Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

Journal of Iranian Cultural Research

The Social Origins of association_ patterns of Tehrani audiences with the Persian Speaking Satellite Channels

Authors
Mahmoud Shahabi 1
Mojtaba Jahangardi 2
1 Assistant professor of Cultural Studies, Allameh Tabataba'i University
2 MA Graduate in Cultural Studies, Allameh Tabataba'i University
10.7508/ijcr.2008.02.002
Abstract
The present paper answer two basic questions: what are the association patterns of the Persian-speaking satellite television channels amongst Tehrani audiences? What are the social origins of these patterns? To answer these questions, we have adopted the research tradition of "the uses and gratifications" in it's structural-cultural variant. In order to identify the uses patterns of such televisions, we initially interviewed 32 audiacnes. Content analysis of the interviews resulted in identifying 60 most-frequently-stated gratification items to be used as part of a large scale questionnaire survey of 400 viewers who were accessed via snowball sampling. Employing an exploratory factor analysis with Varimax rotation, we constructed and named ten gratification scales as follows: dissatisfaction with the national television programs, getting political information, cross-cultural comparison (instructional usage),escaping from everyday life difficulties, lifestyle guidance, facilitating social interaction, familiarity with global and Iranian (underground) popular culture, information on tourism and emigration issues, seeking social status, and finally seeking unedited information on sport events. A series of correlation tests on these ten factors as dependent variables and all the study's independent variables showed that the Blumler's conceptualization of the social character of media gratifications explains the usage patterns of Persian-speaking satellite televisions in Iran. Accordingly, different people turn to such televisions for different purposes and that the prevalent pattern of such usage is mainly of facilitatory, rather than compensatory character.
Keywords
Media Usage and Gratifications Approach
Persian-speaking Satellite Televisions
Social Origins
Tehrani audiences
1. Alikhah ‚F" (2008) .The politics of satellite television in Iran in Media ‚culture and
society in Iran: Living with globalization and the Islamic state ‚UK :Routledge.
2. Âzd Armaki‚ T. (1381 [2002 A. D]) “Tahlil-e Jmeešenxti-ye Vaziyat-e Dindriye
Javnn” (Persian Translation of Demographic Analysis of Youth Religiosity) ‚
in Pažohešnmeh-ye Dneškadeh Adabiyt va Olum-e Ensni-ye Dnešgh-e Šahid
Behešti‚ No. 35‚ Tehran: Entešrt-e Dnešgh-e Šahid Behešti.
3. Biener‚ H. (2003) “The arrival of Radio Farda: International broadcasting to Iran at
a crossroads” Middle East Review of International Affairs‚ vol. 7‚No1.
4. Blumler‚ J. G. (1979) “The role of theory in uses and gratifications studies”‚ in
Communications Research 6:9-36.
5. Dembo‚ R. (1972) “Lifestyle and media use among English working-class youths”‚
in Gazette: The international Journal for communication studies‚ Vol. 18‚ pp.
24-36.
6. Dembo‚ R. (1973) “Gratifications found in media by British teenage boys”‚ in
Journalism Quarterly‚ Vol. 50‚ Autumn‚ pp. 517- 26.
7. Dembo‚ R. & Howitt‚ D. (1974) “A subcultural account of media effects”‚ in
Human relations‚ Vol. 27‚ No. 1‚ pp. 25-41.
8. Gilbert‚ N. (1993) Researching Social Life‚ London: SAGE Publications.
9. Hamelink‚ Cees J. (1994) The politics of world communication: A human rights
perspective‚ London: Sage Publications.
10. Johnstone‚ John W. C. (1974) Social integration and mass media use among
adolescents: a case study‚ In Blumler‚J. G. and Katz‚ E. (eds.) The uses of
mass communications: Current perspectives in gratifications research‚ Beverly
Hills‚ CA: Sage.
11. Kamalipour‚ Yahya R. (2003) “Iranian satellite TV as cultural mirrors‚ part I”‚
in Persian Heritage‚ No. 30‚ pp. 50-52.
12. Katz‚ E. (1959) “Mass communications research and the study of popular
culture”‚ in Studies in Public Communication‚ Vol. 2‚ pp. 1-6.
13. Katz‚ E. Blumler‚ J. & Gurevitch‚ M. (1974) Utilization of mass communication
by the individual‚ in Blumler‚ J. G. and Katz‚ Elihu (eds.) ‚ The uses of mass
communications: Current perspectives in gratifications research‚ Beverly Hills‚
CA: Sage.
14. Kzemipoor‚ Š. (1378 [1999 A. D]) “Olgoi dar Taiin-e Pygh-e Ejtemi-Eqtesdiye
Afrd va Sanješ-e Taharok-e Ejtemi b Tekiye-h bar Motle-h Mordi-ye
Tehran”(Persian Translation of A model in Evaluating Social and Economic Status
and Social Mobilization with Emphasis on Tehran’s Case Study) ‚ in Nameh-ye
Olum-e Ejtemi‚ No 14‚ pp 139-172.
15. Keane‚ J. (1991) “Democracy and the media”‚ in International social science
journal‚ Vol. 129‚ pp. 523-40.
16. laol‚ J. (1378 [1999 A. D]) Resneh‚ Ertebtt‚ Farhang: Rahyft-e Jahni (Persian
Translation of Media‚ Communication‚ Culture: Global Approach) ‚ Translated by
Majid Nekodast‚ Tehran: Entešrt-e moasese-ye Iran.
17. Levy‚ Mark R. (1977) The uses and gratifications of television news. Ph. D.
Dissertation‚ USA: Columbia University.
18. McQuail‚ D. (1994) Mass communication theory: An introduction‚ (3rd edition)
‚ London: Sage Publication.
19. Naficy‚ H. (1993) The making of exile cultures: Iranian Television in Los Angeles‚
USA: The University of Minnesota Press.
20. Palmgreen‚ Ph. (1984) “Uses and gratifications: A theoretical perspective”‚ in
Communication Yearbook‚ Vol. 8‚ PP. 20-55.
21. Pool‚ I. (1979) “Direct broadcast satellites and the integrity of national cultures”.
In Nordenstreng‚ Kaarle & Sciller‚ Herbert I. (eds.) (1979) National sovereignty
and international communication‚ USA: Norwood‚ New Jersey: Ablex Publishing
Corporation
22. Pool‚ I. (1983) Technologies of freedom‚ USA: Harward University Press.
23. Randall‚ V. (1993) "The media and democratisation in the Third World"‚ in
ThirdWorld Quarterly‚ Vol. 14‚ No. 3‚ pp. 625-46.
24. Roe‚ K. (1983a) “The influence of video technology in adolescence”‚ in Media
Panel report‚ no. 27‚ June‚ University of Lund‚ Sweden.
25. Šahbi‚ M. (1382[2003 A. D]) “Angizeh-ye Estefde az video dar Miyn-e Javnn-e
Tehrani” (Persian Translation of Tehrani Youth motivations in Using Video) ‚ in
Nameh-ye Pažoheš-e Farhangi‚ No. 35‚ pp 107-81.
26. Shahabi‚ M. (1998) Video and Youth in Iran: From Policies to Practices. A thesis
Submitted For the Degree of Ph. D. Department of Sociology‚ The University of
Essex‚ England.
Send comment about this article
Enter Name.
Enter a valid email address.
Enter a vaid affiliation.
Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)
CAPTCHA Image
Enter Security Code Correctly.

  • Receive Date 30 November 1999