Document details

Media Coverage of Religious Freedom and Diversity: Reception and Perception Qualitative Study from Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan

Beirut: Samir Kassir Foundation;Internews (2022), 40 pp.
"This qualitative study report primarily details the reactions of local audiences in Lebanon, Iraq, and Sudan and their perception of media content produced by journalist trained by ENQUIRE (Enhancing Quality Information on Religious Freedoms). The content is compared with that of more traditional, local media, in order to assess the professional development of the trained journalists and better identify potential areas of improvement in terms of appealing to the audience and gaining traction and influence. It also adds another dimension, as it seeks to understand how these audiences, coming from different genders, ages as well as religions, consume and trust (or distrust) media content in general. Understanding their perceptions and opinions would allow for the production of more engaging and thought-provoking content in the future, while sparking conversations related to religious minorities. In that respect, although each country has its own set of individual findings, several common trends emerge. The online realm, namely Facebook and WhatsApp, dominates the audience’s media consumption patterns and is often the first resort due to its ease of access and its capacity to make users feel in control of what they consume. This presents its own set of risks and must be appropriately addressed in future endeavors. Regardless, it is too soon to completely discount offline media especially with the ever-present TV stations that manage to reach and influence a significant portion of the population, according to the participants. Despite the difficulty to precisely define it, trust remains an element that manages to greatly shape media consumption patterns. As for the ENQUIRE-trained journalists, their content enjoyed a mixed reception. On the one hand, it often proved to be highly educational and thought-provoking, which is one of the goals of this project. On the other hand, there were times where it was perceived as inflammatory and could not be told apart from typical media outlets’ production, which many participants often avoid." (Executive summary)
Methodology, 9
Focus Group Analysis and Findings, 12
Conclusion, 23