Qatar-based Al Jazeera viewers base in Saudi Arabia is five times larger than United States sponsored Al Hurra’s audience. Al Hurra’s credibility scores are quite bad in contrast with those of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.
A new scientific survey by the Amman-based Arab Advisors Group revealed that Arab SAT TV Viewers in Saudi Arabia have little trust in Al Hurra News Channel. In contrast, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya news channels have much higher credibility amongst a much larger viewers base. The survey covered all channels viewed in Saudi Arabia be they news, music, sports and general entertainment. Radio listening patterns were also covered by the survey.
With a sample size of 134 households, the random sample survey has a 95% confidence level with a less than 9% margin of error.
Close to 70% of respondents said that Al Arabiya is very trustworthy or trustworthy. Less than 1.5% indicated that they viewed the channel as not trustworthy. The remaining had no opinion on the level of trustworthiness of the station.
For Al Jazeera, 69% of respondents said that the channel is very trustworthy or trustworthy. Less than 3% indicated that they viewed the channel as not trustworthy. The remaining had no opinion on the level of trustworthiness of the station.
It should be noted that the channel has been heavily criticized by the U.S. government for its coverage of the war in Iraq and was forced to close its office in Baghdad last month by the US-backed Iraqi interim government.
As for Al Hurra, only 17% of respondents said that the channel is very trustworthy or trustworthy. A full 20% indicated that they viewed the channel as not trustworthy. The remaining had no opinion on the level of trustworthiness of the station.
The survey covered individuals from different households in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Dhahran. The 119 respondents that are Satellite TV viewers are divided into 67 males and 52 females. The sample is further divided into 82 Saudis and 37 non-Saudi but Arabic Speaking nationals. To mirror the demographic situation fully, the sample also corresponds to the age distribution of the Saudi population. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
