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Who Is Al Jazeera's Audience? Deconstructing the=20 Demographics and Psychographics of an Arab Satellite News=20 Network

By Philip Auter, Mohamed M. Arafa, and Khaled = Al-Jaber

I. Introduction:

As time passes and the Middle East = remains on the=20 forefront of world events, Al Jazeera and its competitors - = other=20 Arab satellite news services - are becoming more well known = and=20 perhaps understood by audiences, governments, and scholars. = But as=20 they are relatively new media offerings, neither identical = to=20 Western news outlets nor bearing much resemblance to = traditional=20 state-run Arab media, one might ask: "Just who is the = audience for=20 these services? What are their beliefs and values?" Little = research=20 has been done to identify the characteristics of the Arab = satellite=20 news service audiences. This study takes a step in that = direction by=20 providing some demographic and psychographic breakdowns of = the Al=20 Jazeera audience in an attempt to define and describe this = group of=20 over 45 million individuals.

II. Research Questions and=20 Methodology:

This study attempted to answer two = research=20 questions: Who is watching Al Jazeera and how much time are = they=20 spending with the network? The Al Jazeera audience will be = described=20 via the following demographic characteristics: age, gender, = marital=20 status, education, and household income. The psychographic = variables=20 "religion/life philosophy" were also studied.
An online = survey=20 was utilized to gather responses by viewers of Al Jazeera TV = around=20 the world. For a two-week period (August 20, 2002 to = September 4,=20 2002), an Arabic survey was linked to Al Jazeera TV's = companion=20 website (www.Al Jazeera.net) with the = network's=20 permission. People who could read Arabic and chose to = participate=20 accessed the survey by clicking on a link on Al Jazeera's = homepage.=20 Usable responses were obtained from 5379 respondents from = 137=20 countries around the world. The online survey was written in = Arabic=20 and consisted of mostly closed-ended quantitative questions. = Items=20 measured amount of time spent watching Al Jazeera TV and a = variety=20 of demographic and psychographic characteristics including = age,=20 education, and philosophy of life. Time spent watching Al = Jazeera TV=20 was determined from responses to two questions: amount of = time spent=20 watching Al Jazeera on the average weekday and amount of = time spent=20 watching Al Jazeera on the average Saturday or Sunday. = Weekday=20 scores were weighted by five and weekend scores by two. The = results=20 were summed and divided by seven to result in average daily = viewing=20 scores.

Number of Arab Respondents Living in = Arab=20 Nations

Country	Number of Respondents Living in Arab=20 World	Percent of Total = Sample
Algeria	124	2.3
Bahrain	107	2.0
Comoros	0	0.0
Djibouti	0	0.0
Egypt	238	4.4
Iraq	30	0.6
Jordan	304	5.7
Kuwait	151	2.8
Lebanon	94	1.7
Libya	103	1.9
Mauritania	58	1.1
Morocco	135	2.5
Oman	109	2.0
Palestinian Territories	206	3.8
Qatar	106	2.0
Saudi Arabia	1215	22.6
Somalia	2	0.0
Sudan	69	1.3
Syria	268	5.0
Tunisia	27	0.5
United Arab Emirates	356	6.6
Yemen	80	1.5
Total	3782	70.3

III. Findings:

Many = respondents in=20 the sample spent quite a large amount of time watching Al = Jazeera TV=20 - or at least leaving it on in the background while = attending to=20 other tasks. About one third of the participants average = more than=20 five hours a day of Al Jazeera TV viewing (n=3D2039, 37.9 = percent).=20 Sixteen percent of the respondents watch for about 4-5 hours = daily=20 (n=3D864), 13.3 percent (n=3D714) for 3-4 hours daily, and = another 13.3=20 percent for 2-3 hours every day. Ten percent of the sample = (n=3D541)=20 watched the network for 1-2 hours a day and only 4 percent = (n=3D215)=20 watched for less than an hour. Only 5.4 percent (n=3D291) of = the=20 sample spent no time watching Al Jazeera TV on an average=20 day.

Audience Age

Respondents ranged between = 18 and=20 over 65, with nearly half falling between 25 and 35 (n =3D = 2378, 44.2=20 percent). The next largest group was between 18 and 24 years = old (n=3D=20 1428, 26.5 percent). Respondents between 35 and 44 were the = third=20 largest group (n =3D 1151, 21.4 percent). The remaining = participants=20 were 45 and above (n =3D 422, 7.8 percent). While most = viewers, based=20 on age, watched between 3 and 4 hours of Al Jazeera on the = average=20 day, the group that clearly spent the most time watching Al = Jazeera=20 were viewers age 35-44, averaging an hour more daily (N =3D = 1151).=20 Respondents 65 and older, however, tended to view less on = average,=20 only 2 to 3 hours per day (N =3D = 15).

Gender

Men=20 (n=3D4948, 92 percent) far surpassed women (n=3D430, 8 = percent) in this=20 sample. Men and women seem to watch the same amount of Al = Jazeera=20 programming - between 3 and 4 hours daily.

Marital=20 Status

Almost half of the sample reported that they = were=20 single and never married (n=3D2435, 45.3 percent) while most = of the=20 remaining respondents reported that they were married = (n=3D2847, 52.9=20 percent). Only a few stated that they were widowed (n=3D82, = 1.5=20 percent) or divorced (n=3D15, 0.3 percent). Again, most = respondents=20 viewed between 3 and 4 hours of Al Jazeera on the average = day.=20 However, widowed respondents appear to have viewed a bit = more on=20 average (N =3D 82, daily viewing =3D 4-5=20 hours)

Education

The majority of respondents = had=20 received a bachelors degree or its equivalent (n=3D2497, = 46.4 percent)=20 while 18.8 percent (n=3D1010) had obtained a Master's, = Ph.D., J.D. or=20 similar advanced degree. About one third of the sample = (n=3D1595, 29.7=20 percent) had finished high school and possible some college. = One=20 hundred and eighty six respondents (3.4 percent) had = received less=20 than the equivalent of a high school degree. While most = viewers=20 watched 3-4 hours of Al Jazeera on average, those with = limited=20 education tended to watch about one hour more per day (less = than or=20 equal to a US high school degree: N =3D = 969).

Household=20 Income

The majority of the participants had an annual = household income equivalent to less than $15,000 US dollars = (n=3D1931,=20 35.9 percent) while another 30.4 percent (n=3D1633) made = between=20 $15,000 and $35,000 USD per year. Only 776 participants = (14.4=20 percent) had no annual household income. One fifth of the = sample had=20 an annual household income over $35,000 USD (n=3D1039, 19.3 = percent).=20 Respondents in the middle of the range - with a household = income of=20 approximately $40,000 (US equivalent) tended to watch one = hour more=20 per day of Al Jazeera than did other viewers (N =3D=20 371).

Location

While three quarters of = the=20 audience polled live in the "Arab World," (N =3D 4782, or 70 = percent),=20 the total sample (N =3D 5379) hailed from 137 countries = worldwide.=20 (See Appendix.) The majority of people living in the Arab = World that=20 responded to the survey hailed from Saudi Arabia (22 percent = of the=20 total sample). The majority of those replying to the survey = that=20 were not living in the Arab World lived in the United = States.=20 Interestingly, in the Middle East, Qataris only represented = 2=20 percent of the overall sample, while Saddam = Hussein-controlled Iraq=20 contributed 30 respondents.

Religion

The = overwhelming=20 majority of the sample was Muslim (n=3D5192, 96.5 percent), = followed=20 by a limited representation of Christians (n=3D130, 2.4 = percent),=20 Jewish (n=3D10, 0.2 percent), and other faiths and belief = systems=20 (n=3D46, 0.9 percent). Both Muslim and Christian respondents = viewed=20 3-4 hours of Al Jazeera daily. Respondents with other = religions=20 watched about one hour less of Al Jazeera per day (N =3D=20 56).

Life Philosophy

Although self-ascribed = life=20 philosophy varied widely in the sample from extremely = liberal=20 (n=3D481, 8.9 percent) or liberal (n=3D942, 17.5 percent) to = conservative (n=3D1044, 19.4 percent) and extremely = conservative=20 (n=3D218, 4.1percent), half of the sample, considered = themselves to be=20 moderate (n=3D2693, 50.1percent). Those who watched the most = Al=20 Jazeera programming (4-5 hours per day) consider themselves = liberal=20 or extremely liberal in their worldview (N =3D = 1423).

IV. Discussion:

Clearly, = the=20 overwhelming number of viewers watch Al Jazeera for hours on = end -=20 or at least keep the network on in the background while = doing other=20 things - keeping it on for nearly half their waking hours.=20 Middle-aged viewers spent the most time with the satellite = news=20 network, while elderly viewers watched the least, with = widows=20 spending slightly more time viewing than average.
Those = with=20 some, but only a little, education watched the most, and = lower=20 income individuals watched more than those who made more = money.=20 Muslims and Christians watched approximately the same amount = of Al=20 Jazeera, but Jews and viewers of other faiths watched quite = a bit=20 less. Interestingly, liberal viewers watched more Al Jazeera = than=20 did conservative viewers.
So what does this tell us about = the Al=20 Jazeera audience? First that it is certainly a pervasive = group. The=20 network's message reaches Muslims and Christians world-wide = and=20 viewers keep it on round the clock. Also, education and = income are=20 somewhat negatively related to viewing levels - generally = speaking=20 the less income a household makes, or the lower the income, = the more=20 Al Jazeera is viewed. This could be the result of several = factors.=20 First, households with less income - but enough to support = satellite=20 TV - may find Al Jazeera to be a relatively "inexpensive" = method of=20 keeping up with world events. Second, households where the=20 respondent is of a high school educational level equivalent = might=20 rely more heavily on Al Jazeera solely as their news = provider while=20 more educated households look to many sources for their = news
It=20 is perhaps not surprising that Muslims strongly support the = network,=20 but not significantly more than Arabic-reading Christians. = It is=20 also expected that more liberal respondents rely more = heavily on the=20 network - which is diverse in the opinions it = presents.
These=20 summary findings offer but a glimpse into the world of the = Al=20 Jazeera audience. As global communities become more and more = interrelated, and Middle Eastern issues become interwoven = into world=20 politics, free Arabic satellite news networks like Al = Jazeera will=20 become more and more important players in the global news = business.=20 TBS

Philip Auter is an assistant professor of = communication at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. = Mohamed=20 Arafa, the former chairman of the Department of = Communications at=20 the University of Qatar and an international media = consultant, is=20 currently the communications officer at the Georgia DOT. = Khaled=20 Al-Jaber is an employee of the Qatar Ministry of Foreign=20 Affairs.=20

Copyright 2004 Transnational Broadcasting = Studies
TBS=20 is published by the Adham = Center for=20 Television Journalism, the = American=20 University in Cairo
E-mail: = TBS@aucegypt.edu=20