Exposure to the US News Media, Religion and the Malaysians ...

Pertanika J. Soc. Sci. & Hum. 14(1): 1-9 (2006) ISSN: 0128-7702© Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Exposure to the US News Media, Religion and the Malaysians'Students Attitudes Towards the United States

'EZHAR TAMAM & I?WAN ANITA WAN ABAS

IInstitute for Community and PeG£e StudiesUniversiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

2Department of CommunicationFaculty of Modern Languages and Communication

Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Keywords: U.S.A, religion, media, CNN, Muslims

ABSTRAK

Kajian ini bertujuan mengenal pasti pengaruh pendedahan kepada media Amerika dan agamake atas sikap terhadap Amerika Syarikat dalam kalangan pelajar Malaysia. Seramai 133 pelajarlelaki dan 158 pelajar perempuan (181 Islam dan 105 bukan Islam) terlibat dengan memulangkanborang soal selidik tadbir sendiri yang diedarkan bagi mengukur sikap mereka terhadapAmerika Syarikat. Dapatan kajian memaparkan kecelaruan kecenderungan yang didapati majorititidak suka kepada nilai-nilai dan idea Amerika dan konsep demokrasi Amerika yang perlahanlahan menular daJam kehidupan masyarakat Malaysia. Tetapi pada masa yang sarna, merekamengalu-alukan muzik dan filem Amerika, kemajuan saintik dan teknologi Amerika, dan etikakerja dalam kapitalisme Amerika. Tiada perbezan signifikan bagi kesemua item sikap di atasantara responden yang terdedah kepada CNN dan majalah Amerika berbanding yang tidak,kecuali sikap terhadap kemajuan saintifik dan teknologi Amerika Syarikat. Pengaruh agamadidapati lebih ketara. Terdapat perbezaan signifikan antara responden Islam dan bukan Islamdalam sikap mereka terhadap nilai dan idea Amerika, muzik dan filem Amerika, dan kemajuansaintifik dan ternologi Amerika. Walau bagaimanapun, sikap terhadap cara mereka mengendalikanperniagaan dipuji kedua-dua kategori reponden. Pola dapatan kajian memberi makna bahawapendedahan kepada media asing tidak semestinya petunjuk yang baik dalam menentukanorentasi terhadap budaya asing; sebaliknya faktor agama didapati lebih kuat mempengaruhireaksi terhadap pengalaman pendedahan kepada budaya antarabangsa.

ABSTRACT

This study primarily seeks to determine the influence of exposure to US media and religion onMalaysian students' attitudes toward the United States of America. A total of 133 male and 158female students (181 were Muslims and 105 non-Muslims) participated in a self-administeredsurvey assessing their attitudes toward the US. The findings showed that ambivalent tendenciesreflected in the majority of students' seeming dislike towards American idea and values, and'concept of democracy' that are slowly seeping into the Malaysian way of life. On the other hand,the same respondents also welcomed American music and movies, its technological andscientific advancement, and the 'work ethics' that American capitalism claims to adhere. Nosignificant difference was found on all four items on attitudes toward US between respondentswho were exposed to CNN and US newsmagazine from those who were not exposed to these USmedia, except on attitudes towards US technological and scientific advancement. The influenceof religion seems more prominent. Muslim and non-Muslim respondents significantly differedin their preference for American ideas and customs, music and movies, and technological as wellas scientific progress. However, attitude towards the American way of doing business was wellappreciated. The pattern of findings suggests that foreign media exposure is not necessarily agood measure of foreign cultural orientation, but religion seem to be a powerful factor ofaudience attitudinal reaction to international cultural exchange.

Ezhar Tamam & Wan Anita Wan Abas

INTRODUCnON

Due to digital revolution and globalization,Malaysians today are more exposed to theAmerican way of life and pop culture. Morehave come to learn about the United States ofAmerica's role in international affairs. Whilethe growing influx of American culturalproducts has brought a greater opportunity forMalaysian youths to learn about the UnitedStates, the flow of US values and practices intothe country is a contentious phenomenon. It isboth a subject of admiration as well asresentment.

Malaysians have formed their perceptionof what America is and what it represents partlyfrom their exposure to images of the US in thelocal media and in the US media andaccordingly, have developed affinity ordisdainful attitude towards the United States.While Malaysians can learn about the UnitedStates through international newsmagazinessuch as the Times and Newsweek, television is themost popular source of information where mostof its programming is dominated by Americanprograms. In addition of the availability ofCNN in satellite television, recent estimate showsthat about sixty percent of the programming interrestrial televisions is imported, mostly fromthe US. Accordingly, it is presumed thattelevision is the major source of stereotypesabout America. Since many of the Malaysianyouths have minimal contact with America andAmericans, their perception of and attitudestoward the United States are assumed to beformed by exposure to portrayals about Americain the mass media.

Although the United States is viewed highlybecause of it economic and technologicalprogress, much of the American western culturalvalues are in contradiction with the Asian values.Many critics argued that exposure to US culturalproducts would weaken local culture and values,especially among the youths as they are heavyusers of mass media. As such, a proliferation ofUS values, standards and popular culture couldbe perceived as interference in thephilosophical, religious, or economic thinkingof Malaysia societies; thus, could be one of thesources of resentment. Additionally, risingexpectation generated by the US culturalproducts may not go well with Malaysian culturalvalues and aspirations. As a form of media

im perialism, US cultural products mayundermine local values within the socialstructure.

How do other cultures perceive the UnitedStates is a pertinent issue particularly with the"Americanization" of the global village and thenew-found status of the United States as the~ole superpower. While the US is respected forIts economic and technological advancement,recent development in the war against terrorled by the nited States has spawned antiAmerican sentiment in many parts of the world.A recent global survey conducted by the PewResearch Center found that internationalsympathy for the United States, which rose inthe aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terroristattack, has been replaced by an increasingresentment in the way America is prosecutingthe war on terrorism (Thibault 2002). Brittan etal. (2003) have argued that the hatred or theanti-American sentiment did not only resultfrom the clash of cultures or civilizations. Butmuch of it has to do with American ethnocentricforeign policy. They pointed out four mainsources of resentments, namely (i) the USproclivity to act unilaterally in internationalaffairs, (ii) the style and tone of US foreignpolicy, (iii) opposition to particular S policies,and (iv) the way the US projects itsoverwhelming power. In some parts of the world,such as in Islamic countries, resentment towards~e United States is reinforced by religious andIdeological differences.

A love-hate relationship with America hasexisted even before the United States and itscoalition partners invaded Iraq with the pretextthat Iraq has weapon of mass destruction, andSaddam's repressive regime is a threat to theworld security. While there is a wide admirationfor American movies, music and technology,there is also a growing resentment towards theUS in several countries which is attributed to itsunilateralist policy (Thibault 2002). In light ofthis development, and given the fact that someMalaysian youths are exposed to US news media,particularly the C ,and local televisionchannels, the present study examined theinfluence of exposure to US news media onattitudes toward the United States as comparedto those who were not exposed to US newsmedia. More importantly, the role of religion isalso considered in examining the effect ofexposure to US news media on attitudes toward

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Exposure to the US News Media, Religion and the Malaysians' Students Attitudes Towards the United States

the United States. Hence, the specific objectivesof the present analysis were (i) to determinewhether there is a difference in attitude towardsthe United States between youths who areexposed to US news media and those who arenot exposed, (ii) to determine whether there isa difference in attitude towards the UnitedStates between Muslim youths and non-Muslimyouths, and (iii) to determine the influence ofexposure to US news media on attitudes towardthe US when religion is controlled for.

REVIEW OF UTERATURE

Based on the assumption that most peoplearound the world develop their view of Americafrom the media they are exposed to, the questionof the effect of exposure to US media on nonAmerica audiences has been a subject of inquiry.How others perceived the United States and theeffect of exposure to American media onattitudes toward the United States have beenstudied since the sixties. While past studieshave yielded important insights, many have failedto consider the role of religion in examiningthe effect of exposure to US news media onperception or attitudes toward United States.In other words, studies that determine thecombined effect of exposure to US news mediaand religion on perception or attitudes towardthe United States is clearly lacking.

The present study is not about the patternsof news coverage in the US news media, butabout the consequences of exposure to imagesof United States in the US news media. Paststudies have underscored the relevance ofagenda-setting theory in explaining how thenews media influence public opinion. Assuggested by previous studies, (e.g. Wanta et al.2004) news coverage did have an agenda-settingeffect. The agenda-setting function of newsmedia is expected as the news organizationsusually subscribe to a particular ideology, whichin turn shapes the nature and direction ofcoverage. Along this line, Bennets (1990), hasobserved that the nature of internationalcoverage by news media is often consistent withthe foreign policy of the nation. It has beenreported that past research on internationalnews coverage by U.S. network television newsprogram revealed a lack of balance in thecoverage. Kawatake (cited in Saito 1996)reported that news related to US in the US

media has the following characteristics: (i) newsabout the dynamics of the business world in theUS, (ii) news demonstrating America's politicalpower, (iii) news depicting some aspects of theUS as the "free" country, (iv), news dealing withtrends in the US, (v) news showing socialproblems in the US, and (vi) news focusing oncrises and conflicts in the coverage of foreignnations.

The images of United States portrayed inthe US news media and local news media areassumed to have an influence on non-Americanaudiences' perception and attitudes toward theUnited States. Salwen (1991), for instance, haspointed out that relentless promotion ofWesternideas and concepts through exposure to Westernmedia in foreign countries might affectrecipients' lightly held beliefs and values suchas perception and attitude towards othercultures. Dell'Orto et al. (2003), likewise, foundthat how news stories are framed has an effecton audience perception of foreign realities.

Most of the past studies on effects of mediaon perception and attitudes toward the UnitedStates were informed by social learning theoryon stereotype formation and cultivation theory.The social learning theory emphasizes theimportance of observing and modeling thebehavior, attitudes, and emotional reaction ofothers in the formation of personal values,beliefs, and stereotypes. The mass media,particularly the television, are important sourcesof information and learning. Althoughstereotypes are generally learned from primarygroups and peers, the mass media serves as animportant agent, particularly in cross-eulturalsituations where direct personal experience islimited. For instance, in Thailand, Mexico,South Africa and Taiwan studies have foundthat American programs were major sources ofsocial stereotypes about Americans (seeKalimapour 1999; Tan et al. 1986; Tan andSuarchavarat 1988). In their meta-analysis study,Emmers-sommers and Alen (1999) concludedthat mass media are a significant source oflearning and media can influence attitude, whichin turn, may influence or shape behavior.Consistent with social learning theory, it isargued that frequent exposure to America newsand entertainment programs might serve asimportant clues in the formation of perceptionand attitude towards America among foreignaudiences.

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Research on television effects has alsoexamined how television contributes toperception of social reality. This line of researchis often guided by cultivation theory. Whilemany studies concerning cultivation theoryfocused on TV violence, the theory has alsobeen applied to a wide variety of topics whichincluded images or perception of America (seee.g, Kamalipour 1999; Saito 1996; Tan andSuarchavarat 1988). Cultivation theorypostulates that the more time people spendwatching television, the more likely it is thattheir conception of social reality will reflectwhat is seen on television. Accordingly, oneprobable effect of exposure to US culturalproducts, whether news or entertainment, couldbe to increase a person's favorability towardsthe country, in the way familiarity breeds positivefeelings, as suggested by Synder et al. (1991).Synder et al. also pointed out that, while therewere studies which found that liking the UnitedStates is positively related to exposure to foreignnews via newspaper and watching TVentertainment series, familiarity through themedia exposure may also breed contempt inother cases.

The findings on impact of exposure toAmerican television on foreign audiences havebeen mixed. Ogan (1993), for instance, foundthat the consumption of foreign media productsamong Turkish respondents did not predict afavorable foreign cultural orientation or produceany clear pattern of positive description of theUnited States. Saito (1996) found that Americanprogram in Japanese television did notnecessarily cultivate unfavorable images of theUnited States. Willnat et al. (1997), on theother hand, found that foreign TV consumptionis related to negative stereotypical perceptionsand feelings toward Americans. A meta-analysisof seventeen studies of the impact of Americantelevision on foreign audiences by Ware andDupagne (1994) found small but statisticallysignificant correlations between exposure toAmerican entertainment programs andperception, attitude and behavior of foreignaudiences.

In examining effects of exposure to USmedia on non-American perception of UnitedStates, it is important to note on the type ofmedia and programs. Willnat et al. (1997)suggested that in studying media influence,

researchers should separate the media that havedifferent content and different audience. Inlight of this view, it is worthwhile to examinewhether there is a difference in attitudes towardthe United States among non-Americanaudiences who were exposed to the CNN andUS newsmagazine such as the Times and theNewsweek as compared to those who were notexposed. In a post September 11 era, it isimportant to examine this issue as news in CNand US newsmagazine seem to be skewedtowards the US's interest. Furthermore, recentresearch has observed an emerging C J factorin the direction of US foreign policy by evokingresponses in their audience through concentratedand emotionally-based coverage, which in tumapplies pressure to governments to act inresponse to a particular problem (Hawkin 2002).On the contrary, news commentaries on the USunilateral policy in international affairs in thelocal media seemed negative and critical.

In addition to media use, religion couldalso be a factor in explaining for the variationin attitudes toward the United States amongnon-American audience. Religion is assumedto have a profound influence on audienceperception and reaction to what they experiencein life, including those what they learn from themedia. A majority of the Malaysians are Muslimin which their values are in sharp contradictionwith the western values. But this argument hasnot been adequately and empirically examined.In one study of religion and media, Golan(2001) found that on moral issues, religiosity ispositively associated with perceived media impacton others. But on non-moral issues, religiosityis not associated with perceived media impacton self and others.

Based on the above discussion, this studytested the following two research hypothesesand addresses one research question:HI: There is a significant difference in attitudes

toward the United States between youthswho are exposed to US news media fromthose who are not exposed to US newsmedia.

H2: There is a significant difference in attitudestoward the United States between Muslimyouth and non-Muslim youths.

RQ: What is the role of exposure to the CNNon attitudes toward the United States whenreligion is taken into account?

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METHODOLOGYThe data reported here is part of a large surveydata on media and war. The data were collectedone week before the start of the Iraq War onMarch 19, 2003. A total of 295 undergraduatestudents completed a self-administeredquestionnaire survey on a voluntary basisbetween March 10 and 14, 2003. The groupadministered survey contained questionsincluding students' media exposure and attitudestoward the United States. Respondents werealso asked to provide detail on gender, age,ethnic, religious affiliation and their interest inpolitics. The questionnaire was distributed tostudents enrolled in communication, language,and human resource development classes at apublic university in Selangor, Malaysia. It tookabout 10-15 minute to complete the saidquestionnaire.

Exposure to US news media, as a variable,was measured by asking students to indicatehow often (regularly, sometimes, hardly ever, ornever) they used the C and US newsmagazine. The regularly and sometimesresponses were collapsed into one andcategorized as expose to US news media, whilethe hardly ever and never were collapsed intonot expose to US news media category. Themeasure of attitudes toward the United Statesinvolved asking respondents to mark on the leftor right of the five bi-polar statements thatbetter reflects their views. The five statementsare (i) it's good/bad that American ideas andcustoms are spreading here, (ii) I like/dislikeAmerican ideas about democracy, (iii) I like/dislike American way of doing business, (iv) Ilike/dislike American music and movies, and(v) I admire/do not admire the United Statesfor its technological and scientific advances.

There were slightly more female (54.2%)than male subjects (45.8%) with an average ageof 22 year (SD= 1.54). About sixty-two percentof the respondents were Muslims, and the otherthirty-eight percent were non-Muslims. In termsof interest in politics, 41.3% of the respondentsindicated interest in politics, 41.0% not verymuch interested and 17.7% not at all interested.

RESULTS

Table 1 summarizes the findings on attitudestoward the United States by exposure to US

news media. As shown in Table 1, while asubstantial percentage of the respondents wereexposed to C ,not many read USnewsmagazines. Accessibility and selectivityfactors may explain for one's exposure to thesenews media. With regard to attitudes towardthe United States, the findings clearly showedthat, on the one hand, a majority of therespondents like American music and movies,American ways of doing business, and admireAmerica's technological and scientificadvancement. On the other hand, a majority ofthe respondents disliked American idea andcustoms spreading here, and their disdain toAmerican idea about democracy. This patternof findings suggests that respondents weightedand reacted differently on issue related tomorality such as cultural and religious valuesand issues unrelated to morality such astechnological progress reported in the newsmedia. evertheless, when responses on thefive different items on attitudes toward theUnites States were compared, the results of ther tests revealed no significant differences on allthe five items for exposure to C , suggestingexposure to C has no influence on feelingstoward the United States. A similar pattern ofresults is observed for exposure to USnewsmagazine, except on the item admire (donot admire) American technological andscientific advancement. Overall, the presentstudy fails to support the hypothesized differencein attitudes toward the US between those whowere exposed to the US news media with thosewho were not exposed.

Does religion have any bearing on nonAmerican audiences' attitudes toward the UnitedStates? Table 2 summarizes the results of the c2

tests on the five attitudinal items by religion.The survey found significant differences on fouritems (except item on American ways of doingbusiness) when the responses of Muslim andnon-Muslim respondents were compared. Thedifferences are more pronounced on Americanidea and custom spreading in the country andthe American idea about democracy. Thepercentage of Muslims who disliked Americanidea and custom spreading in Malaysia andAmerican idea about democracy is significantlyhigher than that of non-Muslims. Overall, thisfinding generally supports hypothesis 2,suggesting that religion has an influence on

PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 14 0.12006 5


TABLE 1Attitudes towards the United States by exposure to CNN and US newsmagazine

Item Expose to US X2 Expose to CNN X2

news magazine

Yes No Yes No(n=47) (n=244) (n=98) (n=191)

Like American ideas and customs spread here 21.3 17.2 .210 19.8 16.8 .218Dislike American ideas and customs spread here 78.7 82.8 (.647) 80.2 83.2 (.641)

Like American idea about democracy 28.3 24.5 .127 23.0 26.2 .204Dislike American idea about democracy 71.7 75.5 (.722) 77.0 73.8 (.652)

Like American ways of doing business 60.9 57.8 .051 58.0 58.4 .000Dislike American ways of doing business 39.1 42.2 (.821) 42.0 41.6 (1.000)

Like American music and movies 87.0 85.2 .007 88.9 83.7 1.031Dislike American music and movies 13.0 14.8 (.933) ILl 16.3 (.301)

Admire American technological and scientific 76.1 89.3 4.923 85.7 88.0 .126advancementDo not admire American technological and 23.9 10.7 (.026) 14.3 12.0 (.723)scientific advancement

TABLE 2Attitudes towards the United States by religion

Item Religion

Islam Non-Islam r(N=181) ( =105)

Like American ideas and customs spread here 8.3 34.3 28.906Dislike American ideas and customs spread here 91.7 65.7 (.000)

Like American idea about democracy 11.0 48.6 48.140Dislike American idea about democracy 89.0 51.4 (.000)

Like American ways of doing business 54.4 66.7 3.604Dislike American ways of doing business 45.6 33.3 (.058)

Like American music and movies 81.6 91.4 4.357Dislike American music and movies 18.4 8.6 (.037)

Admire American technological and scientific advancement 83.2 94.3 6.330Do not admire American technological and scientific advancement 16.8 5.7 (.012)

Note: Figures are in percentages; X2 used continuity-eorrection test.

6 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 14 0.12006

Like America ideas and customs spread hereDislike American ideas and customs spread here

Admire American technological and scientificadvancementDo not admire American technological and scientificadvancement

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Like American idea about democracyDislike American idea about democracy

Like American ways of doing businessDislike American ways of doing business

Like American music and moviesDislike American music and movies

Note: Figures are in percentages.

TABLE 3Attitudes towards the United States by religion and exposure to CNN

Muslim & Expose to Muslim & Not Expose Non-Muslim & Expose Non-Muslim & NotCNN (n=59) to CNN (n=122) to CNN (n=42) Expose to CNN

(n=63)

10.2 7.4 33.3 34.989.8 92.6 66.7 65.1

r = .123 (.570) r = .000 (1.000)

8.6 12.2 42.9 52.491.4 87.8 57.1 47.6

r = .213 (.644) X2 = .573 (.449)

56.9 53.3 59.5 71.443.1 46.7 40.5 28.6

r = .087 (.768) r = 1.116 (.291)

80.7 82.0 100.0 85.719.3 18.0 14.3r = .000 (1.000) r = 4.866 (.027)

76.8 86.2 97.6 94.3

23.2 13.8 2.4 5.2

r = 1.807 (.179) X2 = .597 (.440)

x2

30.909(.000)

51.625(.000)

5.782(.123)

9.241(.026)

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attitudes towards United States among nonAmerican audience.

As not many of the respondents wereexposed to US newsmagazine, only exposure toCNN was considered in examining the combinedeffect of media and religion on attitudes towardthe United States. As shown in Table 3, whenexposure to CNN and religion were factoredsimultaneously, it is clearly evident that religionhas a greater role in explaining the variation inattitudes toward the United States among thenon-American audiences.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The present study clearly underscores the ideathat in measuring attitude researchers need tospecify the component of attitude beingexamined. As observed in the present analysis,while non-American subjects had a favorableattitude towards American music, movies, andbusiness practices, they seem to have reservationor objection on American customs spreadinginto the country and American idea aboutdemocracy. This pattern of findings show that,while it is acceptable to develop an aggregatemeasure of attitudes toward the United States,one should take note that aggregating datawould also result in a loss of information andspecificity. As evident in this analysis, the studywould not be able to tap the differential inattitudinal orientation on matters pertaining toideology and morality and those that are not.

The present study found that, even of theemergence of CNN factor in the news broadcastas pointed by Hawkin (2002), exposure to CNNdid not cultivate favorable attitudes towards theUS among non-American audiences. Thefinding of the relationship between exposure toAmerican news media among the non-Americanaudience and attitudes toward the US is not inline with the findings of a number of studiessuch as Ware and Dupagne (1994) and Dell'Ortoet al. (2003) but corroborate with the findingsof other studies such as (e.g., Saito 1996; Willnatet al. 1997). The inconsistency in the findingsof the relationship between exposure toAmerican news media and attitudes towards theUS could be due to whether the confoundinginfluence of religion was taken into account inthe analysis. As observed in the present study,religion is a factor in explaining for the variation

in attitudes towards the US, consistent with thefindings of Golan (2001).

A no significant difference on attitudestoward the United States between those whowere exposed and not exposed to C N has tobe taken cautiously. A failure to find supportfor the hypothesized difference could beattributed to measurement error. Only onequ~stion was used to measure the exposurevanable and this measure may not be sensitiveand discriminating enough. It is not knownhow much attention audiences pay to the newsand programs in the C . Had a better~easurement be established, the expecteddifference in attitudes toward the United Statesbetween those who were exposed and notexposed to CNN could have been observed.Despite some flaw in the measurement, theunexpected pattern of findings seems to suggest~at effect of exposure may not be as strong asIt was anticipated.

Although the influence of religion onattitudes toward the United States is clearlyevident in the present study, it is not clear howreligion actually influences informationprocessing capability of audiences. It is obviousthat religion serves as a filter in newsconsumption, comprehension and reaction.One probable explanation is, because of thecontrasting and competing ideological valuesbetween Islam and the west, Muslim audiencesare sensitive and mindful when interpretingnews produced by the American media,particularly when they are skeptical of the nitedStates and recognizing the fact that the USnews media seemed to promote nationalism injournalism.

The present study raised more questionsthan answers to the research objectives. Aconclusion on the lack of effect of exposure toC on attitudes towards the United Statesamong non-American audiences even thoughreligion was taken into account could not bedefinitive enough. Although religion seems tohave an influence on the attitudes, more studies~re needed to understand how religionmfluences attitudes. And more importantly, a~ore rigorous design and statistical techniqueIS required in examining the effect of exposureto US media and religion on attitudes towardthe United States among non-Americanaudiences. The relationships among religion,

8 PertanikaJ. Soc. Sci. & Hum. Vol. 14 o. 1 2006


exposure to US news media, and attitudes towardthe United States seem much more complex.In addition to religion, more factors need to beconsidered, and a multivariate analysis techniqueis more appropriate than a bivariate analysis indetermining the nature and strength ofrelationships between exposure to US mediaand attitudes toward the United States.

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THIBAULT, D. 2002. Global survey shows growinganti-Americanism. December 6. CNSNews.com. Retrieved October 28, 2004 from http://urww. newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/12/6/64838.shtml

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(Received: 15 May 2005)

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