Iran Media Use 2012

The Broadcast Board of Governors, which is in charge of US  propaganda broadcasts, and Gallup teamed up to do a report on "Iran Media Use 2012"

A summary of the report:

"Despite living in a restrictive media environment, where the internet and satellite television are restricted, Iranians are relatively well-connected, the survey found:Ninety percent of households had at least one mobile phone, 67 percent had a computer and 26 percent had a satellite dish. That put the prevalence of such technology in Iran roughly on par with that in Turkey, less well-connected than the rich Persian Gulf states, but more so than North African and Middle Eastern countries like Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

 

When it comes to news, 49 percent of IRIB’s viewers rated its programming as “very trustworthy,” while 40 percent said it was “somewhat trustworthy.” The fact that so many respondents expressed less than total satisfaction with IRIB is significant, given that they were speaking on the phone to a foreign pollster, and likely were self-censoring, said William Bell, the BBG's director of research. “If people were fearful about talking about state television, it's striking that half of them would say it's not very trustworthy,” Bell said.

 

The perceived trustworthiness of foreign broadcasting, however, was not dramatically different, according to the same survey. Of four international news sources (which the BBG did not publicly name), the number of respondents rating them either very or somewhat trustworthy ranged from 65 percent to 80 percent.

 

Iranian news consumers are cynical about all sources of news, Bell said. While they appreciate international broadcasters' lack of censorship and the airing of entertainment programs not shown by Iranian broadcasters, they also tend to believe that international broadcasters have a political agenda and they resent criticism from outside, he said.