56% of journalists say Ma'an unbiased; other outlets get poor marks
Date: 29 / 09 / 2008 Time: 15:18
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32246

Ramallah - Miftah - The media monitoring unit Muftah published the results
of a July poll of local journalists over media coverage of the internal
Palestinian conflicts on web-based news outlets.

Those polled were Palestinians working in print or electronic media outlets,
the survey sample was 111.

Journalists were asked about the coverage of Ma'an News Agency, the
Palestine News Network (PNN), the official Palestinian Authority (PA) news
agency WAFA, and the Palestine Press Agency (PPA).

Results of the poll were as follows:

Asked whether each of the news agencies were biased, respondents answered:

Ma'an: 43% biased, 56% unbiased
PNN: 81% biased, 14% unbiased
WAFA: 87% biased, 13% unbiased
PPA: 85% biased, 10% unbiased

Asked about what sort of bias each of the news outlets had, respondents
answered:

Ma'an: 34% Fatah, 9% Hamas, 55% no bias
PNN: 14% Fatah, 72% Hamas, 9% unbiased
WAFA: 94% Fatah
PPA: 79% Fatah, 10% Hamas, 8% unbiased

During the past year there have been accusations that media sources have
inflamed and even fueled the factional conflicts between Hamas and Fatah.
Asked their opinion on which news agencies were primarily responsible for
this action, respondents replied:

Ma'an: 15% largely contributed (to factional rift), 27% average
contribution, 30% slight contribution, 26% no contribution.

PNN: 51% largely contributed, 28% average contribution, 14% slight
contribution, 6% no contribution.

The survey did not publish results for the WAFA or PPA contribution to
factional tensions.

Asked whether media coverage affected Palestinians' desire to strengthen
national unity,

72% believed that media coverage "slightly affected" Palestinians' desire
for unity, while

27% believed that media coverage "largely affected" Palestinians' desire for
unity

Respondents' were then asked whether their wish to support democracy and
promote unity was a factor in media coverage,

81% said it was a "minor factor;"

17% said it was a factor

However, 65% of respondents said the desire to maintain good relations
between media agencies was a factor in what was published with regards to
the internal Palestinian conflict.

Who determines content

Asked who in the news agency or media outlet determined daily content,
correspondents of editors, results said:

Correspondents: 41% said they have most say, 57% said they have a minor role

Editors: 59% of respondents said editors played the major role in deciding
content, while 38% said editors played a minor role in determining content.

Chief Editors: 90% of the respondents thought that it was chief editors who
determined the content of coverage, and 10% said chief editors played a
minor role in determining that content.

Credibility of sources

Journalists and media workers were asked to evaluate the credibility of
several popular sources:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas: 17% "high credibility", 45% "moderate
credibility" and 38% said his credibility was "low."

Caretaker government in the West Bank: 15% "high credibility," 52% "moderate
credibility," 37% "low credibility."

Fatah spokespeople: 6% "high," 40% "moderate," 54% "low."

Hamas spokespeople: 6% "high," 43% "moderate," 51% "low."

Various Civil Society organizations: 23% "highly credible," 55% "moderate
credibility," 21% "we rarely depend on these organizations as sources of
information."

Responding to a question about who was the source of information related to
Hamas-Fatah clashes, 48% of respondents said Fatah information was taken
from their spokesperson, who was trusted as a main source of information.
For the Hamas spokesperson the number was 29%, with 59% saying that the
Hamas spokesperson was used as a "partial" information source.

Does electronic journalism accurately describe the internal Palestinian
conflict?

Of the journalists and media workers polled66% said Palestinian electronic
media failed in its efforts to represent the internal Palestinian conflict,
73% said that electronic media outlets were unable to accurately portray the
internal Palestinian conflict, while 28% thought that the portrayal was
accurate.

Media Education?

The final question of the poll was whether educational workshops for
journalists could improve electronic journalism, 70% said yes and 30%
answered no.