Iranian Propaganda in the Middle East: Al Alam "The World" as Model.

The purpose of this paper was to determine the perceptions of Jordanian journalists toward Iranian propaganda in the Middle East as well as to measure their perceptions about the Iranian-sponsored satellite, Al Alam's credibility and efficiency. To answer the research questions, survey instrumentation was administrated on a systematic sample of 266 journalists in Jordan. Findings revealed that Iranian propaganda has no significant influence on Jordanian journalists. Data analysis examined five potential factors: The nature of Jordanian journalists' political constructer and their reference; Jordanian journalists' not trusting with Iranian role in Arab issues; Al Alam "The World" TV launching from Iran with a goal of enhancing "Shiite Sectarian" ideology rather than increasing Islamic unity; the existence of other more credible and influential Arabian news channel; and stopping the transmission of Al Alam toward Arabian region since November 2009. Also, findings show that Al Alam TV would have strong credibility and made it more acceptable among public viewers but not in the journalism community in four specific situations: broadcasting in Arabic languages; attacking the U.S. interests in its programs; focusing highly in projecting and covering the Palestinian cause; and giving Arab viewers a freedom to express their opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]