Saudi Arabian press during the occurrence of the events in Bahrain Dissertation

Saudi Arabian press during the occurrence of the events in Bahrain from 14th February to 16th March 2011 - Dissertation Example Content analysis, in relation to the Bahrain’s conflict, of the two leading Saudi Arabian newspapers namely, Alriyadh and Alyoum was carried out by employing a constructed week approach for the entire period of occurrence of these events. The results of this content analysis revealed that the coverage of the events in Bahrain by the Saudi Press was, to a great extent, dependent on the Saudi Press Agency as a result of the constraints imposed over the press in the kingdom by the Saudi Arabian information policy. The news related to the Bahraini events mostly appeared to be positive in tone and also, tended to support the agenda and interests of the government of Saudi Arabia linked to the political and democratic position of Bahrain that particularly involve the status of the shiahs in the country. The findings of the content analysis deduced that the Saudi press failed to play its ideal role in the coverage of the events in Bahrain since it was extensively monitored, regulariz ed and censored and thereby, was not completely free and trustworthy. Thus, it is recommended that the press regulations should not be imposed by an external body instead they should better come from the press itself.