Poll: Haredim read papers more than secular public

Unlike secular communities who have access to other types of news media the haredi population tends to use Internet less and normally does not watch TV.

By MATTHEW WAGNER
newspaper 88 (photo credit: )
newspaper 88
(photo credit: )
Sixty-eight percent of the haredi population in Israel read haredi newspapers, according to a survey commissioned by the McCann Erickson advertising group. Three-quarters of those surveyed by Mutagim and Market Watch, the two polling companies that conducted the survey, said they read newspapers over the weekend. Respondents said they devoted 20 minutes daily on average to newspaper reading, compared to seven minutes among secular Israelis. Some 28% said they read Hamodia, a daily controlled by the Gerrer Hassidim, while 21% said they read Yated Ne'eman, a daily identified with the Lithuanian haredi community. Mishpacha, an apolitical weekly, garnered 16% of the haredi readership. Half of those surveyed felt that Yated represented rabbinic opinion, while 42% felt that Hamodia did. The size of the group polled and the study's margin of error were unavailable. Unlike secular communities who have access to other types of news media, such as Internet and TV, the haredi population tends to use Internet less and normally does not watch TV. As a result, the printed news represents a much larger chunk of haredi media exposure.