The search for media reality in the Arab Middle East

[Commentary] As the cascade of chaotic events in the Arab Middle East continue to unfold, it becomes increasingly important for policymakers in Western government, including the United States, to expand their focus beyond just managing the latest series of current crises. Although still in its infancy, researchers are building the necessary media infrastructure to accurately assess public opinion in several Middle Eastern countries. Combining rigorous methodologies with large sets of historical information generates data that provides a necessary complement to impressions gained primarily from monitoring public Internet chatter or sorting out what is being heard on the Arab “street.”

The research efforts of Northwestern University in Qatar (where I served as Professor of Communication in Residence during the 2012-13 academic year) are a case in point. In April, it released the latest edition of Media Use in the Middle East, a comprehensive survey that provides a window into the changing political and social climate in six countries: Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the UAE. The survey, the largest annual study of its kind in the region, was conducted in collaboration with Harris Poll. Fieldwork took place between February 3 and March 9, 2015, and involved 6,093 interviews that allowed for nationally representative samples of adults over the age of 18 in each country. 2015's report explores how attitudes and behaviors have changed since NU-Q's first region-wide survey in 2013. The findings suggest that the glow of the heralded Arab Spring has faded significantly. Perhaps most important, these latest figures remind us that although a regional perspective of the Arab Middle East is essential, so too is the need to assess Arab media with a sharper focus on individual countries. Clearly, there still is an upward slope to our learning curve here