National Media Council Reveals Results of ‘Public Trust in UAE Media’ Study

The National Media Council (NMC) has revealed the results of its extensive “Public Trust in UAE Media” study, conducted in collaboration with the Jordan Media Institute (JMI) – a non-profit educational entity focusing on journalism.

The survey sought to determine the patterns of media consumption in the UAE and identify the sources of news that the UAE public depends on. It gauged the public’s confidence in the local media sector taking various elements into consideration, which resulted in an average score of 80.5%. This while the overall public confidence in UAE media reached 94%.

The study, which canvassed a sample of 2,500 citizens and residents of the UAE, focused on six criteria to evaluate media outlets: Reliability; confidence in the most recently viewed media; professionalism and ethics; confidence in opinion pieces and analyses; confidence in specialised media coverage; and overall trust from the public (i.e. their general impression of UAE media).

Results also indicated that confidence in analytical media content – which includes opinion pieces, analysis and commentaries on UAE affairs – hovers around 78.7%, while a vast majority (93.5%) of respondents agree that professionalism ​​and ethics are a cornerstone of public confidence in the sector.

His Excellency Mansour Al Mansouri, NMC Director General, said: “The ‘Public Trust in UAE Media’ study adds to previous efforts by the National Media Council, which include the ‘Sources of Youth for Obtaining Information and News’ study, all of which seek to build solid foundations, rooted in accurate data, to help media organisations select the optimal channels to deliver their message, support sustainable development in the UAE and propel the country to the fore of international rankings across various sectors.”

“The positive results reflected in the study demonstrate the success of our media outlets, which stems from their commitment to remaining abreast of all developments taking place in the sector. This, in turn, boosts the UAE’s competitiveness in the field, and paves the way for further development,” the NMC Director General concluded.

For his part, Dr Bassem Al-Twaisi, Dean of the Jordan Media Institute, said: “This survey is the fruit of our collaboration with the UAE National Media Council; it reflects the high level of development in the UAE media sector, as well as the level of trust that the community has in the various local media groups, all the while revealing the media consumption patterns of the UAE public. The results were very positive compared with similar studies in other countries.”

The UAE public depends on local sources of news at a rate of 63%, the study revealed, adding that the public’s dependence on television channels as a source of news and information in normal circumstances reached 30%, while social media managed to score 37% (Facebook & Twitter). Meanwhile, newspapers, news websites and radio stations accounted for 10%, 8% and 5%, respectively.