Opinion and Other Opinion

Any form of communication is a cultural §construction. Today, there are more than 350 agenda §setting studies, few examining non-Western cultures. §These studies are based on contingent factors that §are in most cases unique to Western societies. Cross-§cultural studies rarely try and adapt the theory to §the cultural, political and social variations §present in different societies. In turn this might §lead researchers to incorrect conclusions. The idea §that news networks do set the agenda in politics and §diplomacy is not a new one. However, some networks §have greater influence than others. CNN is one of §those networks that has risen to global prominence §because of its coverage of the first Gulf War hence §the CNN effect. Today scholars claim that Al-Jazeera §yields the same influence in the Arab/Islamic world. §Therefore, it is appropriate to say that there is an §Al-Jazeera effect. However, this claim does not rest §on any empirical data. This study examines the §agenda setting role Al-Jazeera plays in the §Arab/Islamic world. This research also looks at the §contingent factors for agenda setting theory in the §Arab/Islamic world.