DOHA • In an extensive poll of Arab Academics in over 19 countries, Arab polling agency The Knowledge World Centre for Polls found that Al Jazeera was the most respected news agency in the Middle East, and over 98 per cent of Political Science and Media professors in the region claimed to watch at least three hours of Al Jazeera per day.
Demonstrating its unrivaled popularity in the region, the poll found that Al Jazeera's viewership was over three times that of its closest rival, and over twenty-eight times that of its third closest competitor.
Over 96 per cent of the Arab academics surveyed found Al Jazeera a reliable source for news, and over 73 per cent expressed their confidence that the channel would quickly correct any mistakes that surfaced in news reports.
The Director of the Knowledge World Centre for Polls said, "This is the largest poll of its kind ever undertaken in the Arab world. By working for almost one year and sampling almost half of all political science and media professors in the region, we believe that we have illuminated people's understanding of broadcast news viewing patterns in this part of the world. As the results show, our study found that Al Jazeera is the most trusted and widely viewed channel in the Arab world."
Al Jazeera's Director General Wadah Khanfar said: "We are very pleased with the results of this poll. It is further recognition by academic professionals across the Middle East on the value of our mission of bringing groundbreaking independent news to the Arab world. This poll serves as a testament to the professionalism and hard work of Al Jazeera's staff around the world."
According to the Knowledge World Centre for Polls, based in Amman, Jordan, the poll was designed to measure the perceived objectivity and professionalism of Al Jazeera among the Arab world's academic elite. Conducted over 11 months in 19 Arab countries, the Knowledge World Centre for Polls sampled over 600 PhD holders, almost 50 per cent of all Political Science and Media professors in the Middle East, almost all of whom reported using Al Jazeera as a primary source of news.
