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Media not reaching whole population: Poll
By ALISON ANIS
A NATION-wide media survey (NMAS)
commissioned by AusAID-funded Media for Development Initiative (MDI)
showed that 7% of the population have access to all three mainstream
media – radio, television and newspaper – and 45% have access to one or
two medium, while the rest receive no media once a week.
The survey further revealed that the zones of which these mediums are
accessed vary significantly from urban through remote rural locations.
The media audience survey undertaken by the Anglo Pacific Research and
Strategy Limited was conducted from face-to-face interviews involving a
sample of 3,600 respondents nationwide with a practical and
cost-effective multi-strata quota system chosen to reflect the national
population profile.
The sampling was conducted in four location zones – the urban, peri-urban,
rural accessible, and remote rural – in nine provinces across all four
regions with sub-strata of gender and age group in each zone.
An overview of the survey was presented yesterday during the launch and
commissioning of the NMAS and state of the media report (SOMR) and the
announcement of the commencement of MDI phase II.
The summary presentation of the media access, usage and perception
showed that 51% of the total sample population have access to radio
followed by print (40%) and TV (15%).
On average, 45% did not have access to print media because they could
not read, and 17% were able to read but could not understand the
contents, while the rest did not have it because of the unavailability,
cost or relevance.
With radio and television, a high number of consumers live in the urban
areas compared to rural
areas and this is due to lack of radio or TV signal, or electricity in
the area.
With regards to information perception, more people trusted what they
heard on the radio or see on television compared to newspapers.
According to technical adviser to MDI Dr Richard Pearse, the sampling
system catered for the majority rural population and less-developed
provinces and districts and clearly reveals the patterns of media
gradients and the extend to which the majority rural populations are
disadvantaged in receiving mass-media communications.
 
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