1. The Media ‘Effect’ as a Research Topic Researching the effect of media in particular and sociopolitical phenomena in general is a stand-alone research problem due to the dif- ficulty of measuring the impact and controlling the limits, natures, and forms of influence in the human being. The research on media effect started within a broader context of examining patterns of mass commu- nication since the 1920s. The constant pursuit of print journalism, radio, and cinema of reaching larger segments of the population deepened the interest in media. Such interest has not been limited to the demograph- ic of targeted audiences, but went as far as considering the modes of receptiveness and the means of influencing the audience directly and indirectly. Several theories and conceptual frameworks were developed to study the media effect, such as agenda setting, media frameworks, uses and gratifications and spiral of silence. It is noted that all these theories have been deployed to research Al Jazeera, either as a partic- ular case study, or in comparative research. Initially, the study of the media effect developed within the framework of traditional mass media when communication used to be a linear process between two parties. In this type of relation, the media effect follows one-way between the transmitter and the recipient through the content of the message. The media effect in this traditional model is the result of the communica- tion process and can be noticed in the gradual change in the recipient’s knowledge, behaviour, values and preferences. This is why the research on media effect focused primarily on the process and mostly on the re- ceiving end, where change is meant to take place: the audience and the public opinion. With the advances in communication technology, especially in so- cial media that have fundamentally changed the way we communicate, interest in the effects of media influence have started to move away from its process and towards its content. But unlike the traditional model, the recipient is no longer oblivious to the media messages designed to serve a political, cultural or marketing agenda. In such a new environment, the recipient has become an active participant in content creation, who stipulates their terms on media organisations and contributes to setting the news agenda directly or tacitly. This new dynamic has reshaped the traditional relation between the recipient and the media significantly.
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