WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup Polls conducted between 2005 and 2008 across 13 countries in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region reveal that citizens rely on many types of media to receive information about other countries. Common assumptions point to the Middle East's relationship with the media as one of homogeny, in which a majority of populations tune in to singular channels of information to learn about the world. However, Gallup Poll findings indicate this assumption is wrong. Many people in the MENA region, especially in Arab-majority countries, use multiple sources of information to learn about events that happen in their own countries and elsewhere. Moreover, majorities in the region express little trust in the quality or integrity of their nation's media.
When asked which types of media are "very important" in keeping them well-informed about events in their own countries, a median of 74% across the 13 countries surveyed say national television. The regional medians for those saying newspapers, international television, and national radio are very important are 54% or higher.
When it comes to keeping well-informed about events in other countries, 51% (regional median) of residents in the MENA region still consider national television a very important source. However, significantly more respondents consider international television the most important medium for keeping them informed about events in other countries (the regional median is 66%). Although more respondents (the regional median is 54%) say newspapers are an important source to find out about events in one's own country, only a regional median of 38% say the same for them as a source of news about other countries. Fewer respondents mention the Internet and word of mouth.
Egypt, Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia
In Egypt, the Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia responses differ.
In Egypt, 60% of respondents tell Gallup that national television is a very important source of information about events in their own country. Although only 26% of respondents say national radio is very important, both it and Egyptian national television predominantly flow from the same source -- the Egypt Radio Television Union (ERTU). ERTU is a state-run media union that operates domestic and satellite networks originating in Egypt.
In Saudi Arabia, a slightly higher percentage of respondents (76%) say newspapers are very important for getting information about their nation than say this about national television (70%) and international television (70%). Like Egypt, the state-run Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (BSKSA) controls all radio and television broadcasts. Although there are various daily newspapers, such as Al-Watan, Al-Riyadh, and Okaz, all are created by royal decree and generally only run stories that the state-run Saudi Press Agency approves.
In the Palestinian Territories, respondents are most likely to say international television (77%) is very important in staying abreast of events at home. This encompasses stations such as Jordanian TV (which is extensively watched in the West Bank) and Pan-Arab broadcasters such as Al-Jazeera. Majorities also say national radio (a part of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation [PBC], which the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah runs) and national television (composed of stations run by the PBC as well as Al-Aqsa TV, a Hamas-run station in Gaza, and various private stations) are very important for information about their country.
In Egypt, preferences for certain types of media remain roughly the same when asked about international events. In the Palestinian Territories, preference for international television remains high, while there is a decrease of preference in national sources such as national radio, national television, and newspapers. In Saudi Arabia, the percentage of respondents who say international television is very important for information about events in other countries (82%) is higher than the percentage who say it is very important for information about events in their own country (70%). Preference for newspapers decreases among Saudi respondents when asked about international events (64%), and roughly 40% consider international radio, national television, and word of mouth to be very important.
Turkey and Iran
Reliance on national television is significantly more pronounced than all other media in Turkey and Iran, where 93% of Turks and 87% of Iranians view it as a very important source of news about their country.
In Iran, national television is a state-run project, with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) controlling national and provincial networks. Turkish national television is considerably more open. Turkish Radio and Television is the state broadcaster, but it competes with 300 private television stations, many run by media conglomerates such as the Dogan group.
Fifty-six percent of Turks and 57% of Iranians say newspapers are a very important medium for information about their country. Although there are several Turkish newspapers covering various political perspectives, journalists are often persecuted for addressing the subjects of the military, Kurds, and political Islam. Although state-run institutions publish two major newspapers in Iran, the Tehran Times and the Iran Daily, there are independent newspapers as well, such as the Kayhan, a conservative daily, and the Aftab-e Yazd, a reformist daily.
While 58% of Iranians believe national radio (also run by the IRIB) is very important, less than 30% consider word of mouth, international radio, Internet, and international television very important sources of news about their country. Less than a quarter of Turks (22%) consider national radio to be a very important source of information, and less than 10% of Turkish respondents say other sources of information are very important to stay well-informed about national events.
When asked about how they stay well-informed about events in other countries, majorities (79% in Turkey and 75% in Iran) consider national television as a very important source of news.
Considerably fewer respondents, 38% of Turks and 47% of Iranians, identified newspapers as very important sources of news about other countries. Forty-two percent of Iranians consider national radio very important, while only 12% of Turks do. Unlike the predominantly Arab states surveyed, only 17% of Iranians and 15% of Turks find international television to be a very important source of information about other countries.
Trust in Media
Regardless of what media residents of the countries surveyed consider very important, confidence in the quality and integrity of media is low in most nations.
Although independent news sources and media conglomerates are more prevalent than in the other countries surveyed, few Turks (25%) express confidence in the quality and integrity of their media. While Palestinians have a diverse selection of stations, only 28% of Palestinian respondents have confidence in the media. In Egypt, 33% of respondents express confidence in the media. In Iran, 49% of respondents say they are confident in the media.
Although state-run media are perhaps most prevalent in Saudi Arabia, residents there also have more confidence in the media than respondents do in many of the countries surveyed: 56% express confidence in the media, while 28% do not.
Bottom Line
While Turks and Iranians view their own national television as very important above all other media for news about other countries, this trend does not continue in other countries in the MENA region. In Egypt, and especially in the Palestinian Territories and Saudi Arabia, many residents view multiple media as very important. Most notably, citizens in these nations rely on international television to a degree that is absent in Iran and Turkey.
Regardless of what media denizens in the MENA region consider very important, it is apparent that many citizens take their media with a grain of salt. This holds especially true in Turkey, as well as in Egypt and the Palestinian Territories. A slight majority of Saudis consider the media in their nation to have integrity and be reliable.
Survey Methods
Results are based on face-to-face interviews with at least 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, administered in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
