Book explores mobile media disruption in Middle East

How mobile media are changing the communication landscape in the Middle East is explored in a new book published under a research grant at Northwestern University in Qatar ( NU-Q).

The book, Mobile Disruptions in the Middle East, co-authored by John V Pavlik, Everette E Dennis, Rachel Davis Mersey and Justin Gengler and published by Routledge, offers lessons from the Arabian Gulf, notably Qatar and the UAE, and draws on data collected as part of a $726,000 award from the Qatar National Research Fund.

Pavlik, a professor of journalism at Rutgers was formerly associate dean for research at NU-Q where Dennis is dean and CEO. Mersey is an associate professor at NU’s Medill School while Gengler is assistant research professor at the Social and Economic Survey Research Centre at Qatar University.

As lead author Pavlik states, “The Gulf states are the perfect setting for a study that tests the impact of modern media disruption as the region rapidly adopts mobile media from laptops and smartphones to wearable devices.” Qatar and the UAE have the highest Internet penetration in the world with 99% of the population covered, according to the 2018 Global Digital report.

Mobility, the NU-Q based study notes, “has long been an important aspect of life in the Middle East… [and] has a strong and deep sociological foundation in Qatar and Arabian Gulf with the movement of Bedouin tribes and their traditions shaping the lifestyle and values of the Gulf.” This cultural and historical context for mobile communication, even before the digital age, set the stage for rapid development as these wealthy nations were able to engage with the Internet and mobile devices early on, the book suggests.”

Dennis notes “benefits from the collaboration of scholars from four institutions and is aimed at analysing the advanced media scene of the Gulf States with lessons for the global community. It has the advantage of connecting with the world-wide concern about media disruption in one of the most dynamic digital battlegrounds anywhere”

The book looks at audience engagement with mobile media including Internet use and such specific content as news—and how media organisations adapt and respond to mobile media while tracking trends in the development of innovative content aimed at attracting and serving individuals and audiences.

Mobile Media Disruptions in the Middle East is the first of several reports, this one involving a quantitative survey of consumers paired with interviews, with media industry leaders. Future work includes qualitative testing of consumer engagement with specific mobile media content innovations.

In considering trends in the next generation of journalism and media, the authors argue that the emergence of mobile media are the dominant platform for public engagement and offer media leaders opportunities to engage in greater innovation.