9 February 2016
Russian speakers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania rank Kremlin-backed media as the least trustworthy among international, Russian Federation and domestic news sources, according to research presented by the Broadcasting Board of Governors yesterday.
In addition, only those survey respondents who considered Russian-backed media to be credible showed a majority support for President Vladimir Putin’s domestic and international policies. In the three Baltic nations and Moldova, consuming Russian-backed media did not correlate with support for Russia’s policies.
The BBG data found that domestic media ranked first in trustworthiness in Estonia (80 percent) and Latvia (79 percent). International media took first in Lithuania (74 percent) and in Moldova there was a statistical tie between international media (45 percent), Russian-backed media (42 percent) and domestic media (42 percent).
The findings were unveiled at Thursday’s research briefing conducted by the BBG and Gallup on the consumption and influence of Russian-language media in Russia’s periphery.
Gallup’s World Poll data, which was conducted in 2014 shortly after the Russian annexation of Crimea and hence over a year before the BBG data in the Baltics and Moldova was collected, examined how respondents in 12 former Soviet Union countries followed news about Russian actions in Ukraine and Crimea. Data showed the majority of respondents followed the events very closely and reported finding Russian media reliable. For some, that translated into support for some Russian policies. According to the 2014 Gallup findings, in seven of the 10 countries surveyed, the majority of respondents who consumed both “Western” and Russian media showed support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea. “Western” media as defined in the Gallup World Poll survey did not specifically include or exclude U.S. international media, according to Gallup presenter Neli Esipova.
Since this survey was initiated, the BBG language services at Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) have added or expanded more than 35 new programs on multiple media platforms in Russian, Ukrainian, and other languages to reach new audiences in the former Soviet space and around the world.
Jeffrey Trimble, Deputy Director for the International Broadcasting Bureau, outlined the BBG’s strategy in the region and highlighted the flag-ship program Current Time, a daily 30-minute Russian-language television news program produced by VOA and RFE/RL. Current Time is now on the air in nine countries via 25 media outlets. The European version airs in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Lithuania, and Latvia, with segments of the program airing in Israel. A Central Asia version airs in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. Weekend Current Time programs — “Itogi” by VOA and “Nedelya” by RFE/RL — are on the air as well. Current Time also reaches Russian-speaking news seekers worldwide via digital platforms curated by RFE/RL’s DIGIM team, which was launched in September 2015 and which produces and disseminates innovative cross-platform digital content, promotes the Current Time brand in the digital space, and engages Russian-language audiences on social media.
Russian authorities do not allow placement of Current Time on domestic television stations.
Presenters at the research briefing cautioned that comparing the Gallup World Poll survey and the Gallup survey conducted for BBG was problematic, as the surveys targeted different countries, were conducted over a year apart and had several methodological differences, including question wording, context and sampling.
A video and briefing documents are available on the BBG website. (Source: BBG press release)
11 June 2015
Vietnamese youth are increasingly turning to online news sources over state TV, according to data issued today by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and Gallup. When asked to name the three media outlets that are their most important sources of information, almost three-fourths (74.1%) of those age 35 and older include state-run VTV among their responses, while less than half of those age 15-34 (48.6%) do so. Young people, in turn, are more likely to name online sources – most commonly the popular Vietnamese news and information portals 24 Gio and Dantri.com, and the global social media giant Facebook.
“While television ownership remains almost ubiquitous, and frequency of TV and radio use has changed only slightly, the proportion of Vietnamese adults who use the Internet weekly or more continued to rise, from 26.3% in 2012 to 38.8% today,” explained Betsy Henderson, Director of Research, Training and Evaluation at Radio Free Asia. “Mobile ownership has grown by 10 per cent since 2012, and it is the growing availability in web-enabled phones that is a key factor in rising Internet use in Vietnam.”
Mobile phones have become the primary means of accessing the Internet in Vietnam, with eight in 10 weekly web users saying they used their mobiles to go online in the past seven days. By contrast, less than half (45.5%) say they have used a desktop computer to do so, and just over one-fourth (26.5%) have used a laptop.
Despite the country’s restrictive media environment, Vietnamese are extremely avid news consumers; almost nine in 10 adults (88.0%) say they access some type of news at least daily while almost all (96.8%) do so at least once a week. There is little difference among education or age categories in these results.
Unlike in China, which has a similarly restrictive media environment, Google and top-tier social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube are available to the public, and are accessed by more than one-fourth of all adults and a majority of those age 15-24 on a weekly basis.
Almost all Vietnamese are comfortable with the idea that media organizations should advocate national interests; 92.1% strongly or somewhat agree that Vietnamese media should present the country and its people in a positive way. However, most Vietnamese (58.2%) believe personal blogs are more believable than official news, pointing to an underlying distrust of state media, particularly among younger and better-educated adults.
15 January 2015
Research data from the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Gallup shows that the media market in Afghanistan is primarily split between radio and television. While Afghanistan remains one of the few media markets in which shortwave radio use is still in the double digits, presenters at a research briefing today showed that TV use is overtaking radio for the first time in the country.
“Viewership rates are particularly high in the northern part of Afghanistan, where the electricity supply is more reliable, and drop off in the south where we see more Taliban activity,” said Paul Tibbitts, director of market insight and evaluation at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
TV usage has nearly doubled since 2008, with current weekly viewership at 64% of the total population. Urban residents and non-Pashtuns are more likely to tune in, and TV viewing also increases with education level.
“Those with a post-secondary education are the most avid media users for news overall,” said Sonja Gloeckle, director of research for the International Broadcasting Bureau. Highly educated Afghans were more likely to use TV (72%), radio (51%), Internet (19%), SMS (15%), and social media (14%) on a daily basis for news than other segments of the population.
These findings indicate the best media avenues to reach Afghans during a particularly uncertain transition with continued NATO troop withdrawals. According to Gallup World Poll data, Afghans’ quality of life ratings are at the lowest in eight years. Based on self-reporting zero Afghans can be considered “thriving” within Gallup’s life evaluation scale.
“When you see life evaluation assessments as dismal as what we see in Afghanistan coupled with the anticipated withdrawal of NATO forces and a murky political roadmap, it is quite concerning for all of us following events in the country closely,” said Mohamed Younis, senior analyst and senior practice consultant with Gallup.
A research brief and presentation with further information about this data can be found here, and a video of the briefing will be added in the coming days. More information about the BBG’s media research series is available here.
10 February 2014
Although television remains the most prevalent medium in Russian households, Internet access is rising dramatically nationwide, according to media research data released today by the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
“On the eve of the Olympics, it is fitting that we can be here today to discuss this data and how we as broadcasters can effectively use taxpayer dollars to provide news and information that Russians just aren’t receiving from their local press,” said BBG Governor Michael Meehan. That data, he explained, informs the BBG on how best to reach Russian audiences.
Russia’s restrictive media environment is increasingly limiting broadcast avenues for non-state media. Television and radio stations carrying programming deemed “unfavorable” by Russian authorities often find themselves targeted by the Kremlin and pushed off the air.
These restrictions are not going by unnoticed — the data from the BBG media survey show that there is dissatisfaction among Russians with the limited news and opinions that major Russian media provide; 30% of adults said that Russian media do not offer enough variety in perspectives on current events and issues. A 2013 Gallup World Poll survey of Russia found that only 48% of respondents felt that media in Russia was free, and Freedom House ranked Russia 176 out of 196 countries for press freedom in 2013.
The Internet, however, is one of the least-controlled avenues for news and information in Russia. The survey results released today show that as more Russians get Internet access – seven in 10 have access at home in 2013 – more of them are getting their news online. A majority of Russians (56.4%) said they receive their news from the Internet at least once a week. The Internet outdistances traditional media such as newspapers and magazines (49.8%) and radio (43.8%) as a source for weekly news. And, as Paul Tibbitts, RFE/RL Director of Market Insight and Evaluation observed, “With this increasingly Internet savvy audience that expects on-demand, personalized news, a robust Internet strategy is key to engaging younger, digital audiences and expanding reach in Russia.”
A research brief and presentation further information about this data can be found here, and a recording of the briefing will be added in the coming days. More information about the BBG’s media research series is available here.
26 March 2012
Join the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and Gallup as they discuss how the world’s populations perceive media freedom within their countries. They will also share data on citizens’ confidence in their media.
A central part of the BBG’s statutory mandate is to support freedom and democracy in a rapidly changing international environment. The ability of the media to communicate honestly and freely is critical in world affairs. Additionally, it is important for leaders and policy makers to understand how different populations around the globe view the quality, honesty, and accuracy of their media, as well as how free they perceive their media to be.
At this event, Gallup will present a new global analysis of such views. In addition, Gallup and the BBG will announce the details of a new global research project that advances the BBG’s mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. This unprecedented relationship combines BBG’s mission with Gallup’s global public opinion research. The event will take place on March 28, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Gallup’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
