WORKINGPAPER

Trust in international news media in partially free media environments A case study of five markets in Africa and South Asia

Anne Geniets

February 2011

REUTERS

INSTITUTE for the

STUDY of

JOURNALISM

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Preface

Executivesummary

1Introduction

1.1Purposeofthestudy

1.2Researchquestions

1.3Background

1.4Methodology

1.5Structureofthereport

2Theculturallifeofnews

2.1Introduction

2.2Newsstoriesandinterestinnewsacrossthefivemarkets

2.3Typesofmediausedtoaccessthenews

2.4Connectingthedots

3Awareness,usageandperceptionsofdifferentlocal,nationaland

internationalnewsmedia

3.1Kenya

3.2Egypt

3.3Senegal

3.4India

3.5Pakistan

3.6Summary

4Trustandconsumption

4.1Changesinnewsconsumption

4.2Trustacrossthefivemarkets

4.3Trustininternationalanddomesticmediaandconsumption

4.4Summary

5Conclusion

5.1Developments

5.2Outlook

References

Appendix

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: This report is the third part of a one‑year independent studysupportedbytheCarnegieCorporationofNewYork,BBCGlobalNewsandFrance24.TheresearchpresentedhereisbasedonfindingsfromfieldworkinSenegal,Egypt,Kenya,IndiaandPakistan, and thepresentation of in‑housepublications ofVoice ofAmerica, BBCandFrance 24. The fieldwork was made possible by the assistance of the BBC and France 24.Particular thanks are due to Anne Barnsdale, Jeremy Nye and Colin Wilding of BBCAudience InsightsLondon, toDezmadeMelo from BBCAudience Insights SouthAsia, toMosesOdhiambofromBBCGlobalNewsKenyaand toDanielNobiandHélèneRèzefromFrance24,fortheirguidanceandusefuldiscussions.

Thanks to theprojectandadministrative teammembersat theReuters Institute,DrDavid Levy, as well as Sara Kalim, Kate Hanneford‑Smith, Amanda Armstrong and AlexReidfor theirhelpandcontributions in the run‑uptothefieldworkandduringmy travels.SpecialthanksareduetoSaraKalimforhertirelessengagementinbudgetingthisambitiousproject, negotiating contracts with research agencies and being available as contact personthroughout the fieldwork. Particular thanks also to Ranjita Rajan for conducting ourfieldwork inMumbai, to Simon Terrington for feedback on the design of our focus groupresearch,toHélèneNeveu‑KringelbachforadviceonfieldworkinSenegal,toEvelynTagbo,AbdallaHassanandMohamedEl‑SayedforadviceonfieldworkinNigeriaandEgypt,andtotheteammembersoftheresearchagenciesinSenegal,Egypt,Kenya,IndiaandPakistanfortheircontributionstothefieldworkandforengagingdiscussions.

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PREFACE: This report is the third stage of a three‑phase project on ‘International News:Provision, Consumption and Trust in aRapidlyChangingBroadcastingEnvironment’. Theprojectexamineseightcountriesandaimstoexploretheincreasinglycompetitiveprovisionof news by international media, changing patterns of news consumption and the ways inwhichtrustmaybechanginginaworldofnewsabundanceasopposedtonewsscarcity.Theprojectisthefirstacademicstudythatlooksatchangingprovision,consumptionandtrustininternationalmedia in thesecountries simultaneouslyandacross thewholepopulation,notjust opinion leaders. Thisworkingpaperpresents the findings of the last of three researchphases.Itexaminesthechangingattitudestotrustininternationalbroadcastnewssuppliersinfivecountries:Kenya,Egypt,Senegal,IndiaandPakistan.

The report collates audience‑research findings from fieldwork carried out in thesefivemarkets.Foreach of the five countriesand their uniquehistoric, cultural,politicalandsocio‑demographicbackgrounds,weaimedtoexaminethroughthisstudytheroleoftrustinthe perception and consumption of local, domestic and international broadcast newssuppliers.

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EXECUTIVESUMMARY:Thisreportisfocusedonattitudestotrustininternationalmedia.Itcollatesfindingsfrom36focusgroupsand11immersioninterviewsconductedinNairobi(Kenya),Cairo(Egypt),Dakar(Senegal),Mumbai(India)andLahore(Pakistan)inthesummerandautumnof2010.Thefindingsaimtoprovideananalysisoftheattitudestotrustininternationalmediainthesefivehighlycompetitivemarketsandanenvironmentofplenty.ThemedialandscapeinAfricaandSouthAsiahasseendramaticchangesoverthepastfewyears,notleastduetopolitical,infrastructuralandeconomicchanges.Thesechangeshaveresultedintheincreasedinfluenceofprivatedomesticbroadcastersasopposedtostate‑runorinternationalbroadcastersinthewakeofincreasedmedialiberalisationinmanyAfricanandSouthAsiancountries.Thestudysuggeststhatthesechangesarereflectedinattitudestotrusttowardsinternationalmedia.

The report explores three core questions for each market. What news are peopleinterested in? Which providers do people trust and why? How does trust affect theconsumptionofnewsfromdifferentprovidersandacrossdifferentplatforms?Whileforeachmarkettherearedifferentresponsestothesequestions,thefindingsalsoidentifyanumberofoverarchingtrendsacrossthefivemarkets.

InKenya ,TVemergedasthemostpopularandmosttrustednewsmediuminthefocusgroups.ThisisnotsurprisingsincethegroupswereconductedinthecapitalcityofNairobiwhereelectricityiswidespread.Ifthestudyweretocoverruralareas,radiowouldprobablybe themainmediumfor news.Urbandwellersmainlyuse radiowhen theyareaway fromtheir homes or travelling in the matatus (main public transportation), and often access itthrough theirmobilephones.Most focusgroupparticipants seemed toconsume localnewsmost and were only slightly interested in international news. With liberalisation andimproved freedomofexpression,manyof the localnewsprovidershavebecomebolder intheirnewsreporting,thusearningthetrustandrespectofconsumers.Thischangeinattitudetowards local providers has affected how international news is consumed. Althoughinternational news channels such as CNN, BBC and Al‑Jazeera, which are the maininternational providers, are highly trusted, internationalmedia are mainly consumed by asocio‑economic and educational elite in Kenya. Generally the respondents felt thatinternationalmediaprovided in‑depth information in their reportingwithout holdingbackinformation, but that international providers tended to report more negative stories aboutAfrica. The languageused inmost international stations that are relayed inKenya (mainlyEnglish)wasperceivedasahindrancebymanyfocusgroupparticipants,asmanyKenyansare not comfortable with the English language. There was a mixed reaction towards thepartnershipbetween internationalprovidersandnationalproviders in the focusgroups,aslocalprovidersonlyrelayinternationalnewslateatnightwhenmostpeopleareasleep.OneofthereasonswhyAl‑Jazeeraseemedtobepopularamongsttheparticipantswasbecauseitisbroadcastdirectlyonitsownterrestrialchannel,thereforeviewerscanwatchitthroughoutthe day. Appreciation for local providers seems to have increased also because of thedramatic increase in vernacular radio stations in recent years. The vernacular stations aremainlyrelayedthroughFMtechnologywhichhaspenetratedbothruralandurbanslumsinKenya. Itwasevident in the focusgroups that the level ofawareness of these stationswashigh.Thelocalprovidersweremainlyappreciatedandtrustedbecauseofthelocallanguageused, whichmakes it easy to comprehend. The responses of the focus group participantsfurther suggest that the vernacular stationshavegainedpopularityamongstvariousethniccommunities because of the language and through reporting stories that are of greatestinterest to the people. However, local providers are limited by their restricted networkcoverage and sometimes superficial stories. Word of mouth through family membersemergedasthemosttrustedsourceofinformation.Politiciansweretheleasttrustedsourceofinformation.

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InEgypt, TV emerged in the focus groups as themost popular and themost trustedmedium. TV was followed by the internet, which was particularly popular and trustedamongst young participants across the socio‑economic groups. While many of the focusgrouprespondentsweregenerallynotoronlymarginallyinterestedininternationalnewsingeneral,unlesstherewasaninternationalsportingeventoracrisis,manyrespondentswerefollowing news on the Middle East and the neighbouring countries. International newschannels such as BBC or CNNwere trusted but mainlywatched by a socio‑economic andeducationalelite.Most respondentswerewaryabout thetrustandcredibility levelsof localTVchannelsandnewspapers,butsomeofthedomesticprivateandstate‑ownedTVchannelsweretrustedmorebecauseofspecific,popularpresenters,whohaveearnedtheiraudience’strustbybeingoutspokenandbychallengingunpopularpoliticians.Whilepan‑ArabchannelssuchasAl‑JazeeraorAl‑Arabiyawereverypopular amongst the focusgrouprespondents,localanddomesticmediacontinuetobepreferredbymostduetotwofactors:thelackofin‑depth coverage of local news stories in international media, and the perceived unfairportrayal ofEgyptby internationalmedia,particularly in thecaseofAl‑Jazeera,whichwasviewed favourably by most participants in the past, but whose reputation seems to havetaken a hit due to negative coverage of Egypt in early 2010. It is unclear how long thisphenomenonwilllast.Mostrespondentsalsofeltthattherewasalackoftransparencyfromgovernment‑controlledmedia. They appear to trust established internationalmediaplayerslike the BBC because of their lack of political restrictions, supported by advancedtechnologicalandjournalisticprofessionalism.

InSenegal ,themajorityofthefocusgroupparticipantsstatedthattheywouldconsumeprivate local media more than international media. The majority of the focus groupparticipantsreportedthattheyhadonlyalimitedinterestininternationalnews,andthattheyweremainlyinterestedinlocalandnationalcurrentaffairs.Internationalmediaweremainlyconsumed by the socio‑economic and educational elite, with the exception of RFI (RadioFranceInternational)whichhadabroaderappeal.Thistrendispartlyexplainedbyadegreeof media liberalisation of the media that has strengthened and improved the quality ofprivatedomesticbroadcasters;itmayalsobeduetothefactthatmostinternationalchannelsaredeliveredthroughlocalsupplierswhichchargerelativelyhighsubscriptionfees.Senegalisadevelopingcountrywith42.6%ofhouseholdslivingbelowthepovertyline..Thismakesaccessibility to foreign TV basically out of reach for half of the population. TV and radioemergedas themostpopularandthemost trustedmediainthefocusgroups.Internationalproviders, particularly RFI, were trusted for their independence, objectivity, reliability,professionalism and punctuality, but were repeatedly blamed in the focus groups forportraying a negative image of Africa. In addition, as Senegal is predominantly a liberalMuslimsociety(95%areMuslim),anumberoftherespondentssuggestedthatinternationalmediawerepartofWesterngovernments’desiretodiscreditIslamandequateittoterrorism.

In India , which has the most competitive and the most liberal of the five mediaenvironments,thefocusgroupparticipantsreportedthattheywoulduseinternationalnewsproviders on the following occasions only: to access international news and to get extrainformationoranindependenttakeonsomecriticaldomesticevents.Generally,respondentsexpressedagreaterinterestinnationalandlocalnewsthanininternationalnews.Interestininternationalnewsand internationalnewsproviders is,according to the respondents,at itshighestwhen thereare sportseventsorat the timeofadisaster orcalamity. Thechoice ofinternational news providers is limited. BBC and CNNwere the best known internationalprovidersinthefocusgroups,withtheBBCbeingbetterknown.Judgingbytheparticipants’responses,theavailabilityoflocalEnglishnewschannelslikeCNN‑IBN,NDTV24/7,TimesNow, and Headlines Today – has reduced the need for international news providers. Asignificant number of participants felt that the amount of international news provided on

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these localEnglishnewschannelswas sufficientmostof the time.TVemerged in the focusgroupsasthemainandmosttrustedmediumthroughwhichnewsisaccessed–followedbynewspapers. The internet is still a relatively young medium in India, but is viewed as atrusted source. For most focus group participants their regular news channel was a localHindi channel. Aaj Tak, followed by Star News and Zee News were the popular newschannels. Most participants stated that they would switch between two to four newschannels.Severalfactorswereidentifiedinourfieldworkthatfostertrustinnewsprovidersin India: with localHindi channels it is the familiarity, likeability and perception of being‘one‑of‑us’(i.e.Indianidentity,familiarlanguageandmannerisms)thathelpstobuildtrust.With international news channels it is the competence, professionalism and experienceassociatedwith themthatevokes trust.Participants felt that theemotional connectionwiththeseinternationalchannelsislow(theyareseenasunapproachable,eliteandforeign)–buttheirexpertiseandprofessionalismisrecognised.

Newsmedia in Pakistan have evolved in the past few years, and TV channels havemushroomed, offeringmore variety to thePakistaniTVaudience.Focusgroupparticipantsconsideredthemediaingeneraltobemuchfreertodaythanadecadeago.TVemergedasthemost trusted and used medium, followed by the internet, mobile phones, radio andnewspapers,whichwereconsideredsecondarybyrespondentsas theyrequiresomesortofeffortorattentionfromtheuser.BBCUrduemergedasthemostpopularradionewsstationand respondents reported tuning in particularly when there is no access to television (i.e.duringpowercuts, etc.).The internetwasusedbymany focusgroupparticipants toaccessinformationwhichisbannedfromlocalchannels.Manyparticipantsalsoreportedthat theywouldusetheirmobilephonestolistentotheradiofornewsortoreceivetextmessageswithnewsupdatesfromfriendsandfamily.Onlyafewoftheparticipantsstatedthattheywouldsubscribetonewsalertsfromtheirmobileserviceproviders.Thereisageneralawarenessofinternational channelsbutviewership is limitedmostly toBBCandCNN. InternationalTVchannels were trusted amongst the focus group participants because of their accurate,unbiased reporting. However, language was considered a key barrier when it comes toconsumption of news from these international providers. Local channels such as Geo andExpressemergedasthemostpopularandmosttrustedTVchannels,astheywereperceivedas the fastest andmostup‑to‑date channels on national and local affairs.According to theparticipants, Geo, Express, BBC and CNN are trusted because they were the first fewchannels in the market to provide detailed and unbiased news. However, focus groupparticipants emphasised that they would turn to international channels only if domesticchannelswerenotprovidinginformationonaparticularstoryofpublicinterest,suchasthetrial of DrAafia Siddiqui or the threat to burn theQur’an in theUnited States in autumn2010.

Severaltrendsresultfromtheseindividualdevelopmentsthattranscendtheculturalandgeopoliticaluniquenessofthesefivemarkets:

• Private channels and private radio stations in the fivemarkets are generallymoretrusted than statebroadcasters,whichareseenas ‘mouthpieces’of thegovernmentandviewedwithsomesuspicion.

• Internationalprovidersarehighlytrustedandregularlyusedby thesocio‑economicandeducationalelitesinthefivemarkets.

• Pan‑African networkswere more trusted than international providers in Kenya bythemajorityofthefocusgroupparticipants.ThiswasalsopartlythecaseinSenegal,although there, RFI, as an international broadcaster, is highly trusted by elite andmainstream consumers alike. Similarly, in Egypt, pan‑Arab broadcasters are

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generally more trusted than international broadcasters by all consumers. In India,which is the freest of all markets and has a high degree of local and domesticprovision, international providers are perceived as trustworthy, but are mainlywatchedbyanelite.

• People across the population tend to watch news from international providers intimesofnationalorinternationalcrises.

• Peoplerelyonwordofmouthandfamilyforinformationand‘news’thattheytrustineverydaylife.They thenfollowthisinformationupviathemedia.Wherepeoplehaveaccesstosocialnetworkingsites,theytrusttheinformationoffriends.

• Consumers trust information from ‘traditional’mediasuchasTV, theprintedpressandtheradiomorethantheytrusttheinternetacrossthefivecountries.

• Consumersinallfivemarketsturnedouttobemedialiterate, inthesensethattheycould make relatively sophisticated judgements about the bias and reliability ofdifferentmedia sources, even people from lower socio‑economic classes whowerenotnecessarilyeducated.

These findings confirm the necessity of international providers as reliable resources foraccurate information in times of national and international crises, but at the same timeencourage an assessment and discussion about the strategic positioning of individualinternational broadcasters as elite versusmainstreammedia in an increasingly competitivemediaenvironment.Ata timewheninsomecountrieslocalandpan‑Arabbroadcastersaresucceeding in reaching mass audiences, there may be opportunities for traditionalinternationalbroadcasters toreachbeyond theelite,butthisinturnaddsnewchallengesofsecuringregularaccessfromandconnectingtomassaudiencesinamuchmorecompetitiveandpolarisedmediaenvironment.

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1Introduction

Thestudyinvestigates theroleof trust in theconsumptionandprovisionofnews from international providers in five countries in the context ofglobalisation. The five countries investigated are: Kenya, Egypt, Senegal,IndiaandPakistan.

1.1Purposeofthestudy

ThegoalofthisstudyistoexplorethechangingwaysinwhichpeoplelivinginKenya,Egypt,Senegal,IndiaandPakistandefine,encounterandevaluatenewsfrominternationalbroadcastersinthecontextofincreasedcompetitionbetweennewsproviders,aswellasintensifiedmediainteractivityandglobalconnectivity. Studies on media and trust can generally be divided intoofferingtwotypesofexplanations:thosestudiesthatfocusonthequalitiesofthe media and those that focus on the characteristics of the audience(Gunther,1992).Nostudiessofarhavelookedattrustandtheconsumptionof news across the whole population in the context of increased mediacompetition.1Thisreportaddressesthisvoidbylookingatattitudestotrustindomestic,internationalandregionalnewsmediaacrossthewholepopulation,notjustopinionleaders,inthecontextofglobalisation.Trustinmediacanbedefined in countless ways. As a working definition, we started out with avery unrefined conceptualisation of trust as the product of the perceivedfulfilment of a promise and expectations over time. This provisionalconceptualisation helped us to develop semi‑structured, open‑endedquestionsfor thediscussionguidethatwouldallowparticipantsratherthanresearcherstodefinetrustandnews,similartoColemanetal.’s(2009)study.Thisconstructivistapproachwasadoptedinordertodetectpotentialculturaldifferencesinconceptualisationsoftrustandnewsacrossthefivecountries.

1.2Researchquestions

Against the background of these developments and on the basis of thefindingsof the second researchphaseof thisproject, the following researchquestions were asked in each of the five markets with regard to theirindividualcultureanduniquemediaenvironment:

1.Whattypeofnewsarepeopleinterestedin?

2. How do audiences perceive different international providers in thedifferentcountries,andwhichprovidersdotheytrust,andwhy?

1 Previous reports commissioned by broadcasters, like the report on trust in the BBC conducted by Human Capital, focused on elite audiences, and exclusively on consumers of BBC services.

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3.Howdoes trust affect the consumption of news fromdifferent providersandacrossdifferentplatforms?

1.3Background

With theexceptionof India,noneof theother fourcountries investigated inthisstudywere fullydemocratic (seeTables1.1and1.2).Asoutlined in thepreviousreport(Geniets,2010),inEgypt,therearetwostate‑runnationalTVchannels and six regional channels, but many viewers turn to pan‑Arabchannels for their news. Egypt is a big force in satellite TV. Internationalproviders suchas theBBC,CNNorVOAareonly consumed to amarginaldegree by the general population, but much more frequently by opinionleaders.Onbalance,nationalprovidersseemtobestrongintheradiomarket,and pan‑Arab and national providers seem to be strong in the TVmarket.Formercolonialprovidersareviewedwithsomesuspicion.

In Senegal , radio is the most influential medium, at least in ruralareas,andcommercialandcommunitystationshave increasedrapidlysincethe1990s.ManypeopleaccessRFIontheradio.InurbanareassuchasDakar,private TV is the most influential medium for current affairs. The mostimportant and dominant providers are private channels, althoughinternationalchannelssuchasTV5orFrance24enjoypopularity,too.Privatedomestic channels are very popular. It seems that these private channelsprovideabalancetothegovernment‑ownedRTSchannels,whichareseenbymanyasthemouthpieceofthegovernment.

Kenyaenjoysarelativelyfreemediaenvironment.Whileinternationalproviders are seenby consumers as essential inofferinganalternative, lessbiased view than the national private and state‑owned media, theconsumptionofinternationalmediagenerallyhasgonedown,particularlyinthecaseofradio.Thesteepincreaseinvernacularradiostationsoverthepastfew years in a context of limited media regulation and monitoring mightcontain the potential for fostering underlying ethnic tensions. InternationalTVproviders aremainlyusedby themiddle andupper classes as access iscostly.WhiletheTVmarketisdominatedbyEnglishandKiswahiliproviders,the radio market is dominated by many vernacular stations, reflecting theethnic and cultural diversity of Kenya. Regional providers are very strongandcolonialprovidersareviewedwithsomescepticism.

India has a very lively anddiverse, autonomousmediamarket thatmakesitdifficultforinternationalbroadcasterstotapinto.Whilemusic‑basedFMstationsareverypopular,onlythepublicradiostationAllIndiaRadioisauthorisedtobroadcastnews.TVisthemostpopularmediuminIndia,andprivate domestic TV channels both inHindi aswell as English enjoy great

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popularity.However, theleadingchannelsaremostlyHindinewschannels.Thedistinctionbetweennewsandentertainmentonmostdomesticchannelsis often blurred, and many consumers are keenly aware and at timescomplain about the ‘sensationalist’ tone of some of the content of domesticproviders.Onbalance,domesticprivatechannelsarethestrongestprovidersin the market for TV. International providers are seen as setting the goldstandard for domestic providers by many, but are viewed with somescepticismastheyareperceivedas‘foreign’andthereforepotentiallybiasedagainstIndia.

Finally, Pakistan has a very restricted media environment. Mostpeople in urban areas watch private TV channels such as Geo News orExpressNews,orwatchthestate‑ownedPTVchannels(particularlyPTV1)asopposedtointernationalchannels.PrivateFMradiostationshaveinthepastfewyearsstartedtobroadcastawiderspectrumofopinions,buttheyarenotallowed to broadcast their ownnews programmes. Since cable TV and FMstations are rarely available in rural areas, there remains aneed for reliablenews not influenced by domestic pressures and sectarian tendencies.Meanwhileinurbanareas,Pakistanimediaconsumersarerestrictedbystrictgovernmentrulesandpowerfulbroadcastingregulatorswhojeopardisetheiraccess to international broadcasters via local partner stations, as they canchoose to take relays of international radio stations or TV channels off‑airwhenever they like. This makes life difficult, both for internationalbroadcasters operating in Pakistan via partner stations, as well as forPakistanimediaconsumersinneedoffree,accurateandreliableinformationintimesofincreasedpoliticaltensionandinsecurity.

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Table 1.1 Country comparison by economic, social and political context

1 Freedom House, http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2010, accessed Oct. 2010.

2 UN data of 2009, as derived from BBC Monitoring country profile, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm, accessed Aug. 2010.

3 Worldbank data 2008, as derived from BBC Monitoring country profile, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm, accessed Aug. 2010.

4 % of ages 15 and older, total population: CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html, accessed Aug. 2010.

5 % of primary, secondary, tertiary enrolment: data from ICT statistics of the Worldbank as of 2008, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTIC/0,,contentMDK:20487483~menuPK:64909262~pagePK:64909151~piPK:64909148~theSitePK:6950074~isCURL:Y,00.html, accessed May 2010. Numbers in italics specify years other than 2008

6CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html, accessed Aug. 2010.

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Egypt Senegal Kenya India Pakistan

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Freedom of press1 Partly free, 60 Partly free, 57 Partly free, 57 Partly free, 33 Not free, 61

Population (total in millions)2 83 12.5 39.8 1200 180.8

GNI per capita (in US$)3 1800 970 770 1070 980

Adult literacy rate4 71.4 39.3 85.1 61 49.9

Gross school enrolment5 70 44 59 63 42

Urban population (% of total) 43 42 22 29 36

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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1 Data from ICT statistics of the Worldbank as of 2008, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTIC/0,,contentMDK:204p87483~menuPK:64909262~pagePK:64909151~piPK:64909148~theSitePK:6950074~isCURL:Y,00.html, accessed May 2010. Numbers in italics specify years other than 2008

2 Data as of 2009, United Nations Information Economy Report 2010 (launched 14 Oct. 2010), Geneva, United Nations Publication, p.128cc.

3 Data as of 2007 (except for Egypt: as of 2008), CIA World Factbook, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/, accessed Sept. 2010

Table 1.2 Country comparison by sector performance

Despitetheirindividualhistorical,culturalandpoliticalbackgrounds,ineachofthesemarketstheconsumptionofnewsfrominternationalbroadcastershasundergone unprecedented changeduring the past few years, stimulated byincreased competition between news broadcasters both domestically andinternationally, new trends and technological advancements in thedevelopmentofmediaplatforms,andthe(relative)liberalisationofthesefivemedia environments. As the findings on consumption of news from

Egypt Senegal Kenya India Pakistan

Sector performance1

Telephone lines (per 100 people)2 12.4 2.2 1.6 3.0

2.2

Mobile phone subscriptions (per 100 people)2 66.6 55.0 48.6 43.8

56.9

Personal computers (per 100 people) 3.9 2.2 1.4 3.3

x

Households with a TV set (%) 97 43 19 46

56

Number of TV broadcast stations3

mix of state-run and private broadcast media; state-run TV operates 2 national and 6 regional terrestrial networks as well as a few satellite

channels; about 20 private satellite channels

and a large number of Arabic satellite channels

are available via subscription (2008)

state-run Radiodiffusion

Television Senegalaise (RTS) operates 2 TV

stations; several private channels available (BBC Monitoring,

2010)

about a half-dozen privately owned TV stations and a

state-owned television broadcaster that operates 2

channels; satellite and cable TV subscription services are

available

Doordarshan, India's public TV network,

operates about 20 services; large number of

privately owned TV stations

1 dominant state-owned TV broadcaster, Pakistan

Television Corporation (PTV), operates a

network consisting of 6 channels; private TV

broadcasters are permitted and some foreign satellite

channels are carried by cable TV operators

Number of radio broadcast stations3

state-run radio operates about 70 stations

belonging to 8 networks; 2 privately owned radio

stations operational (2008)

RTS operates a national radio network and a

number of regional FM stations; large number

of community and private-broadcast radio

stations

state-owned radio broadcaster operates 2

national radio channels and provides regional and local

radio services in multiple languages; a large number of

private radio broadcasters, including provincial stations

broadcasting in local languages; transmissions of

several international broadcasters are available

government controls AM radio with All India Radio

operating domestic and external networks; news broadcasts via radio are limited to the All India Radio Network; since

2000, privately owned FM stations are permitted

but limited to broadcasting

entertainment and educational content

the state-owned radio network operates more

than 40 stations; privately owned radio stations

mostly limit programming to music and talk shows

Mobile phone usage (minutes/user /month) 144 x 52 440

164

Internet users (per 100 people)2 20.0 7.3 10 5.1

11.2

% of pop. covered by

mobile-net 95 85 83 61

90

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international broadcasters of the previous research phase of this projectsuggested,which looked at eightdifferentmarkets acrossAfrica and SouthAsia(Algeria,Egypt,Cameron,Senegal,Kenya,Nigeria,IndiaandPakistan),these developments have led to changes in the consumer behaviour,whicharealsoreflectedinthefivemarketsinvestigatedinthisstudy.Thefindingsof research phase two (Geniets, 2010) suggested that local provision isincreasinginpartbecauseoftheriseofcommerciallocalchannels,whichareoftenseenasmorereliable thanstate‑controllednationalchannels.Researchphase two also found that regional broadcasters are becoming increasinglyimportant. In Egypt for example, pan‑Arab satellite channels are veryimportant players drawing large audiences. But there are also signs of thepopularityofnon‑nationalregionalbroadcastersinothercountrieselsewherein Africa. News from traditional international TV broadcasters generally ismore consumed by educated elites, who can afford to pay the often costlyaccess fees, than by thegeneral population.The study further identified anincreasingshiftintheconsumptionofnewsfrom‘officiallanguages’suchasStandard Arabic (Egypt), Swahili (Kenya) or English (India), to vernacularlanguagesanddialects.Thefindingsofresearchphasetwoalsopointedtothefactthatmobilephonesareusedwidelytolistentotheradio–atrendthatissettoincreasefurtherwiththeimprovedcoverageofmobilephonenetworks.Finally, itwassuggested inresearchphase twothat internet‑capablemobiledevicesaretransformingnewsconsumption,leadingtoconsumersaccessingbitsofinformationacrossdifferentplatformsoutsidenewshoursandon‑the‑go,aswellasconsumingnewsfromnon‑traditionalproviderssuchasYahoo!,Google, YouTube or Facebook. New generations of media consumersgrowing up with internet and mobile phone technology readily availablehave different information needs and media behaviors from older mediaconsumers.Thishas led to agenerational shift in the consumptionofnewsfromdifferentmediaplatforms(Geniets,2010).

1.4Methodology

The studywasdesignedas a comparative,mixed‑methods study.Thirty‑sixfocusgroupswitha total of 184participantswere conductedacrossKenya,Egypt,Senegal,IndiaandPakistan,togetherwith11immersioninterviews.Ineachcountry,sixtoeightfocusgroupsconsistingofsixtoeightparticipantswereconducted,togetherwithtwotofourimmersioninterviewspercountry(with the exception of Pakistan, where no immersion interviews wereconducted). The immersion interviews were primarily intended to addadditional insight to the data collected during the focus groups and toprovide anecdotalmaterial. In order to be able to draw parallels, the samediscussion guide, consisting of roughly 25 semi‑structured questions, wasused across the five countries, although some of the questions had to be

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slightly adapted to fit the cultural andmedia‑environmental specificities ofeachmarket,aswellastoaccountforrecenteventsinthecaseofthefloodsinPakistan.2 Ineachcountry,a researchagencywas identifiedwhichrecruitedparticipants for the immersion interviews and the focus groups. The focusgroups and in‑depth immersions were conducted between July andSeptember2010inNairobi(Kenya),Cairo(Egypt),Dakar(Senegal),Mumbai(India) andLahore (Pakistan) (seeAppendixA fordetailed schedule).Onlybigcitieswereselectedforthefieldwork,togetavarietyofparticipantsfromdifferent social backgrounds, and to get a sufficient number of peoplewhohad been exposed to international providers of news. Since all of the fivecountries are developing countries and TV reception is higher and morecommoninurbanareasthaninruralareas,bigcitieswerechosen.

Thefocusgroupsconsistedofaninitialscreeningofallparticipantsbymeansof a short screeningquestionnaire (seeAppendixB).Thepurposeofthisscreeningquestionnairewastoallowrecruiterstogaugethesuitabilityofparticipantsforthepurposeofthisstudy.3Thescreeningwasfollowedbythefocusgroupdiscussion,which lastedaroundtwohoursandwasmoderatedin all countries by an experienced local moderator who worked for thesubcontractedresearchagency.Themoderatorwas thoroughlybriefedpriortothefirstdiscussionandwasinstructedtoaskthequestionsdetailedintheprovided discussion guide (Appendix C). At the end of each focus groupdiscussion, participants were asked to fill in a short questionnaire withstandardsocio‑demographicquestionsandafewopen‑endedquestionsabouttheir favouritemedia channels (see AppendixD) (see Table 1.3). For thoseparticipantswhowereilliterate,additionalassistancewasprovidedfortheircompletionofthescreeningquestionnaireatthebeginningofthefocusgroupdiscussionand the socio‑demographicquestionnaire at the endof the focusgroupdiscussion.

2 In July 2010, shortly before the scheduled fieldwork in Lahore, heavy monsoon caused devastating flooding in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. An estimated 20 million Pakistanis were affected by the floods, and the international community pledged aid to help the victims. However, by mid-Nov. 2010 and with winter closing in, many of these funds have dried up, food rations had to be halved and an estimated 7 million flood victims are still even without a tent. Many areas are still under water (BBC, 28 Oct. 2010, Pakistan Floods, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special_reports/pakistan_floods/, accessed Nov. 2010). Because of the heightened security risk during the floods, it was impossible for me to travel to Lahore to observe the fieldwork. Instead, I listened in to the focus group discussions by phone. Questions were adapted to reduce potential bias against Western media (caused by the slow disaster relief response of the international community).

3 As findings from our previous reports (Rotheray, 2010; Geniets, 2010) suggested that in certain countries international broadcasters are accessed and used across the whole population, not just by opinion formers, the project included consumers across all socio-demographic spheres, gender and age. The criterion for the participation in focus groups was that participants be aware of international broadcasters, even if they did not necessarily watch or listen to them daily.

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Before the focus group discussion Screening questionnaire duration: approx. 5 mins

Focus group discussion duration: approx. 2 hrs

After the focus group discussion Socio-demographic questionnaire duration: approx. 5 mins

Table 1.3 Structure of the focus group discussions

In each country, focus groupswere structured by socio‑economic class, ageand gender, in order to allow for as broad a representation of viewers aspossible(Table1.4).Inthefocusgroupsconsistingofparticipantsfromlowersocio‑economic classes, it was not always possible to find people whoregularly watched news from international broadcasters. This in itself is afinding and confirmed findings from research phase two,which suggestedthat international broadcasters are regularly watchedmainly by elites. Thenumber of focus groups varied between either six groups (in Senegal andKenya)oreightgroups,dependingontheculturalandreligiousfeasibilitytohavegendermixedfocusgroups.Inthosecountries,wherereligiouscustomsor cultural tradition did not allow men and women to be interviewedtogether, eight groupswere conducted instead of six.Thiswas the case forEgypt,IndiaandPakistan.

Focus group Socio-economic status Age Gender

1 ABC1 18–34 Women

2 ABC1 18–34 Men

3 ABC1 34+ Women

4 ABC1 34+ Men

5 C2DE 18–34 Women

6 C2DE 18–34 Men

7 C2DE 34+ Women

8 C2DE 34+ Men

Table 1.4 Composition of focus groups

Note: The social classes A, B, C1, C2, D and E were for the focus group participant recruitment collapsed into ABC1 (‘middle class’) and C2DE (‘working class’), along the ‘Index of Multiple Deprivation’ for England 2004, http://www.swo.org.uk/imd2004/index.asp.

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Basedon theworkingdefinitionof trust adoptedat theoutset of the study(see section 1.1), which was based on the perceptions and expectations ofdifferentbroadcastersbyconsumers,ratherthanonlyaskingthefocusgroupparticipantswhether theywould trustdifferentbroadcasters, thediscussionstarted with questions about news consumption, provider awareness andusage, and then slowly moved towards trust. To elicit the participants’perceptionsofdifferentnewsprovidersandinorder todetectpotentialbiastowardscertainproviders,projectivetechniqueswereused.Oneofthemostcommonprojectivetechniquesusedinmarketresearchtoelicitinformationisthe personification of a brand, as it is often easier to describe somethingthrough imagesandactionwords (‘IfbroadcasterXYZwereaperson,whattype of person would it be ...?’). In order to gauge potential culturaldifferencesincirclesoftrustineverydaylife,participantswereaskedtowardsthe end of the focus group discussions to sort cards with pictures of 13differentsourcesof information4 ineverydaylifeaccording to theirlevelsoftrust.

All focusgroupswerevideo‑and tape‑recordedand transcribed.Theimmersioninterviewsweretaperecordedandsummarised.Oncetranscribed,thefocusgroupdiscussionswereanalysedandinterpretedthroughmeaningcondensation (Rubin and Rubin, 2005) and multi‑level coding (Miles andHuberman,1994).

Ideally,more immersion interviews and focus groupswould have beenconducted.However, basedon the limited resources available for the studyanditsambitioustimeframe,wehadtoacceptthelimitedscope.Thedecisiontoconductfieldworkinonlyfiveoftheeightcountrieswasalsodictatedbyresources and we chose to do fieldwork in one of each of the threeFrancophone,Arab‑speakingandAnglophonecountriesinAfrica,aswellasIndiaandPakistan.Giventhevolumeofthedataandthenumberofcountriesinvestigated, the findings presented in this report therefore ought to beunderstood as a contribution to the ongoing investigation into trust inbroadcastersofnewsinternationally.

1.5 Structureofthereport

Thereportisdividedintofivechapters.Followingthisintroduction,chapter2elaborates on the interest in news in the five markets and the usage ofdifferent media to access the news. Chapter 3 continues by outlining thedifferences in the awareness and usage of national and international

4 These depicted sources were: family, friends, work colleagues, neighbourhood, religious leaders, local political leaders, national political leaders, international organisations, mobile phone, internet, newspapers, TV and radio.

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providers in the five countries. Chapter 4 presents the differentconceptualisationsoftrustandlinkstheconcepttoconsumptionofnewsandtrust in specific providers. Finally, chapter 5 synthesises the findings andconcludes by mapping out challenges and opportunities for internationalprovidersofnewsandtheirconsumers.

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2Theculturallifeof news

GenerallywhenIcomehomefromofficeImovetosomemasalanews,some light‑hearted things that I want to watch… (India, male, SECB2C,18–34yrs)

2.1Introduction

Thischapterexaminesnewsandthenewsmediathataudiencesconsumeinthe five differentmarkets. The core questions asked are, first,what type ofnews isof interest in the fivemarketsexamined?Andsecond,whichmediado people consume to fulfil their needs for information and news in thesedifferentcountries?

2.2Newsstoriesandinterestinnewsacrossthefivemarkets

A decade ago Tomlinson observed that ‘as the technological capacity andsophisticationoftheglobalmediaexpand,newscoverageofforeigneventsontelevisionseems tobeshrinking’ (1999:71). In thecountrieswestudied, thegrowthininternationalnewschannelsmeantthatcoveragehasincreased,butaudienceinteresthasnotkeptpacewiththatexpansion.

InKenya, themajorityofpeopledidoccasionallywatch internationalnews,but indicated that theyweremainly interested in sports andnationalnews. Salient examples that are reflective of the kind of news stories therespondents followed included sports news about theWorld Cup, politicalnews about the Kenyan Prime Minister’s health, crime news, particularlyabout a national serial killer, and international news about the BP oil spill.Similarly, in the focus groups in Egypt, recent local news was consideredmore relevant than regional and international issues. Respondents reportedfeeling more closely involved in local and national news as these wouldimpact their everyday lives directly. News stories recalled among theparticipantsvariedfromstoriesabouttheIsrael–Palestineconflict(mentionedacrossallthegroups),totheEgyptwatercrisis(discussedamongmenofallsocio‑economic groups), to news stories on the increase of prices of dailycommodities(discussedamongmenofallsocio‑economicgroups,aswellasolderwomenfromthelowersocio‑economicgroup),tonewsstoriesaboutthedesperatestateoftheEgyptianeducationsystem(discussedamongwomenofall socio‑economicgroups) and crime stories (discussedamong respondentsof all socio‑economic groups). Most of the news stories recalled somehowtouched the respondents in their everyday lives, and therefore evoked theiremotionalinvolvement.Asoneparticipantnoted:

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And the price increase … everything is now increased in price andpeople cannot afford it any longer. I am a driver andmy income islimited.Tellme,howcanIaffordtopayforeverythingwiththislowincomeandhighprices?(Egypt,male,SECC2D,35+yrs)

The more local the news, the more involved and engaged the participantswere,asFigure2.1illustrates.

Figure 2.1 News stories consumed in Egypt on local, national and international levels (AMRB research

report commissioned for this project)

From a theoretical point of view, these findings are not that surprising.Silverstone(2006:11)hasarguedthat

there isasimplepoint tobemade,and that is that themedia,as indeedothertechnologies,enablethestretchingofactionbeyondtheface‑to‑face,and consequently undermine the expectation of responsibility andreciprocity that action and communication in face‑to‑face settingsconventionally require. Technologies disconnect as well as connect. Thedistancetheycreatebetweeninterlocutor,betweensubjectandsubject,isaprecondition, as many have argued, for the erosion of any sense ofresponsibility that individualswould be expected to have for the other.The media function as technologies in this respect, but they do soparadoxically. For in establishing and maintaining a materialdisconnectiontheysimultaneouslycreateasymbolicconnection.Distanceandpresencecoincideinwaysthatfundamentallychallengethenecessaryproximalrelationsthatareassumedtobeapreconditionforanethicallife.How the media choose to represent, or conventionally find themselvesrepresenting,theother,theotherwhoisotherwiseoutofreach,becomesafundamental issue foranykindofprojectseekingamorevirtuous,moreethicalpublicsphere.

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As the examples of recalled news stories in our focus groups across allcountriessuggest,peopleconsumeandgetinvolvedwithnewsabouteventsthat touch their everyday lives. Successful broadcasting in that sense is notjust about transmitting information and about closing the geographicaldistance between people, but, as Tomlinson (1999) has argued, about theclosingofamoraldistance,too.It isaboutconnectingemotionally.Thewayeventsarerepresented isthereforecrucialtomakethisemotional,aswellasan intellectual connection to the audience. The findings of our fieldworksuggestthatatleastfour(connected)factorsinnewsstoriesareofparticularimportanceinestablishingthisemotionalconnection:locality,tone,languageandformat.

Locality is invoked by the representation of ‘everyday life’: in thestreet,inpubs,atworkplaces,athome,asthefollowingexamplefromafocusgroupparticipantinIndiaillustrates:

Ononechanneltheyshowedacatthatwasstuckinatree.Torescueit,the fire brigade was called. There were so many photos of it … Ithought thishappensnearmyhousesooften–whydidn’tIevercallthe photographer? Imean – this is not news! And you are giving itcoveragefortwohours!TheyshowallthisforTRPsandtofill inthetime.(India,female,SECAB1,35+yrs)

In Dakar, where we conducted our fieldwork for Senegal, people recallednews stories linked to the power cuts in the city that had troubled citizenssince late spring.These news stories covered plannedprotests, reported oncommunities across the countries affected by the power cuts, as well asgovernment reactions linked to the civil unrest caused by the power cuts.Whiletherespondentsreportedthattheywereusedtopowercutseveryyearduring the rainy season from July till October, they emphasized that thisyear’s power cuts were particularly bad compared to previous years, andweremakinglifeverydifficult.SimilarlyinIndia,peopleprefertowatchlocalandnationalnews.Asoneparticipantexplained:

Yesweareinterested[ininternationalnews]–butnottothelevelthatweareinterestedinIndiannews.…NowtherewasafloodinPakistan…ok,ithappened–weseeabitandmoveon.Ifthereissomethinginour country– there is a feelingof ‘apnapan’ (connectedness). (India,female,SECAB1,18–34yrs)

Differentnews storieswere recalledacross genders in India.On thewhole,themendisplayedgreater interestinand involvementwithnews,while thewomenbytheirownadmission(particularlytheolderagesegment)wereless

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interested in news than their husbands were. While participants acrossgender, age and socio‑economic groups were interested in crime, celebritynews, the floods in Pakistan and news on cricket, more men than womenwere interested in technology news and political news, including the newscoverageofacorruptionaffair.

Thelevelofthefocusgrouprespondents’interestininternationalnewsturnedouttobemuchlowerthantheinterestinwhatwashappeningwithinIndia.Respondentsdidnotseemtoactivelyseekinternationalnews–unlessitinvolvedsomemajoreventorcalamity.

I want news aboutmy country – it’s not that I am not interested ininternational news – it is just that I ammore interested in knowingwhat is happening in my own country as compared to what ishappeninginothercountries.(India,male,SECAB1,18–34yrs)One should be interested in international news – because whathappens in other countries can impact our country too. (India,male,SECAB1,18–34yrs)

Whilethereisamuchgreaterlevelofconnectednessandinterestinlocalandnationalnewsevents,keepingactivelyandregularlyabreastofinternationalevents was viewed as an indicative attribute of an opinion leader and amemberoftheeliteinIndia.

When it comes to news coverage – what constitutes news and hownews should be reported – respondents differed in what they desire andprefer. Amajority enjoyed the coverage of celebrity lives and other ‘light‑hearted’newsitemsandalsoaslightlydramaticmodeofreporting,atypeofnewsthatwassummarisedasmasalanews(masalabeingtheIndiantermforspicy,shockingordramatic).

AajTak isa littledramatic,whereasStarNewsandNDTVare to thepoint, but I personally like the drama. (India,male, SECAB1, 18–34yrs)InachannellikeHeadlinesToday–thereisalittlebitofmasalaandalittlebitofseriousnewstoo–it’samixtureofeverything.…masalauptoacertainlevelisokay.(India,female,SECAB1,18–34yrs)

Allthis,theyfelt,wouldmakeforamoreentertainingnewsexperience.Otherparticipantshoweverfoundtheexcessivecoverageofcelebritylivesandthepresentationofnon‑newsasnewsannoying.

IlikeStarNews–theydon’ttalknonsenseandsticktothenewsitem.Theyshowonlynewsthatpeoplewanttoknow.Itisveryprofessional.But IwaswatchingAajTakyesterday– itwassodramaticabout thefloods in Delhi; whereas StarNews said it professionally and to thepoint. I feelAajTakandIndiaTVareover the top. (India,male,SECAB1,18–34yrs)

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Anotherveryfrustratingthingisthepresenceofentertainment‑relatedprogrammes on news channels – programmes on movies andcelebrities. We really don’t need to knowwhat celebrities eat, whattheywearandwheretheygo.(India,male,SECB2C,35+yrs)

However, the popularity and spread ofmasala news seems to be mainlyconfined to the Indian market. In Pakistan, the examples of news storiesrecalledbytheparticipantsinourfocusgroupsmainlyfellintothecategoriesofsportsandlocalnews,andcoveredissuessuchasthematch‑fixingscandalin cricket, inwhich the Pakistani cricket teamwas involved, aswell as themurderofarenownedPakistanipoliticalfigureinLondon.However,andnotsurprisingly,thefloodsandissuesconnectedtoitfeaturedmostprominentlyinthefocusgroupdiscussions.

2.3TypesofmediausedtoaccessthenewsMediaconnecteventswithaudiences.Theymediateeverydaylife.Tomlinsonhasargued thatmediation isabout ‘overcomingdistance incommunication’(1999:154),geographically,intellectuallyandemotionally,whileChouliarakihas suggested that ‘mediation’ is ‘the concept that connects the media asdiscourseandtextwiththemediaasinstitutionandtechnology’(2006:3).Inthat sense, media play a crucial role not only in how we perceive andunderstand the news, but how we perceive and interact with the worldaroundus.

InthefocusgroupsconductedinKenya,TVturnedouttobethemostimportant medium in everyday life, while radio was the second mostimportant.Thefindingspointedtocertainfactors,especiallylocation(whichaffectedprogrammereception),literacylevelsandagecategories,thatseemtodetermine which media are used to access news. TV was used across thewhole population andwasmostlywatched at home, although other placessuch as pubs and workplaces were also mentioned, particularly by peoplefrom lower socio‑economicbackgrounds.The responseswere similar acrossall the groups. Generally, themedia throughwhich the respondents accessnewsareTV,radio,newspapers,mobilephones,internetandwordofmouth(friends,relativesorevenstrangers).

Maybeyouaresittingnexttopeoplein thematatuand then theyaretalkingaboutsomething.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)Ifsomeoneelsedoesthetalkingandyoujustputyoureyes(watch)–eventhenewspapers,thedailypapersareequallygoodbutitrequiresalotofenergy.Youmightnothavethetimetobuythenewspapersinthemorningandenduparrivinghomewithouthavinglookedatit.Soit’seasieronTVandradio.(Kenya,participantSECAB,35+yrs)

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Meanwhile, although radio emerged as the second most important mediasource,fewrespondentsinourfieldworkstatedthattheywouldlistentotheradio in order to access news. It was also observed that most of therespondents rarely listened to it athome.Radio listenershipoccurredwhentherespondentsweremovingfromoneplacetoanothereitherinthematatus,through their mobile phones or played in thematatus. Interestingly somerespondents thought that international news is broadcast less through theradioplatform.

AsformeI listentoBBConradiobutIdoagreemostof thenewsislocal.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)Imostly listen to the radio onmyway to work. (Kenya, participantSECAB,35+yrs)

Many of the respondents confirmed that theywatched or listened tomorethanonechannelorstationinatypicalevening,afindingthatemergedacrossthefivemarketsinvestigated.Respondentssaidthattheywatchedanaverageof 4–10 channels per evening. This is probably because most lower andmiddle‑classhouseholdshaveoneTVsetwhich issharedbymemberswhohavedifferentinterests.

Asmanytimesaspossible.Like Icomehome in theevening Iwatchnews in NTV then Iwant towatch amovie or a programme that Iwant towatch on FamilyTV and if amnot asleep atmidnight I canwatchBBC.5(Kenya,participantSECC2D,18–34yrs)

Reasons thatprompted thebehaviourofswitching fromonechannel/stationto anotherweremainly curiosity, the perceiveddifference in the quality ofnewsondifferentchannels/stationsaswellasathirsttoget‘satisfying’news.

Ithinkitisthecuriositytoknowifthestationyouarewatchinghasleftout some news so you switch to the others to see if they haveadditionalnewsitcouldbeforyourcountryorinternationally.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)Anotherthingthatwillmakemeswitchfromonestationtoanotherisif Ihaveseen that thatparticularpieceofnews isnot in‑depth.Somestationshavemorein‑depthnewsthanothers,ifyoulistentothisandyou are not satisfied youmove to the next for information and thenyoucanbeabletocomparenotesandcatchupwithwhatyoumissed.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

5 In Kenya, international TV channels are relayed terrestrially via local partner stations, often during the night.

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Thereisthisthingaboutspecificchannelswhobringtoomuchoflocaland less of internationalwhile others bring tomuch of internationaland less of local so I would switch through them to capture both.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

Presenters of the news also seemed to affect consumption of news fromdifferent channels, with certain outspoken presenters being perceived asparticularlypopular.

SimilarlyinEgypt,whiletraditionalmedialikeradiosandnewspapersarestillaccessed,mostrespondentsprefertotuneintotheirtelevisionsetsfornewsbroadcasts. Internet andmobilephonesprovide easyaccess to instantnewsupdates.However,outof64participants,only39statedthattheywoulduse the internet on a regular basis, and 20 participants had never used theinternet.Thirty‑sevenrespondentsstatedthattheywouldaccessnewsabouttheircountryonline,while22followdevelopmentsinothercountriesonline.Youngrespondentsfrommiddle‑andupper‑classbackgrounds,representinga tech‑savvy Egyptian youth, seem to be particularly frequent users of theinternet,accessingiteitherincybercafésorathome.Respondentswereaskedaboutthevariousmediathroughwhichtheyaccessthenews.Mostpreferredtelevision, newspapers, mobile phones, radio or the internet. But word ofmouth from friends, relatives or even strangers is still relied on forinformationonlocalissues,domesticconcernsandpublicopinion.

Rumorsareveryeffectiveanditgetspassedonfrompersontoperson.Forexample,peoplesaysugarwillbemoreexpensivesothemajorityofpeoplewillbuytoomuchsugarbeforeitbecomesmoreexpensive.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Television enjoys the highest usage across all participants, marking it as aclearfavouriteamongtherespondents.

WegetthenewsinthenewspapersbutTVisthemediathatismostlyusedbyeveryone.(Egypt,male,SECC2D,35+yrs)Television inotherwords is awayof life. In the evening, sometimesyouwatch a programme ormovie and then the news comes after it.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)Becausethatmeansthatwehadlunchandfinishedallourchoresandarefreetositdownandwatcheverythingwewantto.(Egypt,female,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

Whilenewspapers are a traditional and trustedmedium, theyhavea loweraccess rate than television. Internet is the growing favourite, particularlyamong young people, together with mobile phones. News updates are

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available through mobile phone subscriptions, providing news headlines,sportsorweatherupdates.Thisserviceishighlypopular,particularlyamongmenofallages.

Isubscribedtothisservicefornewsandtheydeductfivepounds6frommybalanceforthewholemonth.(Egypt,male,SECC2D35+yrs)Thereisthisinstantmessagingservicewithasubscriptionthatgivesusthe latestsportsnews. Iamamemberand theysendmesportsnewsandalsoweatherupdates.(Egypt,male,SECABC118–34yrs)Youpayforaspecificcompanyanditsendsyounewsfromaroundtheworld...itʹsverycheap,threepoundspermonthforallkindofnews.Itʹs news of two lines… if youwant to knowmore you can searchonlineorinthenewspaper.(Egypt,female,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

While television and newspaper consumption are confined to a particulartime of day, radio and internet usage is distributed throughout the day.However,radioisprimarilyanambientmediumwithverylowinvolvement,unlikeothers.

InSenegal,due to thepower cuts at the timeof the fieldwork,manyparticipantscouldnotwatchTVorlistentotheirradios,themostpopularandmostfrequentlyusedmediainSenegalbesidesnewspapers.Butrespondentsreported that they had started using other platforms instead in order tocontinue their news consumption. Mobile phones and the internet inparticulargavepeoplethechancenotbeingrestrictedtoascheduledbulletintocatchupwiththelatestnews.

Iusemymobilephonewhenthereisapowercut.(Senegal,participantSECC2D,18–34yrs)

However,accessingtheinternetviamobilephoneswasconsideredtoocostlyby nearly all of the participants, and not as many participants as in othercountries, likeinKenya forexample, indicated that theywould listen to theradioontheirmobilephones.

Someoftherespondentsnotedthatwordofmouthwasstilloneofthemost common means of getting information. Family members, friends orneighbourswere themost likely sources to give further news. In our focusgroups, the internetwasmostly used by the age group of 18–34 years andgenerally young people from higher socio‑economic backgrounds (SECABC1). The respondents declared that they used the internet to read newsarticles, listen to radio stations or evenwatch a few TV stationswhich areonline(France24forexample).6Equivalent to approximately 0.55GBP.

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Before,therewasaproblemofaccessibility.IwasinKoldabeforeandthereyouhavetowaittillthefollowingdaytohaveanewspaper.Butnowthereisinternetsowecanaccessnewsmore.AndalsothentherewasonlyonecommunityradiobutnowmoreradiosandpossibilitytopickupmoreTVchannels.(Senegal,male,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

Due to the various platforms available and an increasing number of newsproviders operating in the Senegalese media environment, people have amuchwiderchoicethesedaysthanafewyearsago.Mostoftherespondents,even though they claim some loyalty to a particular news provider, alsoacknowledgedthefactthatinaday,theyusuallywatchedorlistenedtomorethanoneTVchannelorradiostation.

InIndia,acrossallthefocusgroups,TVemergedastheprimemediumusedtoaccessnews,followedbynewspapersandthenradioasdistantthird.

TheadvantageofTVisthatyoucanlistentoallthedetailsandwatchthepicturesaswell–whereasinthenewspaperyouactuallyhavetomakeanefforttoread.(India,SECB2C,35+yrs)

Forwomen,TVisoftentheonlymediasourceusedfornews.

On the radio, news doesn’t seem very interesting. When we arewatching it on TV we can see what is happening. The reality isshownonTV–canactuallysee it. (India, female,SECB2C,18–34yrs)

The internet and news updates on mobile phones emerged in the focusgroups as the new and growing platforms for accessing news. Like in theothercountries, respondentsreported that theywouldswitchbetween threeto fournewschannels,abehaviour that theIndianparticipantsdescribedasChannel surfing. Participants reported that they would commonly switchchannelswhentherewasacommercialbreakbetweenthenews,ifachannelisspendinganinordinateamountoftimeon(orrepeating)aparticularnewsstory,or toverify that thenews isbroadcastonotherchannels too (inotherwords,thatitisindeednews,andnotjustaanoverlydramatisedstory).

We keep changing channels – because the repetitions get boring.(India,female,SECAB1,35+yrs)Wewanttocheckonotherchannelstoseewhetherheissayingrightor wrong; whether the news flash is there too – do they have thebreakingnewstheretoo.(India,male,SECAB1,35+yrs)

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Finally,inPakistan,too,TVwasthemostfrequentedmediumfornewsacrossall focus groups, followed by the internet, the radio, and news updates onmobilephones.Newspaperswerealsoread,but toa lesserdegree,whichisprobably linked to the low literacy rate in Pakistan (49.9% of the wholepopulation7).Wordofmouthwasstillconsideredoneofthemostimportantsourcesfornews.

2.4 Connecting the dots: media, everyday life and the closing ofmoraldistance

Sowhattypeofnewsarepeopleinterestedinanddotheyconsumeacrossthefivemarkets,andacrossgender,ageandsocio‑economicclasses?Andwhichmediadotheyusetoaccessthesenews,toconnectthedotsandmakesenseofevents affecting their everyday lives? Our findings suggest that news to acertain degree is culturally influenced, determined by the political andhistoric background of each market. This became particularly evident withtheexampleofmasalanewsinIndia,butwasalsoillustratedattheexampleofthehighlypopularpoliticalsatireshowHasb‑e‑Haal inPakistan.Inallofthe fivemarkets, amajorityof thepeople acrossgender andageand socio‑economicgroupsismainlyinterestedinlocalandnationalnews.Whiletheydo seem to consume news from international providers, too, this mainlyseems to happen during times of national or international crises. Theexceptionwasinallcountriesfocusgroupparticipantsandintervieweesfromhighersocio‑economicclasses,whoreportedthat theyconsumednews frominternational providers more regularly, and who consumed news oninternational affairs on a regular basis, too.Most people in the urban areaswhere we carried out our fieldwork consume news through TV. Thesefindings may vary in all of the five markets for rural areas. An increasingnumber of participants in all countries said they would use their mobilephonestoaccessnews,beittolistentotheradioonthemobilephoneonthematatuinKenya,ortoreceivenewsupdatesonmobilephonesinEgypt.Butitwasmainlythemoreaffluentandtheyoungerparticipantswhostatedthattheywouldaccess the internet (incybercafés,atworkorathome) fornews.The facts thatmostpeople aremainly interested innationalnews, and thatlocality,aswellaslanguage,toneandformat,seemedtobedecisivefactorsinhow authentic, trustworthy and favourably respondents across the fivecountries perceived different news stories, suggest that at least a part ofresponsibilityofhowpeopleconnectthedotsbetweentheirownlivesandthewiderworldlieswiththebroadcasters.AsSilverstone(2006:28)hasargued:

7 CIA World Factbook, ‘Pakistan’, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html, accessed Dec. 2010.

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…we live in aworldwith otherswho are not like us, but also in aworld inwhich, precisely, it is the commonality of difference that isshared.Thisiswhatconstitutestheworldasplural.Oureverydayliveswerenotnecessarily lived inways that forced the issue,at leastonascale beyond the face‑to‑face of village or community. But now theyare.Themediatedglobeinvolvesliftingtheveilondifference.…Theproblem is that while global media have lifted the veil, they haveprovided few or no resources to understand and respond to thatdifference,nordotheynecessarilyrepresentitadequately.

Trust therefore, it seems, is not only evoked by a message, but by themessenger, too. The following chapter investigates the perceptions ofdifferentmediaprovidersbyconsumers,andexamineshoweditorialvaluesreflectedinnewscoverageshapeconsumers’attitudestoandperceptionsofthedifferentprovidersinthefivemarkets.

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3Awareness,usageandperceptionsofdifferentlocal, nationalandinternationalnewsmedia

This chapter investigates the question of how consumers perceive differentinternationalproviders in thedifferent countries, andwhichproviders theytrust.

3.1Kenya

The findings from our fieldwork in Kenya suggest that different attributesdeterminechoiceandtrustindifferentlocalandinternationalproviders.Thefollowing reasons seemed to be paramount to the success of a provider intermsofhighviewershiporlistenership:

• WhethertheprogrammeswererepeatedornotSomeotherstationsbringnewsthathasalreadybeenairedbyanotherstation,soyouwouldgofortheonethatbringsthefastestnews.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)Aninterestingchannelisonethatdoesn’trepeatprogrammes.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)• PresentersSome(presenters)areboring. [But]e.g.SwalehMdoealways talksaboutthe stories that his grandfather told him. I like his way of presenting.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)I like thenewspresenterVincentMakori…I like thewayhe talks, it isveryeasytounderstandeverything,it isnotlikeCNN’sZain,sheisfinebutIlikeVOAbecauseofMakori.(Kenya,participantSECAB,35+yrs)• LanguageusedApart from BBC you find that Al‑Jazeera at times broadcast in Arab,France24inFrenchandsomeprovidersinGerman.Forpeoplewhodon’tunderstandthislanguageitishardforthem.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

Togetafeelingoftherespondents’appreciationofthechannelsandstations,the participants were asked to make a comparison between local andinternationalproviderstheyhadbeenexposedto.Table3.1showstheaspectsthatemerged.

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Local International

Positive aspects

Live coverage Live coverage

Where information is lacking, they collaborate with international partners Have presenters in many countries

Language: News can be consumed by the majority of the population because they use local understandable language

News had accurate/in-depth information

Cover local news, as illustrated in this comment made by a participant Expose hidden information

Use advanced technology

The news is presented in unpredictable format (spontaneous)

Negative aspects

Do not expose all information- sometimes reporters are denied access to certain information Poor values/morals e.g. dress codes

What they report is borrowed from international channels thus not updated, delayed Eroding local language

Poor technology – frequencies do not reach some rural areas Information is not accurate (sometimes) & negative

Reporters or station centers not present everywhere

Competition against local stations/ channels

The flow of the news is predictable –

Language: Alienates a segment of the population particularly illiterate people (who do not understand the English language)

Perceived to be pre-occupied with terrorism news or war stories

Local news shown in international channels was often perceived as patronising

Table 3.1 Differences between local and international providers in Kenya

Thelevelofawarenessofnewsproviderswashighamongsttherespondentsacross all of the focus groups. The preferred TV providers that emergedacross the focus groups were Citizen and KTN (local) and Al‑Jazeera andCNN (international).Although all the participantswere aware of the state‑

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broadcaster KBC, most participants perceived it as a mouthpiece of thegovernment.

Participants in the focus groups reported a great appreciation forinternationalproviderswithregardtotheirin‑depthinformationandmoralsregardingtheprotectionofunderageviewersfromcertaincontent.However,someoftherespondentssuggestedthatinternationalprovidersliketheBBCandCNNwouldportrayanegativeimageofAfrica.

Al‑Jazeera emerged as the most positively perceived and trustedinternationalprovider,followedbyCNNandBBC.OneofthemainreasonswhyAl‑Jazeerawas preferable compared to other international channels isbecause it has its own terrestrial channel and is aired 24/7,while the otherinternationalchannelshavespecificslots(althoughtheBBCwasatthetimeofour fieldwork not available on any TV partner station). Another importantreasonwhyAl‑JazeerawasapreferrednewsproviderwasbecausesomeofthepresenterswereKenyan.Al‑Jazeerawasdescribedasunbiased, focused,uptodate,entertaining,independentandreliable.

In Al‑Jazeera I heard someone like Kamau reporting and I feltappreciatedasaKenyan.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+yrs)IlikeAl‑Jazeerabecauseitis24hours,youdon’thavetowaitforitlikeCNN. And the best thing with Al‑Jazeera is that they repeat theirstories so you can catch it any time. It is very common nowadays.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+yrs)

CNNemergedasthesecondmosttrustedinternationalproviderofnews.AlltherespondentswereawareofCNN.Itwasgenerallyperceivedpositively–evident in the words the participants used to describe it: informative,established, clear, entertaining, independent, trustworthy and reliable.However, anumberofparticipantsperceived it as too ‘pro‑American’, thusshowing more stories from the USA than African countries, and at timesbeingnegativewhenbroadcastingnewsonAfrica.

Meanwhile, the BBC was more identified with radio, but wasperceived as a trusted and established broadcaster. BBC radio has widenational coverage inKenya that reaches people even in the remotest areas.Therefore,tomanyKenyanslivinginruralareas,itisstillthemainsourceforinternational news. BBC radio listenershipwas particularly highduring thepre‑liberalisationerawhenfreedomofthepresswaslimited.ThisseemstobewhythelevelofawarenessoftheBBCwashighamongthemiddle‑agedandolderrespondents,but loweramongst theyoungparticipants.TheBBCwasperceived as one of the oldest providers in the market. Although its longexistence made respondents perceive the BBC was established andtrustworthy,somerespondentsfeltthattheBBChadneverchanged.TheBBC

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was described as informative, educative and fair. Interestingly, in thepersonificationexercise,inwhichpeoplehadtodescribeprovidersasiftheywere human beings, the perception of the BBCwas very similar across thegroups. In theeyesof therespondents theBBCwasanolder,wealthyman,over50yearsofage.

BBCisonradiobutwedon’t listen to it.BBC…theydonotchange.TheyarethewaytheywerewhenIwasstillyoung.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+yrs)

Local news providers have gained popularity in recent years, sinceliberalisation. It was therefore not surprising that most respondentsmentionedlocalnewsprovidersastheirmainandfirstchoicefornews.Free‑to‑air terrestrial stations which dominate the TV landscape in Kenya weremostfrequentlymentioned.TheseincludeKTN,NTVandCitizen.VernacularradiostationssuchasRamogiFM, Inooro,KamemeFM,werementionedaslocalsourcesofnews.

I listen to news from Ramogi FM because that is the language Iunderstand most. I also listen to Citizen because I understandKiswahilitoo.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+yrs)

CitizenTVemergedasthemostpopularandmosttrustedlocalTVprovideracross the focus groups, closely followed byKTN.Citizen TV is owned byRoyalMedia,amultimediahousewhichalsoownseightradiostations,mostofthemlocal(relayedinvernacularlanguages)buttogethercoveringthebulkofKenya.CitizenTVbeganbroadcasting in1998. Itbroadcastsbothcurrentaffairsprogrammesandentertainment.RespondentsfeltthatCitizenTVwasthemostup‑to‑dateandinvestigativechannel.

TheKenyaTelevisionNetwork (KTN) run by the StandardGroup isone of Kenya’s eight privately owned broadcasting stations. When it wasfounded in 1990, it became the firstnon‑payprivatelyownedTV station inAfricaandthefirsttobreakKBC’smonopolyinKenya.KTNbecamefamousforactivismjournalisminthe1990s,brandingitselfasthe‘authoritativeandindependent’news channel.8Thequalitative results from the study supportthis background information. KTN emerged as one of the preferred localnewsproviders. Itwasdescribedas clear,havingauthority, andbeingveryinformativeduetoitsinvestigativestyle.

8 http://www.ktnkenya.tv/, accessed Dec. 2010.

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On TV I have towatch the 7 o’clock news in the evening especiallyKTNbecause theyareverygood in their coverageandgive in‑depthstories.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+yrs)In KTN there is a feature that they bring Jicho Pevu I haven’t seenother TV stations with such investigative news. (Kenya, participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)Theyare always strategic in theirplanning so for anybreakingnewstheywouldbe the fastest to bring it to you. (Kenya, participant SECAB,35+yrs)

However, basedon its investigative style, some respondentsperceived it astoobiased.

KTN isbiasedagainst thegovernment. (Kenya,participant SECBC1,18–34yrs)

KTN’s partnership with CNN seems to be beneficial because manyrespondentssaidthattheywatchCNNthroughit.

Other channels, such asNation TV,werementioned by participants,too. However, Citizen and KTN were generally the most mentioned andtrustedTVproviders.

3.2Egypt

In Egypt, one of the most competitive markets examined, people are mostawareoflocalandpan‑Arabproviders.Localprovidersseemtoofferrelevantlocal content on locally salient issues. They touch people’s everyday life.However, due to a restricted and controlled domestic media environment,credibility emerged for all of these providers as an issue across the focusgroups.

All the respondents were aware of pan‑Arab channels, such as Al‑Jazeera and Al‑Arabiya. They were perceived as providing good‑quality,unbiased content and as understanding the cultural aspects of Egyptiansociety. However, respondents felt they do not always understand localsentiments.

Meanwhile, international media such as CNN or BBC World wereperceived as providing an unbiased perspective with depth and quality ofnews,butwerewatchedorlistenedtoonaregularbasisonlybytheelite.Ingeneral,internationalmediawereperceivedassometimesnotunderstandingthe context and constraints of local Egyptian society. Interestingly for theBBC, hardly any of the focus group participants of the younger generationseemed to be aware of the provider, nor could they say, when they wereprompted,whichcountrytheBBCwasfrom.

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Overall, Al‑Jazeera, together with Al‑Arabiya, emerged as the mostwatchedand,forsome,asthemosttrustedofthechannels,togetherwiththelocalchannelsElMehwar,Dreamandthegovernment‑ownedChannel2.

Al‑Jazeera was the first international Arabic news channel in Egyptand therefore has a special place in themarket and in people’s awareness.Among the participants, it was praised for its extensive network and thespeedy coverage of news, as well as quality programming, featuring animpressivepanelofexperts.

Al‑Jazeera is fast and shows us the event before any other channel.And it isnearalleventsso itairs thenewsevenbeforeanyEgyptianchannel.(Egypt,female,SECC2D,35+yrs)

Most importantly, in contrast with other international news channels,participantsrepeatedlystressedthattheyfeeltheycanrelatetothecontent.

ItisanArabchannelandsoitsconcernisthesameasours,besideswecan understand everything they say not like with the CNN. (Egypt,male,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

However, recent developments seem to have split opinion amongEgyptianaudiences.Intheirview,overrecentyearstoomanyunflatteringstoriesaboutEgypthavebeencoveredonAl‑Jazeera,promptingabelief that thechannelwishestoaffecttheimageofthecountry.Inmostofthefocusgroups,arecenttussle between the Egyptian government and Al‑Jazeera, which heldexclusive broadcasting rights for the FIFAWorldCup, cameup.Al‑Jazeeraseems to have lost some of its popularity in recent months, following adisputebetweenEgyptandAlgeriaafteraWorldCupfootballqualificationmatchinSudanon18November2009,afterwhichAl‑JazeerawasaccusedbymanyEgyptiansofbiasedreporting.Judgingbycommentsmadebysomeofthe participants, many Egyptian consumers resented Al‑Jazeera’s coverageand said that they no longer felt that they could fully trustAl‑Jazeera as anewssource,particularlywhenitcomestonewsaboutEgypt.

IwatchAl‑JazeeraallthetimeandanynewsIneedtolearnaboutIjustswitchonAl‑Jazeera…unlessithastodowithEgyptbecauseitiswellknown that Al‑Jazeera is against Egypt. But if it has to dowith anyotherArabcountryIwatchAl‑Jazeeraatonce.(Egypt,male,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

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In June 2010, Al‑Jazeera Sport’s World Cup broadcasts carried by Egypt’sNilesatoperatorandArabsatofSaudiArabia(WallStreetJournal,June20109)were disrupted, and some sources suggested that Al‑Jazeera Sport’stransmissionshadbeendeliberately jammed.WhetherandhowthisdisputehasaffectedviewershipandtrustbyEgyptianconsumersofAl‑Jazeerainthelongrunremainstobeseen.

Other participants disagreed with this stand, and expressed that intheir opinion the channel is brave enough to air stories that are unpopularandthatotherchannelsdonotair.

Itdoesnʹthideandisnotafraidtosayanything.InEgyptifanyonewillsayanythingwhichisnotsafetheywilleditit.ButinAl‑Jazeeratheysayeverythingintheprogramme…anyonecancallandsaywhateverhewants.(Egypt,female,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

Al‑Arabiyawas the secondmostmentioned pan‑Arab channel, particularlyamongmenfromlowersocio‑economicstatus.Theseparticipantsfeltthatthenews was trustworthy and particularly appreciated the channel’s newspresenter,EssamAlShawaani.

TheyshowallthenewsthathastodowithArabsorEuropeandtheydonʹttakeasideagainstEgypt.(Male,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

Otherpan‑Arabandinternationalchannelsdidnotwarrantmuchdiscussionamong respondents. Not many participants were spontaneously aware ofBBCArabic,althoughsomeofthemrecognisedtheproviderwhenprompted.EspeciallymanyoftheyoungerpeoplehadnotheardoftheBBCbefore.Theparticipantswhohadwatched thechannel foundthenews trustworthyandappreciatedtheglobalcoverageandreach.

They broadcast clear and honest opinions. We have always beenattracted by its credibility and good reputation and they have beenhereforsomanyyears.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

However,someparticipantsmentioned that theyfeltBBCArabicwouldnotconnect with Egyptian audiences, and that the Arabic was hard tounderstand.

TheymostlyspeakaboutEurope,FranceandGermanyandtheydonʹttalkabouttheMiddleEastenoughorEgyptwhichinterestsusmainly…The

9 The Wall Street Journal Online, ‘Al-Jazeera Criticized for Flawed Cup Broadcasts’ http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703650604575312410215672840.html, 18 June 2010, accessed Aug. 2010.

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BBCcanpassawholedaywithoutmentioningEgyptevenonce. (Egypt,female,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

BBCArabic’sstyleissocalm,butonAl‑Jazeeraitismoreenthusiasticandwe feelmore thanwe hear, so they shouldputmore life into the news.(Egypt,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)

ItlackstheEasternspiritandenthusiasm.(Egypt,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Meanwhile, France 24wasnotwell knownamongst theparticipants.ThosewhoknewthechannelwereawarethatitisprimarilyaFrenchchannelwithsomededicatedhoursofArabicprogramming.10

SometimeswewatchthetwohoursofArabicbroadcastfrom12amto2ambutmostlytheyspeakFrench.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Localchannelselicitedpositiveresponsesacrossall focusgroups.However,most of these positive responses were associated with specific presenterpersonalities or popular content aired on those channels, rather than thechannel brands. For example the news talk show Al Ashira Masa’an (10o’clock)onDream2channel,inwhichthehighlypopularpresenterMonaEl‑Shazly interviews Egyptian and foreign politicians, was spontaneouslymentioned inmostof the focusgroupdiscussionsduring fieldwork, aswasthe current affairs showof the outspoken presenterMoatazAl‑Demerdash,Teseen Dakeeka (90 minutes) on the El Mehwar satellite TV channel, orindeed thehighlypopularElBeitBeitak (Feelathome),whichwasrecentlyrenamedtoMasrInaharda(Egypttoday),presentedbyMahmoudSaadandcolleaguesonEgypt’sChannel2(previouslyonChannel1).

The most watched show is on Al Mehwar… if I want to know aboutsomethingormakesureofitIjustwatch90minuteswithMoataz.(Egypt,female,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

Moataz is very popular. We feel very close to him. (Egypt, male, SECABC1,35+yrs)

About local shows,we have El Beit Beitak…Mahmoud Saaddiscussestopics from different angles and he hosts famous names from the highsociety. He also discusses artistic and sports topics. (Egypt, male, SECABC1,35+yrs)

10 The Arabic service of France 24 began in Apr. 2007, broadcasting for 4 hours a day, which was increased to 10 hours a day in Apr. 2009 (i.e. also during our fieldwork in Egypt). In Oct. 2010, the channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day. France 24 is the first French TV network to provide a 24/7 news service entirely in Arabic (France 24, http://www.france24.com/en/20101012-france-24-arabic-channel-goes-24-hours-north-africa-middle-east-news-television, accessed Dec. 2010).

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[AlAshiraMasa’an]discussesallthenewsthathappensdaily…localandinternational. Mona, the hostess, interviewed the American president.(Egypt,male,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

3.3Senegal

In our focus groups in Senegal, we asked our participants to make acomparison between local and international providers they have beenexposed to. Many differences emerged between local and internationalproviders of news. The first andmost obvious differencewas accessibility.Localprovidersaremoreaccessiblethaninternationalmedia.Theformerarepicked up free of charge and even without a satellite dish or a specialantenna.Forinternationalnewsproviders,dependingonthemediacompany,aspecificantennacoupledwithadecoderisneededtogainaccess.TheotherdifferencesthatwerementionedarelistedinTable3.2.

Local International

Positive aspects

Interactivity:Viewersorlistenerscancallintoparticipateinaprogramme

Givepeoplethepossibilityofbeinginformedaboutwhatishappeningaroundtheworld

Proximity:theycaneasilybecontactedtoreportonalocaleventandcreateawarenesslocally

Capacitytoinforminrealtimeonanevent;

TheyreportonotherpartsofthecountryandareinterestedininformativenewsforSenegalesewhichinternationalprovidersmightnotfindinterestingtoairforaglobalaudience

Completeintheirnewspresentation;detailedandin‑depthanalysesofissues

Theybroadcastinthelocallanguages(Wolof,Alpulaar,etc.)

Informationclear,objectiveandtrustworthy

Walfadjiriwhichmanyrespondentsseemtolikeisdeemedfearlessandreadytoreportonhotandhardissues;organisepoliticaldebatesandinvitethevariousprotagonists;alsohaveinterestingsocialandculturalprogrammes

Independent,freeandnonepartisan

Theyplayademocraticroleinthecountry,analysecriticallythewords,actionsandactivitiesofthegovernmentandplayacounter‑balancingrole

Punctuality,seriousnessandprofessionalism(newsarebroadcastontimeandtherearepracticallynoerrorsfromthebroadcastersandinthesequencingoftheimages)

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Betterequipped

Thenewssetisgood‑lookingandappealingwithpresentablejournalists

Fordebatesoncurrentissuesexpertsarecalled

upon

Theyhavecorrespondentsinmanypartsoftheworld

Negativeaspects

Theyarecloselymonitoredbythegovernment,hencealotofauto‑censoringintheirnewspresentation

Needasubscriptiontoviewthem

Lackofindependence,especiallyforthepublicmedia

OftenreportonAfricaortheMiddleEastwhenthereissomethinggraveordisastroushappening

Newssometimesdonotstartontime TheydonotportrayAfricainapositivelightUnderequipped

Islamislinkedtoterrorismandportrayedunfairly

Lackofprofessionalismsometimes Newsisrepetitiveandsometimesboringforsomebodywhowouldliketowatchachannelforalongerperiodoftime

ShowingsoapoperaswhicharenotcompatiblewithAfricanvaluesandtraditiontherebycorruptingtheyounggeneration

TheyeasilyinfluencethepoliticalsituationinanAfricancountry(RFIwithGuineaandCôted’Ivoire)

Someinformationnotwellverifiedbeforebeingairedthusmisinformingtheviewers

Donotairinlocallanguagesforthelesseducated

Interestedmostlyinpoliticalissues

Thepublicmediareportingmoreonthegovernmentandtheiractivitiesandnotmuchontheoppositionpartiesoreventsnotfavourablefortherulingparty

Table 3.2 Differences between local and international providers in Senegal

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Themajorityof the respondents reported that theywould read, listen toorwatch the local media more frequently than they consumed internationalmedia.Theonly focusgroupthatstoodout in this regardandfavoured theinternationalproviderscomparedtothenationalmediawasthefocusgroupcomposed of men aged 18–34 years, of a middle‑ and upper‑class socio‑economic background, in other words, opinion leaders. However, mostrespondentspreferredprivatelocalmedia.

I prefer the media in Senegal. First you need to keep abreast withwhat’s happening locally. Moreover, our media also give usinternationalnewsclosetotheendofthenews.(Senegal,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Participants seemed to distrust the public media provider, RTS (RadioTelevision Senegalaise), which operates two radio stations and one TVchannel.Alloftheseradiostationsandchannelsaregovernment‑ownedandcontrolled.TherespondentsrejectedRTSbecauseofitslackofindependenceand objectivity, especially with regard to politics. They viewed it as themouthpieceofthegovernmentandnotaproviderrespondingtotheirneedsandinterests.

Especiallyinpolitics,whenthereisanelection,it’sthePresidentwhoisgivenmoreairtime than theothercandidates ... People tend to saythatRTSbelongstoAbdoulayeWade.(Senegal,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)

IfwetaketheexampleofCasamance,thoughIdon’tusuallylistentothe national public radio, but I have never heardRTS talk about theproblemofCasamance11andsaywhatishappeningthere,contrarytoother local private media. They always have something to hide.(Senegal,participant,SECC2D,35+yrs)

Among the local media that were spontaneously mentioned during thediscussions, Walfadjiri, which operates a TV and a radio station, took aprominentpositionwhenitcomestonews.ThencomesRFM(aradiostation)and 2STV (a TV station). However, canal info, a local medium solelydedicatedtonewswasnotmentionedasoftenastheotherthreeproviders.

Walfisunliketheotherlocalmedia.Theyareboldenoughtoshowuseverythingwhentheyaregiventheauthorisationtogoontheground.

11 Casamance is a region in the south of Senegal which has been fighting for independence since 1982. There have been sporadic exchanges of gunfire between the government forces and the rebels and no peace initiatives so far have been able to settle the conflict.

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Forexample,itisonlyRTSthat’sgiventheauthorisationtofollowthegovernmenttosomeplaces.Soinsuchplacesforexample,othermediadon’thave the information.Moreover,RTSdoesn’t showus all, theyhide some parts. Walf shows the living conditions of Senegalesepeople, theyarecourageousenoughtoshowwhatotherscan’t show.(Senegal,male,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

AfewinternationalnewsprovidersarepopularinDakar.RFI(radiostation)andTV5(TVchannel)havebeenpresentinSenegalformanyyearsandaccessto them is free.Though theBBCcanbepickedup locallyvia theFMband,fewofthoseinterviewedreallylistenedtoit.Thosewhodid,seeintheBBCanopportunitytolearnorimprovetheirEnglish.Themajorityofthepeoplehowever,duetothelanguagebarrier,hardlylistentotheBBC.Manydonotknow that the station has a French service section. A couple of theparticipants who had heard about the provider assumed it was a musicstation.

ThemajorityofTVnewsprovidersareaccessiblethroughsubscription.InSenegal,mainlythreemediacompaniesarecompetinginthissector:Canal+ Horizons, Excaf Telecom, Delta Net TV. The average Senegalese cannotafford themonthly cost of these.Therefore,asparticipants reported,peoplehavedevisedillegalmeanstocircumventthesubscriptionfeesandtoaccesstheseforeignproviders.Infactithasbecomeabusinessforsometechnicians.Withonesubscription,atechnicianconnectsasmanyhousesaspossibleonastreet. The connected individuals or households pay a modest sum. Thetechnicianreceivesall themoneyandonlypays theregularamount foronesubscription to themedia company.Whenasked if they felt that themediacompanieswere awareof these illegal connections, aheateddebate ensued.Some thought that these technicians collaborated with employees in themedia companies and gave them hush money. Others, to exoneratethemselves,declaredtheydidnotknowandthatitmatteredlittletothemastheycannowwatchtheforeignchannelspreviouslybeyondtheirreach.Thissituation seems to have created greater awareness of international newsprovidersingeneral.

Besidesthesesubscriptions,audienceshavetheopportunitytotuneintointernationalchannelsvialocalpartnerstationsatcertaintimesofthedayandduringthenight.RDV,alocalTVchannel,forexampleairsFrance24atcertainhoursoftheday,and2STV,anotherlocalTVchannel,whichisquitepopular, gives viewers the opportunity to watch Euronews. Radio DunyacarriestheBBC,whileTopFMisthepartnerstationofVOAintheevenings.

Onlinenewsproviderswhichwerereportedacrossthegroupsbythoseparticipantswhowere using the internet included aminat.com; bouba.com,

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xibaar.net, feerlo.com, rewmi.com, facebook.com, yahoo.com andhotmail.com.

In terms of awareness, when it comes to radio stations, RFIwas themostfrequentlymentionedinternationalprovider.

3.4India

Theawarenessofthedifferentnewschannels,bothnationalandinternational,was high in our focus groups in Mumbai, although there were some thatpeoplehadheardthenamesofbutaboutwhichtheyknewverylittle.

Local International

Positiveaspects

Morelocalnews

Broadcastworld/internationalnews

Morelivenews

Quickerforworldnews

InHindi

Don’tdramatiseorexaggerate

Greaterconnectedness ProfessionalReceptionisgood

Moreinformative

GiveallkindsofnewsrelatedtoIndia Crisp,to‑the‑pointreportingVibrant,lively&young

Negativeaspects

Toomanyads NotenoughnewscoverageonIndia

Repeatsamenewsover&overagain

Dulltowatch

Made‑up/makenewsoutofnon‑news

Moreserious–Indianchannelshaveayoungerfeel

Exaggeratenews BBCandCNNareoftendisconnectedbycableoperators(becauseofpricing)

Irrelevantnewsoncelebrities Presenterslackexpression–‘theyhavemeasurablesmiles,theydon’tmovetheirfacesmuch’.PresentersonIndianchannelsaremoreexpressive.

Overlydramaticpresentation–makesthemamusingandlesscredible–‘youfeelconfusedwhethertheyaretellingthetruthornot’

Table 3.3 Differences between local and international providers in India

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Although all participants were aware both of national and internationalchannels, participants overall seemed to prefer domestic providers. ThemajorityoftheparticipantssuggestedthatthelocalHindichannelsareeasilyaccessible and that they provide news on events and topics that people areinterestedin–eventsintheirregionandinIndia.Theparticipantsexpresseda sense of familiarity and ‘Indianness’ about these national channels,rendering themmore accessible compared to the international channels. Bycontrast, international news providerswere perceived asmore professionaland efficient, but as difficult to connect with. Sometimes literally, becausecable operators disconnect these news channels,12 but also emotionally:internationalchannelswereperceivedasmoredistant.Andthemannerismsoftheirreporterswereperceivedasmorecontrolledandlessfriendly.

Thefollowingchannelsemergedastheonespeopleweremostawareof:

1 AajTak2 StarNews3 ZeeNews4 CNBC5 IndiaTV6 StarMaazha(Marathichannel)7 BBC8 CNNIBN9 SaharaMumbai(onMumbai–forlocalnews)10 CNN11 TimesNow12 HeadlinesToday13 NDTVIndia14 TV9(onMumbai)15 NDTV24/716 Tez

Only a few participants, who were from a higher socio‑economic andeducational background or forwhom international news directly impactedtheir entrepreneurial activities, ranked international news channels amongthetopthreemostoftenwatchednewschannels. Dramatising the presentation of a news item is one thing – butdevotingan excessive amountof time to aparticularnews item,repeatedlyshowingthesamecoverageoverandoveragainandexaggerating(bytoneorcontent)wasdislikedacrosssegments.This traitwasparticularlyassociatedwithHindinewschannels.12 In certain neighbourhoods, CNN and BBC had been replaced with CNN-IBN by the local cable operator.

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In the context of 24‑hour news coverage by many channels anddifferentnewsitemsbeingcoveredacrossdifferentchannels,thereisaneedforprogrammes that focuson ‘real’news.Respondents therefore findshort,focusedprogrammesliketheonesmentionedbelow,appealing.

• Zee News Top 20: ‘I personally like this – it very quickly shows 20

majornewsitemsofthedayandthenewsisallmixed–fromsports,business,Bollywoodetc.’(India,female,SECB2C,35+yrs);

• StarNewsBullet keeRaftaar (Speed of a bullet): ‘show all themajornewsitemsinaminute’(India,female,SECB2C,35+yrs);

• AajTakFatafatNews(Quicknews): ‘theygiveabout20newsitems–it’s really fast. So that’sgood.Wedon’tneedpostmortems onnewsitems–wejustneednews–fast’(India,male,SECAB1,35+yrs).

CNBC emerged as an interesting case in the fieldwork.While it is seen tohavemostofthestrengthsofBBCandCNN,itsbiggestadvantageaccordingtotheparticipantsisthatithasanIndianface.AmongIndianchannelsthereisagreateremotionalconnectionwithHindinewschannelsthantheEnglishones.ThereweresomewhomentionedNDTV24/7andHeadlinesToday,astheirpreferredchannels,butformostitwasAajTak,StarNewsorZeeTV.

AajTak–wehavelotincommonwithAajTak–It’slikearoutineofourlife.Wefeelrelatedtoit.(India,female,SECAB1,35+yrs)I feelwhenwehaveaprobleminourhomewecancallournationalchannels,butneitherBBCnorCNBCwillcome.(India,male,SECB2C,35+yrs)IwouldbecomfortablewithStarNews–heismorepractical…moremy type – not too intellectual, very interactive, interesting. (India,female,SECB2C,18–34yrs)

Interestingly,betweenAajTak,Zee andStar,AajTak is seenas a specialistwhenitcomestonews:

Aaj Tak has stayed in ourmindsmore as a news channelwhileZeeNews,becauseitcomesfromtheZeefamily–doesn’treallyseemlikeanewschannel.(India,male,SECB2C,35+yrs)

International news channels were perceived as having more expertise andknowledge and as giving news in a more succinct and straightforwardmanner. They are also seen as being more professional and committed toproviding accurate news. These channels are trusted when it comes to thenewscoveragetheyprovide,whetheronnationalorinternationalevents.

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ForhonestnewsitisBBC.Fortruthonnationalnews–IwouldgotoBBC,becauseother channelsdue topoliticalpressuremayhide stufffromus.However,BBCwillgiveaverybriefreport–wewouldwantmoredetailsonnationalissues.(India,male,SECAB1,18–34yrs)Aaj Tak and Zee News are general practitioners and only BBC andCNBCarespecialists.Theyaretothepoint.(India,male,SECB2C,35+yrs)CNBCandBBCcontinuouslyshownewswithoutads–whichshowsthat they value your time, unlike Indian channels that are onlyinterested in making money. These channels are more dedicated togiving accurate news – other channels are aftermoney. (India,male,SECB2C,35+yrs)ThereshouldbeacertainmaturitylikeCNNorsomeotherchannel,sothatwatchingthatgivesyousomefoodforthought…CNNandBBCaremature – they talk from their ‘brains’ (heads) and less from theirheart.(India,male,SECAB1,35+yrs)

However, there is an emotional distance from these channels. They areadmired–butarenot‘oneofus’.Respondentssaidthat,ofallthechannels,the international channels would be the ones they would be hesitant toapproach and make friends with. The style of language (e.g. the style ofEnglishspoken,thewordsused,etc.)andthepresenterareclearlybarriersinmakingaconnection,asistheperceptionthatitisaforeignchannel.TheBBCwas seen as the foreignerwho theywouldwish to impress – not someonetheywouldopentheirheartsto.

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3.5Pakistan

InPakistan,theawarenessofnewsproviders,bothnationalandinternational,was high.However, people generally seemed to bemore aware of nationaland local channels. The differentiations in Table 3.4 were made betweennationalandinternationalprovidersbytheparticipants.

Local International

Positiveaspects

Givepeopleachancetoexpressthemselves Freedomofcensorship

Exposewrongsinthesocietyandsystem Worldwidecoverage

Trytogetjusticeforcitizens

Providedetailed,accurateinformationwithfacts&proof

Presentinghardfactsinacomicway

Broadcastpositivenews

Breakingnewsaboutnationalandlocalstories Largenetworks

Negativeaspects

Reportslocalnewsonly(withdetails) PortrayMuslimscountriesinanegativelight

Restricted&regulatedbythegovernment

Donotprovidelocalnewsindetail

Lackoffollow‑upsonstories

Representthepoliciesoftheirowncountries

Excessivecommercials

Languageishardtounderstand

Repetitionofstories

Exaggerateddetails

Table 3.4: Differences between local and international providers in Pakistan

With regard to international providers, participants spontaneously recalledthe BBC,CNN, Fox and Sky.Very fewparticipants recalledAl‑Jazeera andBloomberg.Three Indianchannels (Doordarshan,StarNewsandZeeNews)werealsorecalled.However,otherinternationalchannelssuchasFrance24,RadioChinaandCCTVNewsandRussiaTodaywerenotknown,evenafterpromptingtheparticipants.Al‑Arabiya,VOAandDWwererecognisedafterthemoderatorprompted,butwerenotspontaneouslyrecalled.BBCandCNNwerethemostwatchedandthemosttrustedinternationalchannels.

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Wewould preferwatching international channels for examplewhenour team was under allegation outside the country. Although our[local] reporters were there, we would watch the BBC or CNN forauthentic news because they have more resources. Like in the 9/11bombblast,theBBCshoweditfirstandthenGeocopieditsvideoandbroadcastit.(Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)

On the radio, at the time of the research (September 2010) BBC Urdu wasavailable on FM103.Other channels also provide news on and off but BBCUrdu emerged as the most popular international radio service for newsupdates.

However, its perceived trustworthiness was questioned by otherparticipants, who felt that international providers sometimes were biasedagainstMuslims:

[International channels] don’t highlight those thingsmuchwhich areagainst Muslims, e.g. a few days back there was the news aboutburning the Qur’an which was not condemned that much byinternationalchannels…(Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)

…ifMuslimsareslightlywrongsomewhere,theywouldexaggerateit.(Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)

ThenationalchannelsmostparticipantswereawareofwereGeo,ExpressandPTV(thestate‑ownedprovider).

Wepreferournationalandlocalchannels,asweareinterestedinourown news. We watch Geo first, and then Express news. (Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)

However,acrossthefocusgroupsparticipantsstatedthattheywouldpreferandtrustGeo,ExpressandDunyamost,perceivingPTVasamouthpieceofthegovernment.

PTV is all fake and is not worth watching because it doesn’t tellanything which is actually happening in town. It always sayseverythingisfineandthereispeaceinPakistan,butwhenyoumovetoother news channels you will come to know of a bomb blastsomewhere.(Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)

As in theothermarkets considered, the language inwhich thebroadcastersbroadcast their programmes was one of the main barriers for access tointernationalproviders.Asoneparticipantexplained:

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There is a problem of language, that’swhywe prefer local channelsoverinternationalchannels…Thereisalanguagebarrier.Weareableto understand news in our own language more easily. (Pakistan,female,SECAB1,35+yrs)

And similar to the other markets, participants also stated that they wouldoftenconsumespecificprogrammesbecauseof the formator thepresenters,ratherthantheprovider:

It’s actually its authenticity. For example, you might like a specificprogramme on some channel, like Capital Talk on Geo. (Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)

One reason [why we watch some channels more than others] is thetypeofprogrammesshown,likeHasb‑e‑Haal,aprogrammeshownonDunyawhereSohailAhmedtalksabouttheproblemsofthecommonman. [It] is an amazing programme. (Pakistan,male, SECCD, 18–34yrs)

3.6Summary

In all of the five markets, respondents across all age‑ and socio‑economicgroups seemed to recognise national providers more readily thaninternational ones. In addition, not only were participants across the fivecountries on average more aware of national providers than internationalproviders, but private national and in some cases pan‑Arab providers alsoseemed to be more popular than international providers across the focusgroups, with the exception of people from higher socio‑economicbackground.People fromamiddle‑ andupper‑classbackground seemed toaccessinternationalmediamoreregularlythantheirfellowparticipantsfromlowersocio‑economicbackgrounds.This leads to thequestionof trust.Doestrust somehow play a role in the consumption of different providers, bothlocal and international? Do cultural or political contexts influence trust indifferentproviders?Thesequestionswillbeinvestigatedinmoredetailinthenextchapter.

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4Trustandconsumption

This chapter examines trust in the fivemarkets and investigates how trustaffects the consumption of news from different providers and acrossplatforms. Trust has been assessed at two levels, namely sources of trustedinformationandconsumptionofinternationalnewsandtrust.

4.1Changesinnewsconsumption

If one believes certain popular authors, we live in an era of complexconnectivity (Tomlinson,1999),a ‘flatworld’ (Friedman,2005) indaily livespermeatedandconstructedbyaglobalisedmediamachine.Whiledevelopingcountriesyethave to fully catchupon these rapiddevelopments,whathaschangedinthefivemarketsexaminedinthisstudyoverthepastdecadeistheliberalisationof theirmediaenvironmentsand theaccessandavailabilityofmediaineverydaylife.

In Kenya, news consumption in the past five years has changedpositivelyaccordingtotherespondentsofthefocusgroups,offeringviewersandlistenersawidediversityofchannelsandstationstochoosefrom.Alltherespondentsagreedthatwhathaschangedmostoverthepastfiveyearsisthetechnology, the variety of stations/channels and the style of presenting thenews,aswellasmoreinnovativeandinteractiveformatsofbroadcasts.

Ithinkitisthetechnologicalchangewhichhaseruptedalotofstuff…thingslikeTVbecauseduringmytimewatchingagreatwallTVwasavery big thing you know [laughter].Nowadays people are going forfull screens,LCDs,plasmas.Peoplewant togive themselves thebest.Thatalsohas transformedthe ideasofpeopleandmorechannelsarecominginsowecangetmorethanone,twoorthreechannels.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,18–34yrs)

People aremore interested inwanting to findoutwhat ishappeningaround,fromschoolkidstotheold.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

FreedomofPress–Maybebackthentheycouldn’tbringsomethingsforfearofbeingavictim.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)Mediaiscoveringmore things, theyhavemore freedom.Before, theyusedtofearbeingvictimised.Theyhavetobekeenonwhattheywriteback these days. KTN shows the real politician in Kenya e.g.programmeMheshimiwa shows where he started from and how hehasmovedup.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

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Meanwhile inEgypt, adifference seemed to exist betweenmale and femaleparticipantsinhowtheyassessedthechanges.Mennoticedchangesinmediaoptionswhilewomenalsonotedchangesincontent.Theobservablechanges,accordingtotherespondents,weretwofold.First,theycouldbeobservedinthemediacontent:accordingtothefocusgroupparticipants,therehasbeenageneral improvement inqualityofprogramming,alongwithboldercontentthanwhatwasbroadcast in thepast.Talkshows,debates,etc.havebecomecommonalongwith regularnewsprogrammes.There is also an increase inthevarietyofonlinecontent,forexampleinblogs.

Nowwe enjoy freedom of broadcasting news and there are a lot ofboldconversationsonTV.(Egypt,femaleSECC2D,18–34yrs)

Second,changescanbeobservedinmediaoptions:respondentsreportedanincrease in variety,with the introduction of new and improved technologyandmediaatlowercosts.Theyillustratedthisbyreferringtotheincreaseintelevisionchannels, improved internetspeedand internetsurfingonmobilephones.

TherearemanyprogrammesonTVandsomanychannelsandwecanaccesstheinternetonthephone.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

Weusedtohaveonlytwochannelsbutnowwehavesixlandchannelsand400channelsonthedish.(Egypt,female,SECC2D,35+yrs)

Senegalhas seen very similar changes, although Senegal’smediamarket isnot(yet)ascompetitiveasEgypt.However,Senegaleseconsumersreported:

Around2005and2006,theplatformswerenotmany…Butnowthereis competition,more TV,more radio,more newspapers. Hence I ammore interested innewsnow thanbefore. (Senegal,maleSECABC1,18–34yrs)Inowhavemoreaccesstonewson theinternet.AndforTV,Ididn’thaveaccesstoallthechannelsthatIwatchtoday.IwasonlywatchingRTS.Inowhavemorepossibilities.(Senegal,femaleSECABC1,18–34yrs)

In India,whichwas themost competitive of the fivemarkets investigated,whenprobingwhathaschangedoverthelastfivetosevenyearsintheaccessanduseofnewsmedia,itisobviousthatwhiletherearemanymoresourcesfromwhichnewscanbeaccessedtoday,thequalityofreportingandthekindofnewsbeingcoveredisalsoperceivedbyfocusgroupparticipantstohaveundergone a change. Respondents reported that today there now exists amuch wider choice of channels and more options. There is 24‑hour newscoverageand reporting, instantnewsand live coverage.News channels are

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uniqueinIndiainthattheybroadcastalotof‘non‑news’items,programmesonastrologyandcelebritynews.

Earlieryouhadtowaittill9pmtowatchthenews.Nowitisonalldayonallchannels.EarlierIusedtolovewatching‘TheWorldThisWeek’by Prannoy Roy – now it is not relevant, because news is updatedeveryhour,everyminute–youdon’tneedaweektoknowthenews.(India,male,SECB2C,18–34yrs)In the past two years, I have noticed that every channel begins themorningwith a programme on astrology – where they predict yourfuture. Are they aware of their own future? I don’t like suchprogrammes.(India,male,SECB2C,35–50yrs)

Thishighlyculture‑specificcontentandformatofbroadcastingmaymake itdifficultforinternationalbroadcasterstosucceedintheIndianmediamarket(combined with a highly complex and untransparent media policy andregulatory structure). Participants also reported a marked increase insensationalism in the news reportage – more of the so‑calledmasala news(Indiantermforspicy,shocking,dramatic).

First itwas toservepeople.Therewerenoexaggeratingstatements–but now there are. Earlier their objectivewas to serve – now it is toensureprofit.(India,female,SECB2C,18–34yrs)

Oneoftherespondentssuggestedthattheincreasedcompetitionhasledtoashift away from the competition of breaking news to the competition forwhichproviderhasthemostsensationalisednewsstorytobroadcast:

Earlierchannelscompetedastowhowoulddeliverthenewsfirst.Thebreakingnews–whowillcoveritfirst.Nowitisnotlikethat–nowifonechannelshowssomebreakingnews,theotherchannelshowssomeotherbreakingnews–theyarehavingadifferentkindofcompetition.Theyrunafteramoredramaticstory. (India, female,SECB2C,18–34yrs)

AlsoinPakistan,focusgroupparticipantsreportedthat,intheirviews,newsmediahaveevolvedsignificantlyoverthepastthreetofiveyears.Accordingto them, the most striking change is the increased freedom of the privatemedia,whichcannowbroadcastmorecritical issues,butat theirownperil.Those who felt that the media were not free used examples of the recenttakingoffairofchannelssuchasGeoandARYforshowingtheshoethrownatPresidentZardariinLondonduringhisvisitatthetimewhenthefloodshit

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Pakistan. Participants reported that, on a number of occasions, channels,especiallyGeo,havebeenbannedandtakenoffairforreportinggovernmentwrongdoings, indicating that the media are not free. Therefore, somechannels,likeDunyawithitspopularpoliticalsatireshowHasb‑e‑Haal,havetaken to using satire to broadcast criticism of the government or certainpoliticians.

At the same time, participants commented on the increasedcompetition which has led from there being only one, state‑owned TV,channelwhichbroadcastnewsatonetimeoftheday,toamuchwiderchoiceofproviderswhichbroadcastnews24/7.

Previously,weonlyusedtowatchnewsat9pmonPTVasthatwastheonly local medium, but now we have different options and we canwatchnewsanytime.(Pakistan,female,SECCD,35+yrs)

4.2Trustacrossthefivemarkets

Trust seemed to be conceptualised differently in the fivemarkets, but it isdifficulttojudgetheextenttowhichthesedifferencesarebasedontranslationissuesorondifferentculturalunderstandingsoftheconcept.Silverstonehassuggestedthat‘trustisawayofmanaging,thatisreducing,distance’(2006:123). It could thus be argued that the notion of trust in daily life variesdependingontheclosenessordistanceweencounterinrelationtotheother:wemaytrustourpartners,familyandfriendsbecausetheyarefamiliartousandweknowthemintimately;theybelongtoourinnercircleoftrust.Orwemaytrustareligiousorpoliticalleaderwhowedonotknowpersonally,butwhoseauthorityprovidesuswithguidanceinourdailylivesandinvokesourrespect; these leadersor institutionsbelong toouroutercirclesof trust.Thedecisive point here is the relationship to the other. In today’s globalisedworld, the media are crucial factors in establishing this relationship. Themedia represent the other, they portray our outer world. By trusting, weestablish a connection between this outer world and our own world. Weconnectthedotsandenterintoarelationshipwiththeother,nomatterhowclose and familiar or how removed anddistant the other is.However, thisimpliesthatthewayinwhichtheotherisportrayedisperceivedastruthful.AsSilverstonehasargued,‘fortrusttoberelevanttheremustbeapossibilityfor others to betray us’ (1999: 118). This becomes particularly important inmedia environments in which a lack of transparency, corruption and arestricted freedom of expression traditionally have made it difficult forcitizens to truthfully connect the dots between their outerworlds and theirown worlds by consumption of media. This study therefore looked atdifferent relationships, different circles of trust, starting with family andfriends,neighbourhoods,work colleagues, todifferent typesofmedia,non‑

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governmentalinstitutions,aswellasreligiousleadersandpoliticians,inordertogetabetterunderstandingofhowparticipantsinthefocusgroupsrelatetoandmakesenseoftheirouterworld,howtheyconnectthedots.

From the responses of the focus group participants in Kenya, it wasapparent that trust was perceived as an essential factor of everyday life,equivalent to reliability, dependability, integrity, keeping secrets, franknessandrighteousness.

Tome Iwould say that if I have to trust you then you should bemyfriend, someone I can confide in and someonewhom I know thatmysecretsaresafewith.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

MostKenyanparticipantsreportedthattheywouldtrustfamily,friendsandGod most in everyday life, while they deeply distrust politicians andgovernmentofficials,whoareconsideredcorrupt.

Similarly, inEgypt ‘trust’ generally seemed to be linked to honesty,securityandcredibility.Egyptianparticipantsputtrustmoreoftenincontextsof relationships than participants in focus groups in other countries,associatingtrustwithdemocracyandfaithstructures,aswellasfamilybonds.God, family, friends and religious leaderswere named as themost trustedsources in Egypt, while politicians and foreigners were amongst the leasttrusted.Regardingdifferentmediaplatforms,participantsinthefocusgroupsemphasised that they do not trust a medium alone, but rather a specificchannelorstationwhichtheyfindcredible.

OnTVwecansee internationaland localnewsand if IamwatchingTV, Iwill knowwhathappens in theworld…but trustdependsonwhatchannelorprogrammeyouaretalkingabout.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

Meanwhile in Senegal, trust was generally associated with reliability,objectivity, independence and truthfulness. Across the focus groups, hightrustlevelswerelinkedtofamilyandfriends,religiousleadersandtelevision.Interestingly,althoughtherespondentsfeltthatthecredibilityofinformationcoming from family and friends may not be equal to the credibility ofinformationfromTV,participantsseemedtobasetheirtrustontheaffinitytotheirsource,i.e.thefamilyandfriends,andtheirpositiveintentions:

We easily believe in our parents, they are viewed as a reference.(Senegal,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)

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Besidesnews,thefamilycaninformusonmanythings.Sometimesitistheelderoneswhoinformtheyoungeronesonwhattheydon’tknow.(Senegal,female,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

Ifourfriendwouldnotshareinformationthatwouldhurtus.Afriendmeritsourtrust.(Senegal,male,SECABC1,18–34yrs)

InSenegal,apredominantlyMuslimcountry,religiousleadersareviewedasopinion leaders and exercise a great deal of influence on citizens. Trust inreligious leaders is based on the special status they enjoy. Informationconveyedbyreligiousleaderswasconsideredbymanyparticipantsasnearlysacred.

Religiousleadersarethefirsttobebelievedifwerefertoourcultureand tradition, they are our guides. You don’t object to [a religiousleader’s]sayings,theyareanauthorityandbeforetheytalk,thesubjectmustbeveryserious.(Senegal,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Yet someof the focusgroupparticipants seemed toview thehigh statusofreligiousleaderswithadegreeofsuspicionandscepticism.

Asfarastheybasewhattheyaresayingonreligion,wehaveconfidencein thembutwhen theydonot refer toreligionwhilespeakingweknowthattheyarenotattheleveloftheirauthority.(Senegal,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Acrossthemediaplatforms,TVwasthemosttrustedsource,forparticipantsfelt that hearing and seeing information would result in higher credibilitythanjusthearingapieceofnews.

TVbroadcastthestorycoupledwiththeimage.Sobeforetheyshowanews item there must be an image for people to believe. (Senegal,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)In the first position,we placedTV because it joins images towords.Imagemakestheinformationmorecredible.(Senegal,participant,SECC2D,35+yrs)

For the few Senegalese participants who indicated that they would accessnewsontheinternetonaregularbasis,internetwasthesecondmosttrustedsource.However,themajorityoftheparticipantsrankedradioasthesecondmost trusted source for news, followed by the printmedia.Mobile phoneswere not considered trustworthy sources for information. Some of theparticipantsexplainedthatthiswasbecause itwaseasytosendanonymousmessagestoaperson’smobilephone,whichcouldnotbeverified.

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InIndiameanwhile,trust(vishvasniya)wasdefinedasone’sbeliefandfaith in another – the confidence that onewould not be cheated or lied to.Similar to the other fourmarkets, close familywere perceived as themosttrustworthysource,whilepoliticianswereconsideredtheleasttrustworthy.

We put these at last: religious leaders and national politicians andinternational organisations, because they are alldiplomats. Theywillgivehalfoftheinformation.(India,male,SECB2C,18–34yrs)

Across the media platforms, TV emerged as the most trustworthy source,becauseofitsaudio‑visualnature.NewspapersconsistentlyfollowedTVasasourcethatcouldbetrusted,becauseofgreaterfaithinthewrittenword.Theinternet,mobilephoneand radiowere sometimes clustered togetherby theparticipantsandoftenfellclosetoeachotheronthetrustscale.Ofthethree,the internetwas considered themost trustworthyandwas seenas a sourcethatprovidesagreatdealofinformation(wasbetterinformed).Interestingly,in India, unlike othermarkets such as Egypt and Senegal, religious leadersrankedamongsttheleast trustworthysourcesforinformation,togetherwithpoliticians.AfewoftheargumentsmadeduringthefocusgroupsinMumbaiaresummarisedinTable4.1.

Platform Reasonfortrust Reasonforlackoftrust

TV • Can‘see’withourowneyes–visualscan’tbefaked;theproofofpictures

• Live–immediateinformation• Linkedwithorganisationslike

ReutersandPressTrustofIndia

• The‘masala’onchannels• Somanychannels–somecarrying

contrastinginformationonsameevent

Family • Loveandcareforus;wantthebestforus

• Willneverbetrayus• Ourownblood–trustthemmost• Withus24/7• Forpersonalinformation

• Notdirectsource–willhavegottheirinformationfromsomewhereelse

• Moreemotional–‘wetrustourfamily,butnotforinformation’–men

• Sometimeswithholdinformationoutofconcernforyou

• Notveryinformedsource–maythinktheyaregivingyourightinformation–butitmaynotbeso.IwillcheckfromauthenticplacelikeTVorradio;theyknowasmuchaswedo;

Newspapers • Getdetailedinformation• Takecarewhattheyprint–because

thewrittenwordcanbechallenged

• Don’tspendmuchtimewiththem

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Internet • Checkitpersonally• Useassourceforinformationon

manythings• Getlot/detailedinformation• Modern/latesttechnology

• Don’tuseitmuch

Mobile

• Remainswithusallthetime• Easilyaccessible• Doesn’texaggerate

• Notwellinformed–unlessonegetsregularupdates

• Moreforyouthrelatedinformation

Radio • Easilyaccessible–onmobiletoo.• Wetrusttheradio

• Hardlyaccessitforinformation• Moreforentertainment

Friends • Goodfriendsneverlie• Withusthroughthickandthin• Extensionoffamily

• Canparticipateinspreadingrumours

Colleagues • Sourceofinfoatoffice• Wellinformed

• Couldcompetewithus–canmisguide

• Awork‑relatedrelationship–nothingmore

Internationalorganisation

• Provideaccurateinformation• Acceptedacrosstheworld

• Hesitanttowardsthem• Unknownentity–don’tknow

muchaboutthem• Foreign–can’trelyonthem

Neighbourhood • Mayhavelocal/relevantinformation• Takecareofourhousewhenweare

notthere• Helpusintimesonneed

• Can’talwaystrustneighbours• Neighbourscanlie• Canspreadmorerumoursand

gossipReligiousleaders

• Cangiveknowledgeaboutthingsthatarebeneficialtous

• Causefrictiononbasisofreligion• Haveverynarrowview–‘seethe

worldfromlimitedangle’Politicians • Selfish–theyworkfortheirown

goodTable4.1ArgumentsforandagainsttrustindifferentplatformsinMumbai,India

Finally, in Pakistan, the concept of ‘trust’ was associated with family andfriends,faith,sincerity,loyaltyandhonesty.

Trust develops if you expect something from somebody and thatpersonfulfilsyourexpectations.(Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)Being a Muslim, I trust Allah, friends and family, my mother.(Pakistan,male,SECCD,18–34yrs)

TVwasseentobethemostaccessedandthemosttrustedsourceofnewsandinformationamongthemedia,asitwasperceivedasbeingeasilyaccessible,up‑to‑dateandlive.Trustinothermediavariedacrossgroups.Somepeopletrusted the internetmost after TV, and somepreferred the radio ormobilephonesmostaftertheTV.

Those who trusted the internet most after TV preferred to getinformationfromavarietyofsourcesonaparticularstory.Participantswho

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trustedmobilephonesmostafterTVwerethoseparticipantswhotrustwordofmouth.Theyexplained thatviaSMSandphone calls from relatives theyget instant news about events, such as bomb‑blasts in Lahore andsurroundings:

Whenanyincidenthappens,thesurroundingpeoplegetinformedfirst… they are the providers of news to news channels and to theirrelatives throughmobiles. Sowe can say that it is not necessary fornewsalwaystocomefromnewschannels,ratheritcancomefromourmobilephonesfromrelativesandfriends.(Pakistan,male,SECAB,18–34yrs)Whenever an undesirable incident happens, your family members,relativesandfriendscallortextyoutoalertyouoftheaffectedareaortoinformyouabouttheaccidents.(Pakistan,male,SECAB,18–34yrs)

Newspapers are a trusted source of information but due to the presence oftelevisionandinternet,lesspeoplearenowreadingpapers.Mostparticipantsstated that theywould listen to the radioonly as a sourceof information iftherewas no access to television (typically situationswhen one is travelingandcannotviewtelevisionorwhenthereisnoelectricity).4.3Trustininternationalanddomesticmedia

KENYA:FindingsfromthefocusgroupsinNairobisuggestthattheparticipantsgenerallytrustnewsfrominternationalprovidersbecauseoftheirhighjournalisticstandardsandtheirin‑depthanalysis.

Mostofthem[referringtointernationalproviders]dealwithfactse.g.the issuewith thebudget, I first read in thenewspaper thatacertainfigurewasmissing but later on I found out thatmore than thatwasmissing meaning they [local providers] didn’t dig deeper. (Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

The findings from the focus groups suggest that there are moments whenpeople turn to international providers as sources of information. Suchmoments,accordingtotherespondents,areintimesofnationaltension,whencitizensfeelthatthelocalmediaarehidinginformationorareprohibitedfromsharingcertaininformation:

Whenthepresidentissick.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)Besides sensitivemoments affecting the country, participants further statedthat they would also turn to international providers for breaking news inother countries during times of international crises and calamities, and for

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insightandanalysisthatintheirviewarenotadequatelycoveredbythelocalproviders. Examples given by the focus group participants of news storiesthat they felt did not contain enough details and adequate coverage andpromptedthemtoswitchtointernationalchannelswerethefollowing:

Duringthepostelectionviolencenationalchannelsweren’tgivingfullinformation but turning to international ones they were giving fulldetails.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+)Then there is this story ofObama,Al‑Jazeerawas giving it from thetime he was born, when he went for his education in an Ancientcountry, how themotherdivorced… they elaboratedbetter than thelocalchannels…TheywereshowinglivepicturesofObamawhenhewas a youngman, his thatched house. (Kenya, participant SECC2D,35+)I turn toVOAandCNNwhenIwant informationonAfrica. (Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)LikeduringtheelectionsheremostofthenewsweweregettingwerenotKenyanbecauseeverybodywasfearingfortheirlifeandwhateverwe were seeing on the TV most of it was not Kenyan because thejournalists would go there but when they would hear the grenadeblow,theywouldgoaway.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

Internationalproviderswereperceivedasrisktakers,orchannelsthatgothatextramiletogetthenewsfortheiraudience:

Theyarerisktakers,notlikehereinKenya.YoucanseesituationsinIraqwhere journalist are tortured because of the risk and they cangive their real life experience. (Kenya, participant SEC BC1, 18–34yrs)Theyhavequantitynews inaqualityway. (Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)They touch all areas of life, like wildlife, business news, politics,industry, trade,weather, tragedy. (Kenya,participant SECBC1, 18–34yrs)

However,someparticipantssuggestedthattheconsumptionofrelayednewsfrom international providers might be affected by the choice of their localpartnerstations.Respondentsindicatedthattheywouldprefertoaccessnews

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from international providers directly, rather than through a local channel.Accordingtotheseparticipants,anegativeperceptionoflocalpartnerstationswould affect the programmes of international channels. This may be oneexplanation why Al‑Jazeera was more popular amongst the focus groupparticipantsthanCNNorBBC,asit isbroadcastduringdaytimeonitsownterrestrialchannelinNairobi,whileotherinternationalchannelsarebroadcaston their partner stations (KTN in the case of CNN) only at specific timesduringtheday,andduringthenight.

I was asking if there is a way you can access this news (frominternational providers) independently without relying on localchannels.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)IthinktheycanexpandlikeAl‑Jazeera.YoucanwatchitfulltimesotheyshoulddothesamefortherestlikeCNN.Attimestheycutitinthemiddle of news then they don’t bring it onweekends. (Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

Other international channels, suchasFrance 24,werenotverywell known,partly, as one participant explained, as people are unable to watch thechannel.

… the reception is very poor [referring to France 2413] (Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+)

The age of a news provider also seemed to affect the levels of trust inproviders.ProviderslikeBBCandAl‑Jazeera,whichhavebeeninexistenceintheKenyanmediamarketforalongtime,wereperceivedasestablishedandtherefore trustworthy providers, although some respondents suggested thiswouldmakethemboring.

Because they have been there for long and they also give reliableinformation.(Kenya,participantSECC2D,35+)

Participants also raised concerns over negative stories by internationalproviders about news in Africa, which they felt diminished their trust.Additionalconcernswereraisedon theemotionallydetachedway inwhichsomepresenterspresentedlocaltragicnews:

13 At the time of our focus groups in Nairobi, France 24 was relayed a few hours per week via the state-owned channel KBC.

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Somepresentersreadthenewswithoutanyfeelings,likethetankerexplosionofSachangwan–thepresenterwaslaughingafterreadingthenews.(Kenya,participantSECBC1,18–34yrs)

EGYPT:Internationalandpan‑ArabmediawereperceivedbyfocusgroupparticipantsaslessbiasedandnotinfluencedbytheEgyptiangovernment,andwerethereforemoretrustedandperceivedasmorereliablethanthestate‑runprovider.Theuseoftheopinionsofinternationalpanelsandexpertswhoareatthedisposalofinternationalmediaalsoseemedtoenhancethecredibilityofthesenewsproviders.

Internationalnewsismorecrediblebecausetheydon’tpolishthenewsbutsaythemastheyare.(Egypt,female,SECC2D,35+yrs)

MediacontrolandcensorshipexercisedbytheEgyptiangovernmentemergednotonlyasawell‑knownbutalsoasanacceptedfactinthefocusgroups.Thelack of transparency in information being released through the localmediaseemed to foster mistrust, for the information was perceived to have beencensoredandwasthereforebelievedtobegovernmentpropaganda:

Ifitisacaseofanimportantpublicperson,thenitwillnotbecoveredin full … and sometimes they cut the news broadcasts abruptly.(Egypt,female,SECC2D,35+yrs)Egyptianchannelswillonlybroadcastwhattheybelieveisallowedtobeannounced…likewhen thePrimeMinisterwaslate for thewaterconference,theysaidthattheconferencetookplacewithoutinformingus.(Egypt,male,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

Localandnationalnewsstoriesseemedtomattermosttotherespondentsinthefocusgroups.Basedonthisfocus,internationalmediawereperceivedasbroadcastinglocalnewswithaninternationallens,andthuswereperceivedtobebiasedandunreliable.Respondents suggested thatnotonlywas thereless coverage of local topics than in local media, but the broadcasts ofinternational providers were also lacking in detail. A feeling seemed toprevailamongstthefocusgroupparticipantsthatthelocalperspectiveisnotrepresented correctly, with some respondents implying that internationalmedia are biased against Egypt, especially while reporting on politics,sportingevents,etc.

TheyaretryingtospoilEgypt’simagebynotcheckingifastoryistruebeforebroadcasting it.TheyfocusonEgypt’sdisadvantagesonlylikethereisnothinggoodhereatall.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

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Localmediaweregenerallypreferredbytheparticipantsacrossthedifferentsocio‑economic strata, as they provide in‑depth local coverage andunderstandtheculturalcontextandlocalsensitivities.Althoughinternationalnewsgetslessemphasisinthelocalmedia,participantsstatedthattheyweresatisfiedwiththelocalnewscoverage.

Most importantly I care for my country’s news, and don’t give thesameamountofattentiontoothercountries’news.(Egypt,female,SECC2D,18–34yrs)

International and pan‑Arab media were generally perceived to be moremodern, progressive and professional in their programming, format andjournalistic standards, particularly amongst participants from higher socio‑economicclasses.

The way they do everything attracts me like the way they willannouncethattherewillbeaspecificprogrammeataspecifictimeandthe professional way which they will announce the news… all thisattractsme.(Egypt,female,SECABC1,35+yrs)They havemany reporters around theworld so they cover the newssecond by second … so they have the most recent updates andbroadcastthem24hoursaday.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

By comparison, participants felt that Egyptian local and domestic mediacouldnotmeasureuptothisprofessionalstandard.Or,asoneparticipantputit:

EgyptianreportersarealreadyinEgyptandmostofthemarelazyanddon’t rush tocover thenews… theywait forgovernmentdirections.(Egypt,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Consequently, the following factors emergedas enhancing the respondents’trust in local channels: where the language and the tone of voice in thebroadcasts reflect local sentiments; critical broadcasts that containconstructivecriticismongovernance;broadcastsandprogrammesofexpertsdiscussinglocalissuesandprovidinganecdotesbehindthenews;broadcastsaddressing localnewsand issues; andbroadcasts thatprovideground‑levelcontextforlocalissues.Meanwhile,ontheotherside,respondentsperceiveda lack of transparency particularly on government issues as well asincomplete reports and the failure to followup on locally relevant news asfactorsthatunderminedtheirtrustinlocalnewsproviders.

Regarding pan‑Arab and international channels, respondentssuggested the following factors thatenhanced their trust in theseproviders:

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an honest perspective on local news; balanced coverage of Egypt and theArab world (stressing the positives along with the negatives); a panel ofexpertsdiscussingissuesindepth;instantcoverageofnews;thevarietyanddepth in news; the professional presentation of news and attractivepackaging; and the coverage of locally big stories.As undermining trust ininternational and pan‑Arab providers the following were highlighted: thelanguage(standardArabicasopposedtoEgyptiandialect)andatoneofvoicethatdoesnotreflectlocalcultureandsentiments,aswellasapplyingWesternstandardstodomesticandArabissues.SENEGAL:TheresponsesoffocusgroupparticipantsinSenegal(Dakar)suggestthatstate‑ownedmediaaretheleasttrustednewsmedia.Manyrespondents,regardlessoftheirsocio‑economicbackgrounds,describedthegovernment‑ownedmedia,asopposedtoprivatedomesticmedia,asamouthpieceofthegovernment:

... thereisaquestionofindependencewiththelocalmedia.TheStatehas an influence in their production. (Senegal, participant SECC2D,35+yrs)Foreignmedia are more autonomous whereas the local media workunder the pressure of the State as everybody knows. (Senegal,participantSECC2D,35+yrs)BeforeIwasconcentratedonRTS1.ButlaterIrealisedthatifyoureallywanttoknowwhatishappeninginSenegal,you’dbetterwatchWalfand2STVperhaps.Walf isnotpoliticisedasaparticipantsaidearlieron.Theyshoweverything.Thenforinternationalnews,IlistentoRFI.At my place I don’t have international providers because I am notsubscribedbutwhenIgotomybrother’splaceIwatchthem.(Senegal,femaleSECABC1,35+yrs)

These findings correspond to quantitative findings made in the project’spreviousreportonconsumption (Table4.2),whichsuggested thatpeople inSenegal would first turn to Senegalese private TV if an event occurred inSenegal,theAfricanregionorintheworld.

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Table4.2Mediafirstusedforcurrentaffairsandnews,Senegal(Dakar)(Source:Africascope2009, Dakar March 2009, TNS SOFRES. Base: Population 15+ All respondents/Universe =1,473,000;France24).

Despite these unflattering views, RTS, the government‑owned provider, iswidelywatchedwhenitcomestoimportantsocialand/orsportsevents,foritisgrantedexclusiverights toair theseevents.Hencepeoplenootherchoicebuttotuneintothechannel.

Local private media outlets, especially Walfadjiri, enjoyed greatsympathy amongst the respondents. The private TV/radio channel waspraised by participants for its persistence and dedication to broadcastindependentnewsdespitethreatsandvandalismagainsttheirpremises.

International media were perceived to be trustworthy but, with theexceptionofRFIandTV5,weremainlywatchedbypeoplefromhighersocio‑economicbackgrounds.

RFI traditionally has been popular andmuch trusted in Senegal, butaccording to someof the respondents in the focusgroups, theprovider lostsome of this trust during the recent crises in Côte d’Ivoire and in GuineaConakry.One respondent suggested that itwas as a result of a report fromRFI that ledpeople inGuinea to riot in thestreets.RFIwasalso accusedofsupportingoppositiontotheincumbentpresidentduringthosechaotictimes:

Mediaf irstturnedtowhenanewseventoccurs…

inSenegal(%) inAfr ica (%) intheworld(%)

Senegaleseradio 32 15 13

Internationalradio 5 18 18

Senegaleseprint 2 1 1

Internationalprint 0 2 2

SenegalesestateTV 4 7 7

SenegaleseprivateTV 57 42 38

InternationalTV 1 14 22

Internet 0.4 1 1

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It was RFI which pushed the opposition parties to manifest againstDaddis,themediagavepowertotheoppositiontowinDaddis.Theyinfluence internal politics in some countries. There are some realitiesthat should not be revealed. There are some thingswhich should bekeptasidediscreetlybutthat’snottheircase,theysayeverything.Andthiscancausetroubles.So,RFIdidn’tplayapositiveinroleinGuinea.(Senegal,male,SECABC1,18–34yrs)Iamabitsuspiciousofforeignmedia.Youknow,IwaslivinginCôted’Ivoire and I knowhow thewar started.And the role some foreignmediaplayed.Theycanmanipulateinformationandcreateinstabilityinacountry.(Senegal,male,SECABC1,35+yrs)

Meanwhile, the French‑based channel TV5 enjoyed high levels of trustamongst the focusgroupparticipants,whoperceived it as the internationalproviderclosest toAfrica,andmoreAfrica‑friendly in itsbroadcasting thanother international channels. According to the respondents, TV5 Afriquetends to highlight the positive aspects of Africa, especially the diverseculturesand theeclecticandcolourfulbeautyof thecontinent.TV5AfriquewasseenasoneoftheoldestandmostestablishedinternationalprovidersinSenegal, andmany of the focus group participants stated that they wouldwatch it as a subscription is not needed to access it (a special, low‑costantenna suffices to pick up TV5Afrique). France 24 gradually seems to begainingground.Although not asmanypeoplewerewatching France 24 aswere watching TV5 Afrique, France 24 was perceived as innovative andtrustworthy.Itsfastandsuccinctnewscastinggivesviewersthechancetogetthenewsinashorttime.INDIA:InternationalmediasuchasBBCandCNNarehighlytrustedinIndia,butmainlyconsumedbyanelite–peoplefromhighersocio‑economicandeducationalbackgrounds.Internationalchannelsarerespectedfortheirprofessionalism–thethoroughnessofresearch,theconcisenessofthereporting,theiraccessandreachwithregardtonewsstoriesacrosstheglobe.Theyareseenaswell‑reputedandasbeingexpertsinthebusinessofprovidingnews.Theyaretrustedforthesereasons–fortheirexpertiseandprofessionalism.Yet,theyareperceivedaslessfamiliarandmoredistantthanthelocalchannels.TheBBC(viatheBBCWorldService)hasbeenaniconofnewsreportingovertheradioforseveralgenerationsofIndians.ButasaTVnewschannelinourfocusgroupstheBBCwasperceivedasnotbeingintouchwithmodernIndia.ThisisbroughtintoreliefthatincontemporaryIndia(versustheIndiaof20yearsago),whenitcomestoregular,day‑to‑dayIndiannews,thelocalHindiandEnglishchannelswerefelttoprovidemorethanadequatecoverage.Moreover,thestyleofvernacularseemstoappealto

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themajorityofviewersandmostconsumerswouldacknowledgethatthetechnologicalqualityofthepresentationisfastcatchingupwithinternationalnewschannels.Itisthereforeonlywhenaseriousand/orsensitiveeventoccursinthecountrythatpeoplefeeltheneedfor‘more’informationandforadifferentperspectivewhichtheygetfrominternationalproviders.

When it comes to international news, the international channels arereliedonformoredetailedandaccurateinformation.

Itdependsonthekindofnews.FornumberswewilltrustBBC,butforothernewswewilltrustStarNewsandAajTak–theyarebothprettyquick. For international news yes, we can trust BBC. (India, female,SECB2C,35+yrs)

Across all focus groups, respondents suggested that they would turn tointernationalnewsprovidersintimesofnationalandinternationalcrisesandcalamities, as international providerswere generally perceived as having abetter infrastructure and reach, which would result in better and moredetailedcoverageoftheevent:

International channels show you in depth. Indian channels showIndian news in depth – but not other news. (India, female, SECA1A2B1,35+yrs)IndianchannelswerecoveringtheTsunami–butnotaswellasthese(international)channels.Wegetmoreinformationfromthesechannels.Their satellite is bigger and better. (India, female, SEC A1A2B1, 35+yrs)Theyreachthespotontime–theyhavereporterstherealready.(India,male,SECB2C,35+yrs)We need them for international news. (India, male, SEC B2C, 18–34yrs)When the World Trade Centre towers were falling – their cameraswere already there.We could see live –when the second towerwasfalling. No Indian channel would have got that. You get excellentcoverageofinternationalnews.(India,male,SECB2C,18–34yrs)

Similarly, for certain national events, such as the Mumbai attacks,international channels were perceived as providing more accurate and

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objective information,while Indian channels had to give in to governmentpressure.

They cover everything – like in Mumbai too – if you do not getaccurateinformationaboutwhatishappeningfromIndianchannels–that’swhatBBC is for.They literally fight togetproper information.(India,male,SECB2C,18–34yrs)Whenitisveryheavy(vital/significant),veryimportantnewsthenweneedaninternationalchannel.Ifitisverynormal,everydaydaynews–whichyouheartodayandforgettomorrow–wecanoptfornationalnewschannels.(India,male,SECB2C,18–34yrs)Istillwanttobeconnectedtoworldnews.(India,female,SECB2C,18–34yrs)

Onbeingaskedwhethertherewerecertainnewsprovidersthattheytrustedmore thanothers,most respondentsasserted thatall channelsweremoreorless equally trustworthy to them, no matter whether they were local orinternationalproviders.

Respondentsacrossallfocusgroupsindicatedthattheylikeandtrustlocalchannels,asthereisalevelofcomfortandfamiliaritywiththelanguageand reporting style. Interestingly, the dramatisation (if not carried too far)was perceived to make for a more entertaining and interesting viewingexperienceandwasnotperceived toerode trust.Channels likeAajTakandStarNews emerged as very trusted channels because of the speed of theirreporting and the extensive coverage of Indian news. Several respondentsstatedtheylikedthesechannelsbecausetheywere‘likeus’.PAKISTAN:ThemosttrustedprovidersofnewsacrossthefocusgroupsinPakistanwereGeo,Express,Dunya,BBCandCNN.Thestate‑ownedPTVwastheleasttrustedchannelandwasperceivedatthemouthpieceofthegovernmentbymostofthefocusgroupparticipants.Geo,whichisconsideredthepioneerofindependentnewsstationsandhasbeenreportingabouttheineffectivenessofdifferentregimeseversinceithasbeenonair,emergedasthemostpopularandmosttrustedTVchannelinthefocusgroups.Respondentspraisedthechannel’sindependenceandresistancetogovernmentpressure,aswellasitsbreakingnews.

Geobroadcastsbreakingnewsbeforealltheotherchannels.(Pakistan,female,SECAB1,35+yrs)

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I trust Geo most because it was the first channel to provide widecoverage. It was the first channel that challenged PTV. (Pakistan,female,SECAB1,35+yrs)

ExpressisarelativelynewchannelwhichisairedinbothEnglishandUrdu.Expresswasperceivednearlyunanimouslyacrossallfocusgroupstobe thenextbestoptionafterGeo,asitprovidesaccurateandbreakingnews.Insomegroupsparticipantsstated that itmightevenbe faster thanGeo inbreakingnewsasitistechnologicallybetterequippedthantheleadingGeo.

Meanwhile, the responses of the participants in the focus groupssuggestthatDunyaisfastgainingpopularityamongtheaudiences,especiallydue to its very popular political satire show Hasb‑e‑Haal with its maincharacterAzizi (playedby SohailAhmed)which talks about current affairsandcontroversialtopicsinacomicalway.

In terms of international providers, BBC and CNN emerged as themostpopularandmosttrustedinternationalchannels.

The BBC gives true and factual news. They don’t hide any news,whereasourlocalchannelshidesomeimportantinformationfromus.TheBBCdiscloseseverything.(Pakistan,female,SECAB1,35+)

TherespondentspreferredtheBBCtoCNN,asit isolderandbetterknown.Someof theparticipants also reported that they find theEnglish spokenonBBC easier to understand, compared to the American English spoken onCNN. The participants in the focus groups generally seemed to trustinternational providers, although some of them stated that internationalmediaweregenerallybiasedagainstMuslimcountriesandagainstPakistaninparticular,linkingittoterrorism.

While participants stated that they would trust CNN they did notmentionwatching itmuch thesedays.Before the liberalisationof themediaenvironment in Pakistan, at a time when there was limited and highlyrestricted access to broadcast media, one local channel aired CNN duringdaytime,making it theonly available alternative to the state‑governedPTVchannelduringtheday.Basedonthis,mostoftherespondentswereawareofCNN,butduetotheincreasedcompetitionandtheliberalisationofthemediaenvironment,notmanyparticipantswerestillwatchingthechannel.

4.4Summary

Increasedchoiceofnewsprovidersinallofthefivemarketsseemstohaveledtoincreasedtrustinlocalanddomesticmedia.Thefindingspresentedinthischaptersuggestthatacrossthefivemarkets,participantsinourfocusgroups

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trustednationalandlocalaswellasinternationalandpan‑Arabmedia.State‑owned broadcasters were generally not trusted and were perceived asmouthpiecesoftherespectivegovernmentsacrossthefivemarkets.However,the findings further suggest that, for a majority of the focus groupparticipants, the high levels of trust do not translate into high levels ofconsumption when it comes to international providers, unless there is anationalorinternationalcrisis.Althoughparticipantsinallofthefivemarketsexpressedgreatrespectandappreciationforthetechnologicalandjournalisticprofessionalismofinternationalproviders,theyfeltthattheirpredominantlylocal and national news needs were sufficiently covered by domestic andregionalbroadcasters,whicharehighlyinteractivewiththeiraudiences.Highlevels of trust in private national and private local channels seemed totranslateintoincreasedconsumptionoftheseproviders.Theexceptionacrossall of the five markets was opinion leaders, who also trusted internationalprovidersbutconsumedinternationalmediamuchmorefrequentlyandonamoreregularbasisthantheirfellowcitizens.WordofmouthandTVwerethemost trusted ‘media’across the fivemarkets forpeople felt theycould trustthe source in the case ofword ofmouth (family or friendsmostly) or theycould verify the information themselves in the case of TV (through thecombination of visual and spoken information). The next chapter analysesthese findings and draws conclusions with regard to trust in internationalbroadcasters.

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5Conclusion

At the outset of this study, trust in the media, based on sociological andpolitical literature, was roughly conceptualised as the product of theperceivedfulfilmentofapromiseandexpectationsovertime,inthehopethatparticipants in our focus groups would construct a less technical, moreapplicable definition of trust in media in the context of everyday life.Throughoutthisreport,ithasbeenestablishedthattheconsumptionofnewsfrom specific broadcasters is tightly interlinked with trust – trust in thebroadcast,aswellasthebroadcastinginstitutionandthedeliveryplatform.

Thefindingsofourresearchsuggestthatconsumersofnewsinthefivemarkets identify ‘trust’ as the engagement with a certain set of values:cultural and moral values that are reflected in broadcasts of specificproviders. It is the engagementwith thesevalues, it seems, thatdeterminesthe average consumer’s consumption of news, much more so than factorssuch as credibility, objectivity or impartiality. This became particularlyevident in our fieldwork in India (i.e. the most competitive of the fivemarkets). It seems that the values reflected in broadcasts are measured byconsumersagainstthecultural,political,historicandreligiousbackgroundineachcountry,aswellasthevaluesembeddedintheproviderofnews.

Whileadecadeortwoagothisaspectoftrustmaynothavemattered,andfactorssuchascredibility,impartialityandobjectivitymayhavebeenthedecisiveattributesforproviderstoinducetrust, itdoesmattertoconsumersnow.Inanincreasinglycomplexworlditisnotonlythenumberofprovidersof news and the amount of information available that havemultiplied, butalso the number of standpoints fromwhich it is possible to challenge anybroadcast,anyproviderandanytechnology.Tonavigateone’swaythroughthisinformationjunglecanbeanexcessivedemandforconsumers,invokinganeed for guidance and reliability (which, paradoxically, is often found bystickingtothefamiliar).Previousstudieshaveshownthatconsumerstendtochooseandtrustprovidersofnewswhoseideologyandvaluesarecongruentwith their own worldview (Oyedeji, 2010). Once a match between theconsumers’worldview and theworldviewportrayed by the news providerbecomes established, consumers transfer their trust for the provider to theprovider’s message. Naturally, the more they consume news from theprovider, themore theirownworldviewisreinforced. Inotherwords,mostpeoplewhoregularlywatchAl‑Jazeera, inparticularAl‑JazeeraArabic,willtrustitsnewswithoutquestioning,until,aswehaveseeninthecaseofEgypt2010, a broadcast occurs which contradicts their worldview and hencedisrupts the trust feedback to the provider. In essence, it could be argued,what brands like Al‑Jazeera do is to make judgements on behalf of theaudience on how and inwhich frame to understand and interpret broader

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events and issues. That is, they provide anopinion on events. Thismay beveryuseful,particularlyforeventswithwhichwearenotfamiliarorofwhichwehavenopriorknowledge–anincreasingoccurrenceinaworldinwhichtheamountofinformationavailableisquadruplingeverysecond.Thisposesaproblem for thosebrandsofproviders, includinganumberofestablishedinternational news providers, who deliberately do not want to make suchjudgementsonbehalfoftheiraudiences,butinsteadprovideconsumerswiththebreadthofopinionsavailableonacertain issue.Editorialvaluessuchasimpartialitydelegatetheresponsibilityofmakingjudgementstotheaudience.Theresponses fromparticipantsinour focusgroupsacross the fivemarketsseem to suggest that this responsibility is perceived as too burdensome formany average consumers overwhelmed by the information overload intoday’sworld.Ontheotherhand,itisaresponsibilitythatappealstopeoplewho like to make their own opinions, opinion leaders. While mainstreamaudiences may find the balanced information of such impartial providerscredible anduseful, theydonot feed their trust in themessageback to theprovider,forthereisagulfbetweentheirownworldviewandtheabsenceofaworldviewexpressedbytheavowedlyimpartialprovider.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the story told in this report then paints apicture of two different types of consumers in five emerging economies: ahighlyeducatedconsumerfromahighsocio‑economicclassandnationalelitewho ispartofanationalminorityofopinion leaders,whowouldlike tobepart of a global elite and who avidly consumes and heavily relies onindependent,impartialinternationalbroadcasters;andalessprivileged,oftenless educated consumer,mainly interested in updates on local and nationalevents, who perceives international broadcasters as uninvolved and distantandwhoprefers to consumenews fromprivatedomesticprovidersorpan‑Arab/pan‑Africannetworks.Whilethefirstconsumerisinsearchofprimarilyobjective information and in‑depth analysis of national events, as well ascurrent international and business affairs, the other consumer looks forlocalisedinformationoneventsthatmightaffecthim/herinhis/hereverydaylife.

5.1Developments

Despitethehistoric,politicalandculturaldiversityanduniquenessofeachofthe five markets, which shape consumers’ news needs, as well as theirexpectationstowardsprovidersofnews,severaloverarchingtrendsacrossthefivemarketscouldbeidentified.

• Trust in word of mouth. In everyday life, people rely on word ofmouthandfamilyforinformationand‘news’thattheytrust.Theythenfollowthisinformationupviathemedia.Wherepeoplehaveaccessto

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social networking sites, they trust the information of friends. InpredominantlyMuslimcountriessuchasSenegalandEgypt,religiousleadersarealsostronglytrustedsourcesforinformation.

• Trust in private domestic broadcasters vs state‑owned broadcasters.Private channels and private radio stations in the five markets aregenerally more trusted than state broadcasters, which are normallyseen as ‘mouthpieces’ of the government and viewed with somesuspicion.Pan‑Africannetworksweremoretrustedthaninternationalproviders in Kenya by the majority of the focus group participants.This was also partly the case in Senegal, although there RFI, as aninternational broadcaster, is highly trusted by elite and mainstreamconsumers alike. Similarly, in Egypt, pan‑Arab broadcasters aregenerally more trusted than international broadcasters by allconsumers. In India,whichis the freestofallmarketsandhasahighdegree of local and domestic provision, international providers areperceivedastrustworthy,butaremainlywatchedbyanelite.

• In terms of different media platforms, consumers seemed to trustinformation on ‘traditional’ media such as TV and radio more thantheytrusttheinternetacrossthefivecountries.

• Trustasanindividualculturalexpression: thepreviouschaptershavesuggested that in politically more unstable nations, and in times ofcrisis,peopletendtowatchnewsfrominternationalbroadcasters.Wefound that consumers of each market had a different approach andunderstandingoftrustininformationsourcesandnews,dependingoneach country’s political structure, economic stability, mediaenvironment,religiousenvironmentandculture.Trustininternationalmediathereforecannotbedefinedoutsidetheseboundaries,butmustbe understood as a product of specific cultural and politicalparameters, linkedtoindividualinformationneedsthatareuniquetoeachcountry.

• The paradox of increased choice and consumer satisfaction: asSchwartz(2004)hasargued,addingoptionstopeople’slivesincreasesthe expectations people have about how good those optionswill be.Thisleadstolesssatisfactionwiththeresultsofincreasedchoiceevenif they are good results. According to Schwartz, the reason thateverythingwasbetterbackwheneverythingwasworse is thatwheneverythingwasworse and choicesweremore limited itwas actuallyeasierforpeopletohaveexperiencesthatwereapleasantsurprise.

• Media consumers are media literate. Consumers in all five marketsturnedouttobemedialiterate,evenpeoplefromlowersocio‑economic

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classeswhowerenotnecessarilyeducated.Consumersinmarketswitha restricted freedomofpressknowwhich channels are supportedbywhom, and generally chose the channels/providers that they watchregularly accordingly. Although people seem to know well whichprivate domestic broadcasters are supporters of (and sometimesreceivers of illicit funds from) specific political parties, this does notseemtodeterthemfromwatchingorlisteningtothesebroadcasters.

5.2Outlook

The findings of this research suggest several strategies to respond to thesedevelopments, to re‑engagewith localvalues and to invigorate trust.Thesestrategieshavethreestartingpoints:themarket,providersandconsumers.

POSITIONINGOFBROADCASTERSINTHEMARKET:Theliberalisationofthemediaenvironments,strengtheninglocalandnationalcompetitorsinthefivemarkets, have left international broadcasterswith the difficult strategicdecision of how to position themselves in an ever‑more globalised andpolarisedmediamarket. In this competitive context, internationalprovidersneedtoidentifywhere,comparedtotheirlocal,domesticandpan‑Arab/pan‑African competitors, their own comparative advantage lies: in catering to aminorityglobaleliteorinreachingouttoalocalmainstreammassaudience.

We are currentlywitnessing the rise of a global elite: cosmopolitanswhodo not consume the same information about theworld as their fellowcitizensdo.For thesecosmopolitans, internationalprovidersareparticularlyvaluable, as they offer an objective, balanced in‑depth analysis of currentevents that apply to everyone, no matter in which country they live.However,thetransformationofpopulation‑richdevelopingcountriesintothefastestgrowingeconomiesintheworldhasnotonlyledtotheriseofanew,global elite, but also to the rise of population‑rich middle classes with anincreasingpurchasingpower,andanincreasingappetiteforWesternluxurygoods.Forexample,salesofluxuryMercedescarstoChinatripledintheyearto July2010,whilesales to Indiadoubled.14Simultaneously,newmediaandparticularly the unprecedented growth of internet‑capable mobile phonedevices in these fivemarkets,whichhavenotspreadina traditional ‘linear’fashionfromtherichtothepoororfromurbantorurallikeothermedia,buthave seen exponential growth across thewhole population, have increasedglobal connectivity across the whole population and are likely to open upaccess to a new mass audience. In an increasingly competitive market, asRicardo (1911/2004) famously argued in relation to political economy and

14 The Economist (13 Aug. 2010), www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/08/europes_economies, accessed Dec. 2010.

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trade, identifying one’s comparative advantage is crucial. It meansdeterminingandfocussingonwhatonedoesbest,ineachmarketandineachcultural context. In the fast‑changing, multi‑layered media landscape, thismeansadaptingthiscomparativeadvantagetonewmediaplatforms,aswellas forming partnerships to further enhance the comparative advantage. Asnotedhere,thiscaninvolvedifficulttrade‑offsforinternationalbroadcastersbetweentheirglobalTVservices(whichcanonlybetailoredtoaverylimiteddegreetodifferentmarkets)andtheirfarmorelocalisedvernacularservices.Forresource‑constrainedbroadcastersthereareobviousincentivestofocusontheprestigeandeconomiesofscaledeliveredby theglobalTVservices,butthey also need to recognise that in limiting themselves to an audience ofopinion formers they are cutting themselves off from a less affluent andinfluentialbutfarlargeraudience.

ASSESSINGEDITORIALVALUES:Thefindingsofthisstudysuggestthatthedifferencesbetweenamainstreamandanelitestrategicpositionalsoseemstobe linked to the tone of the broadcast, which is essentially a reflection ofeditorialcommitments.Thechallengeforinternationalprovidersintendingtoreach a localised mainstream audience seems to lie in how they cansuccessfullyengagewith localvernacular traditionsandcombine themwiththeirowninstitutionalvaluestobridgetheculturaldistancebetweeneditorialcommitments and local cultural values in their broadcasts. Therefore,depending on the strategic position adopted, i.e. elite ormainstreammediaproviders,thepositiontakenmayrequireareflectiononeditorialguidelinesand a debate about emotionally engaging versus intellectual and objectivebroadcasting.

OFFERING A PLATFORM FOR CONSUMERS: One way to bridge thisdistance and to createproximity couldbe to increase efforts to engagewithlocal audiences, for example by providing platforms to consumers so thattheyareable tocontribute theiropinionsandexpress theirconcerns.This isnothing new, but there seems to be a striking difference in levels ofinteractivity between local domestic (private) providers and internationalproviders.Localprovidersroutinelyconsultwithandengagewithconsumerson the ground, and they seem to offer consumers the chance to phone inwhenever something is happening. While this may be difficult forinternationalproviders,whoarenotnecessarilybased in remoteAfricanorSouth Asian provinces but instead have offices in, say Paris and London,mobile phone platforms and partnerships with local providers may offerthemanopportunity to engagewith local audiences.And itmayprovideagood opportunity for consumers in these five markets, where freedom ofspeechstill is,andtraditionallyhasbeen,restricted.Beingabletocontributeto somethinggivespeople a feelingofownership, andofhavinga stake in

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something; in other words, it creates a feeling of proximity, rather thandistance.

Giventhesefindings,inacompetitiveandglobalisedeverydaylifeandevermoreliberalisedmediacontexts,itseemsthatfortrusttoconverttomassratherthaneliteuse,itneedstobebasedonproximityandtherepresentationoflocalvaluesandidentities,morethantraditionalvaluesofobjectivityandimpartiality.

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References

Chouliaraki,L.(2006)TheSpectatorshipofSuffering(London:Sage).Coleman, S., Anthony, S., et al. (2009)Public Trust in theNews: A ConstructivistStudyoftheSocialLifeoftheNews(Challenges;Oxford:RISJ).Elliott,K.‑A.(2010) ‘AmericaCalling:21stCenturyModel’,ForeignService Journal(Oct.):31–7.Friedman, T. (2005)TheWorld is Flat: TheGlobalizedWorld in the Twenty‑FirstCentury(NewYork:Penguin).Geniets, A. (2010) The Global News Challenge: Assessing Changes inInternational BroadcastNews Consumption inAfrica and SouthAsia. RISJWorkingPaper(Nov.).Gunther, A. (1992) ‘Biased Press or Biased Public? Attitudes towardMediaCoverageofSocialGroups’,PublicOpinionQuarterly,56:147–67.Miles, M., and Huberman, A. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An ExpandedSourcebook(London:Sage).Moehler,D.C.,andSingh,N.(2009)‘WhoseNewsdoyouTrust?ExplainingTrustinPrivateversusPublicMediainAfrica’,PoliticalResearchQuarterly(publ.online,16Dec.).Oyedeji,T.(2010)‘TheCredibleBrandModel:TheEffectsofIdeologicalCongruencyand Customer‑Based Brand Equity on News Credibility’, American BehavioralScientist,54/2:83–99.Painter,J.(2008)Counter‑HegemonicNews:ACaseStudyofAl‑JazeeraEnglishandTelesur(Challenges;Oxford:RISJ).Ricardo, D. (1911/2004) The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (NewYork:Dover).Rotheray, B. (2010) Good News from a Far Country? Changes in InternationalBroadcastNewsSupplyinAfricaandSouthAsia.RISJWorkingPaper(July).Rubin,H., andRubin, I. (2005)Qualitative Interviewing: TheArt ofHearingData(London:Sage).Schwartz, B. (2004) The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less (New York:HarperCollins).Silverstone,R.(1999)WhyStudytheMedia?(London:Sage).–– (2006)Media andMorality:On the Rise of theMediapolis (Cambridge: PolityPress).Tomlinson,J.(1999)GlobalisationandCulture(Cambridge:PolityPress).

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AppendixA.Detailedfieldworkschedule

Country

Date

Method

Sample

Location

Conductedby

Kenya

July2010

6focusgroups,3immersioninterviews

Urbanindividuals18+,ABCDSEC

Nairobi

TNSKenya

Egypt

July2010

8focusgroups,2immersioninterviews

Urbanindividuals18+,ABCDSEC

Cairo

AMRBEgypt

Senegal

July2010

6focusgroups,4immersioninterviews

Urbanindividuals18+,ABCDSEC

Dakar

PSISenegal

India

Aug.2010

8focusgroups,2immersioninterviews

Urbanindividuals18+,ABCDSEC

Mumbai

SHAMANMarketresearch

Pakistan

Sept.2010

8focusgroups

Urbanindividuals18+,ABCDSEC

Lahore

TNSDubai

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AppendixB.Screeningquestionnaire, exampleforfieldworkinKenya

RespondentName:_______________________________________

Quotasheetfocusgroupdiscussions

Groups Locat ion Age/l ifestage Gender

Socio‑economic

classInternational

news

1 Nairobi 18–3450%men

50%womenLow(C2D)

Atleasthalfofthegroupshouldaccess

internationalprovidersatleast

onceaweek

2 Nairobi 18–3450%men

50%womenMiddle(BC1)

Accessinternationalprovidersatleast

onceaweek

3 Nairobi 18–3450%men

50%womenUpper(AB)

Accessinternationalprovidersatleast

onceaweek

4 Nairobi 35+50%men

50%womenLow(C2D)

Atleasthalfofthegroupshouldaccess

internationalprovidersatleast

onceaweek

5 Nairobi 35+50%men

50%womenMiddle(BC1)

Accessinternationalprovidersatleast

onceaweek

6 Nairobi 35+50%men

50%womenUpper(AB)

Accessinternationalprovidersatleast

onceaweek

Othercriteria:

• 6–8respondentspergroup

• mixofmaleandfemaleasmuchaspossible

• awarenessandideallyaccessofinternationalprovidersofnewsforparticipantsfromlowsocio‑economicbackgrounds(atleasthalfofthegroupshouldaccessinternationalprovidersonceaweek)

• someoftheparticipantsshouldbesemi‑literateorilliteratetoreflectthewholeofthepopulation

• awarenessandaccessofinternationalandnationalprovidersofnewsformiddleandupperclass

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Hello,Iʹm workingwithTNSResearchInternational,anindependentmarketresearchcompany.Weʹreconductingastudyonmediause,andIwonderifIcouldaskyouafewquestions.

Q1a. RECORDGENDER:

Male 1

Female 2CHECKQUOTAS

Q1b. RECORDSOCIO‑ECONOMICCLASS:

Lowerclass 1 CHECKQUOTAS

Middleclass 2 CHECKQUOTAS

Upperclass 3 CHECKQUOTAS

Q1c. RECORDLITERACYLEVEL

Semi‑literateorilliterate(e.g.canonlysignownname) 1

Literate 2

Q1d. Canyoupleasetellmeyourage:_______________________(writein)

18–34years 1 CHECKQUOTAS

35+years 2 CHECKQUOTAS

Q1e.Whichisyourfirstlanguage?

_________________________

Q1f.Doyouspeakanyotherlanguages?Ifso,whatlanguagesdoyouspeak?

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_____________________________________________________________________

Q2. Ingeneral,howoftendoyouaccessnewsanywhere(newspaper,mobilephones,TV,

radio,internetetc.)?

Severaltimesaday 1

Onceaday 2

Severaltimesaweek 3

Onceaweek 4

Threetimesamonth 5

Onceamonth 6

Lessthanonceamonth 7

Q3. Ingeneral,howoftendoyouaccessinternationalprovidersofnews?

Severaltimesaday 1

Onceaday 2

Severaltimesaweek 3

Onceaweek 4

Threetimesamonth 5

Onceamonth 6

Lessthanonceamonth 7

THANKANDCLOSE

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Respondentdetails

NAME............................................................................................................................

ADDRESS.....................................................................................................................

........................................................................................……………………………….

POSTCODE........................................MOBILE..................................................

InformallrespondentsthatinterviewswillbeaudioandvideorecordedandthatundertheRulesoftheMRSCodeofConduct,anyinformationgivenwillonlybeviewedbytheimmediateteamworkingonthisprojectandthatnopersonalinformationwillbepassedontoanythirdpartywhoisnotinvolvedinthisproject.

Recruiterdeclaration

Ideclarethattherespondentwasunknowntomeuntilthisinterviewtookplace,andthattheinterviewwasconductedaccordingtoinstructionsandtheMRSCodeofConduct.

Signed……………………………………….Date....................

Recruiter:pleasetakeasmanycontactdetailsaspossible.Thisisespeciallyimportantforfull‑timeworkersintheeventofanychangesorprojectcancellationatshortnotice.Thiswillonlybeusedinemergencies,andrespondentswillnotbecontactedatworkundernormalcircumstances.

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AppendixC.Discussionguide:trustininternationalprovidersofnews

Registration

Instructionsforthemoderatorsatarrivaloffocusgroupparticipants/registration:

1) Welcomeparticipantsupontheirarrival.

2) Distributenamebadges(orparticipantcodes),offerrefreshmentsetc.

Discussionguide–2hourgroup

Objectives

Introductionandwarmup[10mins]

• Confidentialityofrespondentidentity• Seekinghonestopinions–norightorwronganswers• Disagreementwelcomedbutrespectingother’sviews• Permissiontorecordthesession/acknowledgethoseviewing• Researcher’sneutrality• Moderatorintroduction• Respondentintroductiono Nameo Locationo Familycompositiono Occupationo Describe:onenewsstorythatparticularlyinterestedtheminthelastweek

Confidentialityandpurposeofsession

Introduceparticipantstoputtheirresponsesincontext

Allowparticipantstogettoknoweachotherandbeputatease

Newsconsumption[20mins]

• Throughwhichmediadoyouaccessthenews(TV,radio,internet,mobile)?

• Isthatthemostimportantmediaorisitsecondary?Whatsourcedoyouuseasasupplementfornews?

• Doyouwatchmorethanonechannel/listentomorethanonestationinoneevening?

• Whatistheimportanceofchoicebetweeninternationalandnationalproviders?

• Andwhatistheimportanceofchoicebetweendifferentinternationalprovidersofnews?

• Whatchangedinthewayyouusednewsmediainthelast5years?

• Doyouaccessnewsonyourphone?How(radio,textmessages,internet)?

• Doyoureceivenewsalertsonyourphone?Ifso,fromwhatproviders?

• Doyouaccessnewsonwebsites?Ifso,throughwhichwebsites?

Establishtheroleofnewsinconsumers’lives

Dopeoplewatchseveralchannelsoraretheyloyaltoaspecificprovider

Whatistheimportanceofchoiceofdifferentproviders(nationalandinternational)

Whatistheimportanceofchoiceofplatforms:

Wewanttoexplorenotonlywhatmediathe

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Notetothemoderator: iftheparticipantsdon’tanswerspontaneously,promptthemastowhethertheyusemoreordifferentchannels,moreordifferentplatformsetc…

• Whatmakesagoodnewsprovideringeneral(i.e.beingeasytounderstand,trustworthy,objective…)?

NotetotheModerator: maketwocolumnsontheflip‑chart,onenational,oneinternational,thenaskparticipants:

Whatdoyoulike/dislikeaboutnationalproviders?Whatdoyoulike/dislikeaboutinternationalprovidersingeneral?’

participantsareconsumingbutalsowhetherthematerialtheyconsumeandthenatureofthatconsumption(i.e.thewaytheyconsumeit)doesdifferacrossplatforms:aretheyconsumingthesamecontentinthesamewayondifferentplatforms;dotheywatchorreadthesamethingsacrossplatformsetc.

Providerawareness/usage[30mins]

Notetothemoderator: ifproviderslikeFrance24,Al‑Jazeera,Al‑Arabiya,RussiaToday,RadioChina,BBCWorldService,VOA,DWortheirpartnerstationsarenotmentionedspontaneously,pleasepromptparticipantsandaskthemwhynotmentioned.

Forinternationalradiostations(e.g.DW,BBCWorldService,RadioChina,VOA),pleaseaskthemiftheylistenviaalocalpartnerstation–andifso,whichone?Askthemwhethertheyarelisteningtothelocalstationandjustkeeptunedinfortheprogrammeoftheinternationalproviderorwhethertheyspecificallytuneintothelocalstationtolistentotheinternationalprovider.

• Whichnewsprovidersareyouawareof?

• Oftheprovidersthatyoujustmentioned,whichhaveyoueverused?

• Whichonesdoyoureallylike?

• Whichdoyouusealot?

Notetothemoderator: afterthisquestion,themoderatorshouldwritethenamesofthenewsprovidersonaflipchartwhiletheyarebeingmentioned.Thencontinuebysaying:

‘Herearetheproviders/broadcastersthatyousaidyouwereawareoforthatyouhaveaccessedinthepast.Canyougivemesomewords(adjectives)thatdescribethesebroadcastersbest?’

Notetothemoderator: ifrespondentsdon’tcomeupwithanswerslike‘objective,reliable,trustworthyetc.’,promptthemwiththefollowingquestion:Foryoutomakealotofuseoftheseproviders,howimportantare…

• Objectivity(ifnotexplainedthenpromptexplanationwhatismeantbythis)

•Reliability(ifnotexplainedthenpromptexplanationwhatismeantbythis)

Establishhowawarenessandusageinfluencetheperceptionofcertainprovidersandviceversa.

Establishtheaffinityofparticipantstocertainproviders/brands.

Establishtherelationshiptolocalpartnerstationsthatbroadcastprogrammesofinternationalproviders

Howaretheseperceptionsoftheproviderslinkedtotrustandtrustworthiness

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•Trustworthiness(ifnotexplainedthenpromptexplanationwhatismeantbythis)

•Independence(ifnotexplainedthenpromptexplanationwhatismeantbythis)

•[Thatthey]speakto/forpeoplelikeyou?

Seeingall theseproviders,whichwouldyousayare themost objective, themost reliable,themosttruthful,theonesyoufeelyoucantrustmost?Canyouexplainwhy?NotetotheModerator: Selectthetwonationalandthetwointernationalprovidersthataremostwatchedandmostpopularwithinthefocusgroup,andthenasktheparticipants(asagroup,notindividually):

• ‘Iwouldliketodoalittleimaginationexercisewithyou:LetʹsimagineforamomentthatnewsproviderX(e.g.BBC)hasbecomeahumanbeing,andcomesinthroughthatdoorthere–whatkindofpersonwouldthatbe?Woulditbeaman,orawoman?Howold?Whatwoulds/hebelikeinhis/hercharacter?Whatprofessionwoulds/hebe?Whatwouldbeimportanttohim/her?Wherewouldhe/shebeinfiveyearstime?Wouldyouwanttobehis/herfriend?Why?’

NotetotheModerator: Afterthepersonificationisfinishedforthefourproviders,pleaseask:

‘Whichoneofthosefourwouldbeyourbestfriend,andwhy?’

Notetomoderator: pickoneoftheprovidersjustmentionedandask:

• IfbrandX(e.g.BBC)isonradio,doyoutrustitmorethanwhenitisonTVorontheinternetoronthemobilephone?

• Whatarethekeydifferencesbetweentheinternationalproviders(intermsofeditorialcontent,presentationformat,coverageofbignews,coverageofIndiannews/stories,diversityofstories/news)

Howdodifferentplatforms/differentcontentonplatformsaffecttheaffinityandtrusttoproviders

Trust[40mins]

Notetothemoderator: thisisacoresectionofthefocusgroupdiscussion.Taketimetolettheparticipantsexplain.

• Canyouexplaintomewhatyouunderstandbyʹtrustʹ(Notetothemoderator:Iftheparticipantsfindthisquestiontooabstract,ask:‘Howwouldyouexplaintheword“trust”tosomebodywhohasneverheardthetermbefore’?)

• Whodoyoutrustinyourlife,andwhy?

Notetothemoderator: Askthefocusgrouptosplitintotwoteams.Continuebysaying:

• ‘Wehave12cardswithdifferentpictureshereofdifferentsourcesofinformationwhowetrustordon’ttrust.Youhavealreadyformedtwoteams.Ineachteam,Iwouldlikeyoutorankthesecardsaccordingtotheoneswhichyoutrustmost,andtheoneswhichyoutrustleast.Thereisoneblankcardwithaquestionmarkincaseweforgotasourceofinformationthatyouthinkweshouldhavementioned.’

Wewanttounderstandwhattheparticipants’‘circlesoftrust’areinthecontextoftheireverydaylives:whodotheytrust,why,whatdotheircirclesoftrustlooklike,andhowdomediaingeneralfitintothiscircle.

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Notetothemoderator: distributesetsofcardstoeachteam,assistilliterateparticipantsifnecessary.

• Askeachteamtostartwiththemosttrustedsourceofinformationtoexplaintheirrankingandwhyitisrankedinthisway.

Notetothemoderator: continuewiththerankinguntilallthecardshavebeenrankedfrommosttoleasttrustedsourceofinformation.Encouragetheteamstointeractandtodebatetheirchoiceswitheachother.Fortheblankcard,askthemifthereisanysourceofinformationthatweforgotandifsowhichone,andwhereitshouldbeplacedintheranking.Includethisadditionalsourceofinformationinthefollowingquestions.

• Whichofthesesourcesofinformationinfluenceyouthemost,ingeneral?

• Fromthesourceofinformationdepictedonthesecards–whodoyoutalkaboutwithyourfriends?

Notetothemoderator: Askeachteamindividually,promptanswerofpeoplewhodon’tspeakupfrequently.

• Ifwegotothecardsthatshowdifferentmedia:newspapers,radio,TV,internet,mobilephones,whichofthesedoyoutrustmost?Why?

Consumptionofinternationalprovidersandtrust [15mins]

• Arethereanymomentswhenyouturntointernationalproviders?

• Canyougiveexamplesofsuchmoments?

• Whydoyouchooseinternationalprovidersovernationalprovidersinthesemoments?

• Arethereanymomentswhenyouturntodifferentinternationalprovidersthantheonesyouwouldnormallyaccess?

• Whyisthat?Canyougiveexamples?

• Andfinally,letʹsimaginethatonedayyouwakeupandfindthatalltheinternationalprovidersofnewsaregone–howwouldyoufeelaboutthat?Wouldyounotice?Woulditfeellikealossforyou?Why?

Notetothemoderator: askparticipantstoexplainpreciselywhatkindofmomentstheseare,whentheyturntodifferentproviders,whichproviderstheyturnto,andwhytheyturntotheseproviders.

Establishhowinternationalprovidersofnewsfitintotheparticipants’circlesoftrustinthecontextoftheireverydaylives.

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Questionnaire[10mins]

Notetothemoderator: handoutQuest ionnaireandaskthemtofillintheircode/namesontopofthepageandtocompletethequestionnaireandtohanditbacktoyouonceitiscompleted.Pleasemakesuretodiscreetlyassistilliterate/semi‑literateparticipantswithfillinginthequestionnaire.

Thanksandclosure

Wrapupandthankattheend(incentive,etc.…)

86

AppendixD.Socio‑demographicquestionnaire

Name:Whatisyourname?________________________________

Age:Inwhatyearwereyouborn?________________________________

Gender:

Male 1

Female 2

Employment:Areyoucurrentlyworking…?

Fulltime(30hoursaweekormore) 1

Parttime(8–29hoursaweek) 2

Unemployedandwantingtowork 3

Student 4

AtSchool 5

Retired 6

Housewife 7

Retired 8

Other:________________________________ 9

Whatisthehighesteducationalorvocationalqualificationthatyouhave?

(Orifyouarestillatschool,whatwillyoureceiveifyoucompleteyournextsetofexams?)

Neverwenttoschool 1

Elementaryschool 2

Highschool 3

UniversityBAoritsequivalent 4

HigherdegreethanBA 5

Other:______________________________

6

Atwhatagedidyoufinishfull‑timeeducation?________________________________________

Whichofthefollowingthingsyouowninyourhousehold(equipmentmustbeworking)?

87

Yes No

Radio 1 2

TV(Black&White) 1 2

TV(Colour) 1 2

CableTV 1 2

SatelliteTV 1 2

Computer 1 2

Microwave 1 2

Fridge 1 2

Freezer 1 2

Mobilephone 1 2

Doyouyourselfownamobilephone?

Yes 1

No 2

Doyouuseyourmobilephoneforanythingotherthanmakingandreceivingcalls?

Yes 1

No 2

IFYES:Doyouuseitfor(tickallboxesthatapply)…

a)Sendingtextmessages 1

b)Gettingnewsfromaserviceprovider 2

c)Makingmoneytransfers 3

d)Accessinginternetwebsites 4

e)Listeningtotheradio

f)Watchingvideoclips

g)Anythingelse?_______________________________________ 5

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Doyouyourselfusetheinternetathome,work,school,collegeorelsewhereorhaveyouusedtheinternetanywhereinthepast?

Yes.Currentuser 1

No,butuseditinthepast 2

Neverusedtheinternet 3

Wheredoyoumostlyaccesstheinternet?

Athome 1

Atschool 2

Atwork 3

Atinternetcafe 4

Atneighbour’shouse 5

Other:______________________ 6

Inthepasttwelvemonthshaveyoupersonallyusedtheinternetto…

Yes No

a)Accessthenewsaboutyourowncountry 1 2

b)Follownewsordevelopmentsinanothercountry 1 2

c)Getinformationaboutapoliticaldebate,issueorpolitician 1 2

d)email 1 2

e)updateyoursocialnetworkingsite 1 2

f)Other:____________________________ 1 2

Howoftendoyouconsume/accessnewsgenerally?

a)Severaltimesaday 1

b)Onceaday 2

c)Afewtimesaweek,butnoteveryday 3

d)Onceaweek 4

e)afewtimesamonth 5

89

f)onceamonth 6

g)lessthanonceamonth 7

h)Igenerallydon’twatchthenews 8

i)Other:____________________________ 9

Wheredoyoumostlyaccessthenews?

a)TV 1

b)Radio 2

c)Newspapers 3

d)Mobilephones 4

e)Internet 5

f)Throughfamily/friends 6

f)Other:__________________________________________________ 7

Doyougenerallywatchorlistentomorenewsandbroadcastsfromdomesticorfrominternationalproviders?

a)domestic 1

b)international 2

c)Other:______________________________________________ 3

HowoftendoyouwatchthenewsonTV?

a)severaltimesaday 1

b)onceaday 2

c)afewtimesaweek,butnoteveryday 3

d)onceaweek 4

e)afewtimesamonth 5

f)onceamonth 6

g)lessthanonceamonth 7

h)Other:____________________________ 8

90

Howoftendoyoulistentothenewsontheradio?

a)severaltimesaday 1

b)onceaday 2

c)afewtimesaweek,butnoteveryday 3

d)onceaweek 4

e)afewtimesamonth 5

f)onceamonth 6

g)lessthanonceamonth 7

h)Other:____________________________ 8

Howoftendoyouaccessthenewsontheinternet?

a)severaltimesaday 1

b)onceaday 2

c)afewtimesaweek,butnoteveryday 3

d)onceaweek 4

e)afewtimesamonth 5

f)onceamonth 6

g)lessthanonceamonth 7

h)Other:____________________________ 8

Howoftendoyoureceiveupdatesonnewseventsonyourmobilephone?

a)severaltimesaday 1

b)onceaday 2

c)afewtimesaweek,butnoteveryday 3

d)onceaweek 4

e)afewtimesamonth 5

f)onceamonth 6

g)lessthanonceamonth 7

h)Other:____________________________ 9

91

Howoftendoyouaccessnewsfrominternationalproviders?

a)severaltimesaday 1

b)onceaday 2

c)afewtimesaweek,butnoteveryday 3

d)onceaweek 4

e)afewtimesamonth 5

f)onceamonth 6

g)lessthanonceamonth 7

h)Other:____________________________ 9

Howoftendoyouaccessnewsfromdomesticproviders?

a)severaltimesaday 1

b)onceaday 2

c)afewtimesaweek,butnoteveryday 3

d)onceaweek 4

e)afewtimesamonth 5

f)onceamonth 6

g)lessthanonceamonth 7

h)Other:____________________________ 9

Pleasethinkaboutallofthesourcesyouusetogetnewsaboutcurrentevents.Whichchannels,stationsorwebsitesareyourMOST,secondmostandthirdmostimportantsourcesofinformation?

Mostimportant:_______________________

2ndmostimportant:________________________

3rdmostimportant:__________________________

92

Whichchannels,stationsorwebsitesareMOST/secondmost/thirdmostimportantforyoutolearnabouteventsinyourcountry?

Mostimportant:_______________________

2ndmostimportant:________________________

3rdmostimportant:__________________________

Notinterestedinthistopic:__________________

Whichchannels,stationsorwebsitesareMOST/secondmost/thirdmostimportantforyoutolearnabouteventsintheregion?

Mostfrequent:_______________________

2ndimportant:________________________

3rdimportant:__________________________

Notinterestedinthistopic:__________________

Whichchannels,stationsorwebsitesareMOST/secondmost/thirdmostimportantforyoutolearnaboutinternationalevents?

Mostfrequent:_______________________

2ndimportant:________________________

3rdimportant:__________________________

Notinterestedinthistopic:__________________

THANKYOUVERYMUCHFORFILLINGINTHISQUESTIONNAIRE