US embassy cable - 04ABUDHABI2678

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 002678 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; 
INR/NESA; INR/B; IIP/G/NEA-SA 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD 
LONDON FOR GOLDRICH, PASS TO MOC; PARIS FOR ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, KMDR, TC, PREL 
SUBJECT: UNITED ARAB EMIRATE YOUTH DON'T TRUST WESTERN NEWS 
 
 
1.   Summary:  A July 2004 survey by Public Affairs Office 
Abu Dhabi of 535 Arab youth in the UAE, age 18-25, 
determined that the majority use television as their primary 
source of news.  The survey also determined that among 
television stations, Arabic channels such as Al Jazeera and 
Abu Dhabi TV are watched on a regular basis and are 
considered credible sources of news.  Western stations such 
as CNN, BBC and Al Hurra were given low credibility ratings 
and are rarely watched, even among those who speak English. 
Survey participants rated a station's credibility by a 
combination of low government interference, presenting a 
variety of viewpoints, and the station sharing common 
assumptions and perspectives with their viewers.  End 
summary. 
 
2.   The Public Affairs Office of Embassy Abu Dhabi recently 
undertook a non-representative poll of local youth attitudes 
towards media and news sources.  As part of university 
research, a State Department Summer Intern designed a 
written questionnaire that he then distributed to 535 
Emirati youth, mostly from the UAE University.  While not 
scientific, the poll allows certain inferences to be drawn 
about the larger youth population in general.  407 of the 
national respondents came from the UAE University; the other 
respondents of mixed nationality were approached at local 
shopping malls.  There was fair geographical (home Emirate) 
and gender distribution (63% female).  82% of the 
respondents had English ability.  10% of the respondents 
were non-students.  The two respondent groups, UAEU students 
and other local youth, held nearly identical opinions as 
born out by statistical comparison. 
 
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Television as Primary News Source 
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3.   The survey discovered that 69% of survey respondents 
count television and 22% count newspaper as their primary 
source of news.  The three most popular television stations 
were Abu Dhabi TV (65% watching "regularly" or "sometimes"), 
Al Jazeera (52%), and Al Arabiya (38%).  CNN (14%), BBC News 
(12%), and Al Hurra (11%) were consistently watched "hardly 
ever" or "never." 
 
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Link Between Credibility and Frequency 
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4.   From discussions with survey participants, most 
identified credibility as the determining factor in how 
often a news channel is watched.  Survey results confirm 
this relationship, as the credibility ratings when compared 
with frequency ratings indicate a direct relationship 
between the two.  Arab news is both watched far more and 
considered more credible than Western news outlets CNN, BBC 
News, and Al Hurra.  Even among survey respondents who 
understand English as well as Arabic, 81% consider Arabic- 
language news more credible. 
 
5.   CNN and BBC News received an average credibility 
ranking slightly above "low credibility," while Al Hurra had 
the lowest rating of all the stations.  Compared with Al 
Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV, which both rated "fair" in 
credibility, the Western networks do not have the trust of 
many Arab viewers. 
 
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Defining Credibility 
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6.   Survey participants were asked in interviews to define 
how news outlets were evaluated on the basis of credibility 
and what constituted reporting the truth.  Besides the 
importance of media that is free from the influence of 
government political agendas and a balanced perspective that 
attempts to report differing opinions, many survey 
participants expressed the idea that sharing a common 
perspective with the media on a given subject created 
credibility.  For instance, most considered the use of the 
Arabic term shahid "martyr" as more credible and appropriate 
than the Western use of "suicide bombers". 
 
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Comment 
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7.   In addition to statistics, the survey offered good 
insight into why many Arab youth do not trust certain news 
stations as credible sources.  In recent conversations with 
representatives from Al Arabiya television, this phenomena 
was confirmed when they commented that the station lost many 
viewers when they stopped using the term "shahid" in their 
editorials to describe Palestinian suicide operations.  The 
station received many angry calls and letters accusing the 
station of abandoning the Palestinian cause.  It is clear 
that Arab viewers prefer television free from government 
interference that is allowed to show a free flow of ideas 
and opinions.  In addition, and perhaps just as important, 
they, like people everywhere, tend to gravitate toward news 
that conforms to their commonly held assumptions. 
 
Sison