LONDON, Dec 10: The world is divided over the importance of press freedom, with not everyone sharing the Western notion that it is crucial to a free society, a poll said on Monday.

The survey, covering 14 countries, also found that confidence in media reporting varies widely, with the Russian press along with British and US media among the least trusted while countries like India and Kenya score strongly.

While overall 56 per cent believe media freedom is very important for a free society, 40 per cent think social harmony is more important, even if reporting suffers, said the survey by the GlobeScan polling institute.

“While people generally support a free media, the Western view of the necessity of a free press to ensure a fair society is not universally shared across all regions of the world,” said GlobeScan head Doug Miller.

Confidence in honest and accurate reporting is roughly the same for public and private news providers on average — although in some countries there is particular concern over private media concentration.

For example a large majority in Brazil (80 per cent), Mexico (76 per cent), the United States (74 per cent), and Britain (71 per cent) say the concentration of media ownership is a concern because of the risk of political bias.

In general confidence in accurate reporting is lowest in Western developed countries, such as Germany (28 per cent), Britain (29 per cent) and the United States (29 per cent) — although Russia fares even worse on 27 per cent. At the other end of the scale are countries like Nigeria (58 per cent), Kenya (61 per cent), India (61 per cent) and the UAE (52 per cent).—AFP