Citizens Don�t Trust the Media

26 December 2005

The citizens of Macedonia don�t trust the media, shows the latest Early Warning Report prepared by the UNDP Office to Macedonia. According to the EWR, two thirds of the polled citizens don�t trust the media or the contents they publish.

The analysts involved in the preparation of EWR presented the Report.

Compared to October 2000, when 54.7 percent of the polled said they trusted the media, the latest survey, conducted by Brima Gallup, shows that 70 percent of the citizens don�t trust the media, with only 25 percent said they trust the media reporting. The survey was conducted in November of this year, on a sample of 1,057 citizens.

The unemployment (48 percent), corruption (18 percent) and poverty (17 percent) remain the three most serious problems for the citizens. According to the survey, all institutions are corrupt, the public funds are embezzled by everybody with a chance to do it, and the corruption has reached the highest perceived levels.

There is a trend of rising scepticism with the citizens regarding the direction in which the country is moving. Two thirds of the citizens are pessimistic about the direction followed by Macedonia. Even the positive avis from the European Commission and the status of candidate for full-membership in the EU didn�t contribute for increased trust in the institutions.

For additional information and for the full report, please visit the Early Warning Report website.