| This study investigated Arab American immigrants' use of the Arabic satellite channels in light of a uses and gratifications model. The study investigated reasons people use satellite broadcasting and explored differences between viewers and non-viewers of this new medium across a range of perceptual, motivational, and demographic variables. The study was administered by telephone in Portland, Oregon. In August 2003, 249 male and female adult Arab Americans responded to a telephone survey (developed through preliminary qualitative investigation) about their media habits and uses, especially their motives for viewing the Arabic satellite channels. Nearly two-third of the respondents owned or had regular access to the Arabic satellite channels. News programs and Aljazeera news channel are the genre of choice for the majority of Arab Americans who have access to Arabic satellite channels. The traditional motives identified in the literature of television such as passing time and companionship emerged in addition to new motivational factors such as surveillance of home country news. The results of a principal components analysis of gratifications sought from satellite channels yielded six factors: Passing Time & Companionship, Interpersonal Utility, Entertainment & Relaxation, Surveillance, Cultural Reinforcement, Exposing Children to Culture & Heritage Maintenance.In addition, the influence of the Arab cultural values, social roles, and cultural identity on their decisions on whether to watch or avoid various types of programming emerged in the 30 in-depth interviews. The findings of this study support the idea of satellite television as a significant element in the formation of what Appadurai has called "ethnoscapes" i.e. diasporic identities spread over vast and irregular spaces, as groups move, yet stay linked to one another through sophisticated media capabilities. The proliferation of the Arabic satellite channels among the Arab American audience can also be viewed as an independent ideology or orientation in the face of controlled power of the host media. A strength of this study is the breadth and depth of the data, achieved by the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods. It opens up future research among immigrants on their use of various media and how second-generations utilize these transnational media. |
