"Daniel Lerner's 1958 book 'The Passing of Traditional Society' was central in shaping Cold War-era ideas about the use of mass media and culture to promote social and economic progress in postcolonial nations. Based on a study of the effectiveness of propaganda in the Middle East, Lerner's book claimed that exposure to American media messages could motivate "traditional" people in the postcolonial nations to become "modern" by cultivating empathy for American ideas, goods, and ways of life." (https://www.jstor.org)

"This work studies the "modernisation" (as a result mainly of contact with the mass media) of 6 countries of the Middle East: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Iran. It is based on a survey carried out in 1950-1951, using a questionnaire drawn up with the help of Professor F. Lazarsfeld and Professor R. Merton. In each country 300-400 people were interviewed in their native tongue about their habits and wishes as regards their way of life. A second interview took place in 1964 and put the question why certain regions had changed rapidly while others seemed unchanged. The author thus studies what he calls the end of "traditional society." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 1291, topic code 031)