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Nigerians Believe in
the Importance of Press Freedom - BBC Survey
A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
World Service poll of 11,344 people across 14 countries shows that world
opinion is divided on the importance of press freedom.
The poll shows that 56 percent of the
Nigerian population believes press freedom is more important than
stability, while 43 percent believe stability is more important which
reflects worldwide opinion. It said Nigerians are relatively positive
about the media environment in their country, although they are
interested in having a say in news reporting decisions.
The survey also showed that private news
organizations received a strong endorsement from Nigerians. A clear
majority of Nigerians, according to the survey, precisely
66 percent believe the media is free or very
free to report the news accurately and without bias, compared with 56
percent worldwide.
Of the total number polled in Nigeria, 72
percent gave a "good" rating for accurate news reporting, the highest
proportion globally showing that Nigerians are very positive about the
performance of private, commercial news organisations.
However, Nigerians’ perceptions of government
or publicly-run news organizations, that Federal government and
State-owned news organizations are mixed. Forty-four percent gave
public media a "good job" rating (versus 39% globally), but a further 30
percent gave a "poor job" rating (compared with 22% globally).
The survey also showed that Nigerians are
equally divided on the impact of increasingly concentrated ownership of
private news organisations, with 50 percent believing that "ownership is
not an issue because media owners do not interfere with the news
content" and 49% believing that "ownership is a major issue because you
often see owners' political views emerge in the news".
Nigerians' views on having a say in news
reporting decisions are similar to those of other Africans, with a
majority (61%) opting for the statement: “I think it is important that
people like me have a say in what gets reported in the news.”
The survey
conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firms
GlobeScan Incorporated and Synovate shows that an average of 56% across
all countries think that freedom of the press is very important to
ensure a free society; 40% believe that social harmony and peace are
more important, even if it means controlling what is reported for the
greater good.
It says 56%
of people in the 14 countries polled think the press and media in their
country is free to report the news accurately without bias. Only 19%
say there is little or no media freedom in their country.
Private and publicly funded news
organisations receive similar ratings from the public when it comes to
reporting the news honestly and accurately. 39% of people across all
countries say publicly funded news agencies are doing a good job, while
43% say the same for private news organisations.
However, in some countries the poll shows
concern over the ownership of private media. Strong majorities in
Brazil (80%), Mexico (76%), USA (74%), and Great Britain (71%) believe
that the concentration of media ownership in fewer hands is a concern
because owners' political views emerge in reporting.
The full report of the BBC survey, with
charts and country specific responses are available at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/12_december/10/poll.pdf
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