137 Political Communication, 19:137–154, 2002 Copyright ã 2002 Taylor & Francis 1058-4609/02 $12.00 + .00 DOI: 10.1080/0195747029005541 1 Political Communication on Arab World Television: Evolving Patterns MUHAMMAD I. AYISH This article identifies political communication patterns taking shape on Arab world television. Three distinct patterns of political communication are described. In the traditional government-controlled television pattern, official government policies seem to inspire the form and substance of TV’s framing of events and issues. In the re- formist government-controlled television pattern, while official stands set the param- eters of news coverage, professional newswork practices unfamiliar in traditional government-controlled television are well noted. In the liberal commercial pattern, American-style journalism seems to define television’s handling of events and issues. To shed light on these patterns, the writer conducts a supplementary analysis of how three television broadcasters representing the three political communication patterns— Syrian Satellite Channel (SSC), Abu Dhabi Satellite Channel (ADSC), and Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel (JSC)—frame national and regional politics in their news programs. Keywords communication patterns, framing, government control, television jour- nalism The year 2005 will mark half a century of television in the Arab world. 1 During the first 4 decades of its development, Arab world television was often described as stagnant, centralized, monolithic, and apathetic to audience views (Ayish, 2000). By the late 1980s, however, television, along with other communication media, began to experience its most dramatic transformation ever. The evolving broadcasting environment of the 1990s was marked not only by an abundance of government and private television outlets or by a globalization of transmissions to audiences beyond national frontiers, but also by the adoption of new political communication patterns. While the traditional government- controlled and -operated media model continues to be highly visible, a host of national, regional, and global developments seem to have given rise to two new patterns of politi- cal communication in the Arab world 2 : the reformist government broadcasting pattern and the liberal commercial pattern. The three political communication patterns seem to coexist uneasily in an environment characterized by varied political and social orienta- tions, economic uncertainty, and market competition. 3 By explicating the three patterns of political television communication in the Arab world, we hope to understand better the potential role of broadcasting in political and social processes in the region. An analysis of sample newscasts carried by three Arab Muhammad I. Ayish is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Communication at the University of Sharjah. Address correspondence to Muhammad I. Ayish, Department of Communication, University of Sharjah, P.O. Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. E-mail: miaysh@sharjah.ac.ae