| This study employed a content analysis to assess how globalization is framed in Arab and United States mainstream newspapers during the 1990s. From the US newspapers, a total of 334 articles were sampled from the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times in order to assess portrayals of globalization in these newspapers. To pursue the same goal, 170 articles were sampled from four newspapers in Arab countries: Al-Ahram, Al-Hayat, Al-Nahar and Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.; The outcome of this study shows that globalization has been framed differently in each one of these media: (1) In the Arab newspapers, globalization appears to represent a cultural concern synonymous with Americanization. Many Arab writers assert that globalization imposes American social, cultural and economic systems on the rest of the world. (2) In the United States newspapers, globalization is seen as a natural economic and technological development that aims to advance a free and open global market. The United States media assume that everyone benefits from globalization.; Furthermore, this study explains that the debate on globalization is more heated in Arab newspapers than in United States. Most of the articles that discussed issues of globalization in the Arab newspapers were op-ed pieces that focus on the cultural implications of globalization. In the United States, however, newspaper coverage of globalization emphasizes news reports (hard news) and economic analyses. The frequency of the key terms analyzed in this study, "globalization" and "Americanization," suggests that globalization has become a significant issue for media, intellectual, as well as social and political discourses. The media in the Arab world reflect concerns and anxieties about globalization as a potential assault on Arab culture. Conversely, American media mention globalization in passing, as an issue touching on trade and technology with less concern about its cultural impact. |
