69

Table
 1.15
 Political
 Terminologies

  69

Table
 2.1
 Mean
 Scores
 of
 perceived
 bias
 of
 Al
 Bernameg

  65

Table
 2.2
 Mean
 scores
 of
 the
 audience’s
 perception
 of
 Al
 Bernameg
  68

Table
 2.3
 Mean
 scores
 of
 audience’s
 Self
 esteem

  69

Table
 3.1:
 ANOVA
 Test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship
 between

  70

 exposure
 to
 Al
 Bernameg
 and
 the
 audience
 perception
 of
 the
 program.

Table
 3.2:
 Correlation
 test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship
 between

  71

 watching
 Al
 Bernameg
 and
 the
 third
 person
 effect
 theory

Table
 3.3:
 ANOVA
 Test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship
 between

  72

viewers’
 political
 interest
 and
 their
 perception
 of
 the
 Egyptian’s
 audience.

Table
 3.4:
 ANOVA
 Test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship
 between

  72

viewers’
 education
 level
 and
 their
 perception
 of
 the
 Egyptian’s
 audience.

Table
 3.5:
 ANOVA
 Test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship

  73

  vii
between
 viewers’
 age
 and
 their
 perception
 of
 Al
 Bernameg.

Table
 3.6:
 ANOVA
 Test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship

  74

between
 individuals’
 political
 views
 and
 the
 perceived
 bias
 of
 Al
 Bernameg.

Table
 3.7:
 Correlation
 test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship

  75

between
 Individuals
 with
 liberal
 political
 ideology
 and
 the
 third
 person
 effect

theory

Table
 3.8:
 Correlation
 test
 to
 measure
 the
 relationship

  76

 between
 Individuals
 self
 esteem
 and
 the
 third
 person
 effect
 theory

  viii
LIST
 OF
 FIGURES

Tittle

  Page
 #

Figure
 1:
 Al
 Bernameg
 Views

  60

Figure
 2:
 Respondents’
 Political
 Views

  61

Figure
 3:
 Reason
 for
 watching
 Al
 Bernameg

  62

Figure
 4:
 Individuals
 Believe
 that
 Al
 Bernameg

  66

is
 a
 satirical
 Program

Figure
 5:
 Individuals
 believe
 that
 Egyptian
 believes

  67

Al
 Bernameg
 is
 a
 satirical
 Program

  ix
Chapter
 One

1.1
 Introduction

“Turn
 on
 the
 television
 in
 any
 number
 of
 countries
 around
 the
 world,
 and
 you
 are

bound
 to
 find
 at
 least
 one
 highly
 topical
 news-­‐parody
 show
 providing
 its
 own
 take

on
 contemporary
 events.
 As
 you
 forward
 choice
 clips
 from
 those
 shows,
 you
 will

also
 likely
 encounter
 the
 newest
 satirical
 Internet
 video"

(Day,
 2011,
 p.
 1).

Recently,
 after
 the
 Egyptian
 revolution,
 most
 Egyptians
 started
 to
 watch
 a

new
 form
 of
 political
 satire
 program
 that
 tackles
 social,
 cultural
 and
 political

issues.
 This
 type
 of
 political
 satire
 constitutes
 a
 new
 method
 for
 discussing
 and

criticizing
 the
 political
 arena
 and
 democracy
 in
 Egypt.
 Viewers
 have
 started
 to

turn
 to
 these
 political
 shows
 in
 order
 to
 become
 aware
 of
 current
 political
 and

social
 events
 in
 Egypt,
 to
 acquire
 political
 information
 and
 to
 gain
 knowledge

about
 their
 political
 system.

Political
 satire
 shows
 in
 general
 receive
 little
 research
 in
 comparison
 to

other
 entertainment
 programs.
 Al
 Bernameg,
 in
 particular,
 is
 underresearched
 in

the
 field
 of
 political
 communication
 and
 persuasion.
 Like
 other
 global
 satirical

shows,
 Al
 Bernameg
 has
 been
 able
 to
 successfully
 reach
 viewers
 who
 do
 not
 have

high
 levels
 of
 political
 engagement,
 and
 gain
 their
 attention
 by
 using
 humor
 and

comedy.

Having
 noticed
 the
 significance
 of
 this
 new
 and
 growing
 phenomenon
 in

Egyptian
 society,
 the
 researcher
 decided
 to
 tackle
 this
 issue
 to
 understand
 the

different
 aspects
 and
 features
 of
 this
 new
 genre
 of
 political
 shows,
 including
 its

  1