In the third study which was carried out by the Jordanian Media Monitor on Soft Containment and its Effect on the Independence of Media

*82 % of the journalists believe that the governments practice containment methods to dominate media men

* Financial grants are the most familiar methods of containment used by governments to dominate journalists and 42% of opinion leaders were vulnerable to containment attempts

* More than half of the journalists believe in the actual existence of Al-Dhahabi list and 73% believe there are other lists

* Businessmen and security apparatuses are the most sides which use methods of soft containment after the governments

* Electronic web sites and daily newspapers are the most submissive sides to the methods of soft containment

* The governments concentrate their attention on containing employees at private and mixed media institutions as well as correspondents

*Members of parliament followed by public and youth movements are the most sides vulnerable to soft containment after the media

*69% of the journalists believe that media institutions are affected by the practices of soft containment to curb their coverage and publication of the
activities of public movements.

An Executive Summary :

The Jordanian Media Monitor at AL-QUDS CENTER FOR POLITICAL STUDIES has carried out a survey study on ( The Soft Containment and its Effect on the Independence of Media ), the third of its kind to be carried out by the Monitor since 2009.

The study was carried out over the period from 28/3---12/4/2012 and included a sample of 504 journalists from the various written, visual, audio, and electronic governmental and semi-governmental and private media as well as correspondents. Opinion leaders constituted 15% of the sample.

The study classified opinion leaders as newspapers editors-in-chief or their counterparts in other institutions, regular columnists, heads of sections, preparers and presenters of news, talk shows, radio and TV programs, officials supervising electronic websites and authorized correspondents for leading Arab and international media.

The study aimed at getting acquainted with the forms and methods of soft containment practiced by the governments to dominate press and media as well as monitoring other sides which practice one or more forms of soft containment to dominate press and media and measuring the effect of the methods of soft containment on the freedom and independence of media in two main issues, namely : corruption and public movements demanding political reforms.

The outcomes of the study indicate that 82% of the sample believes that governments practice methods of soft containment whereas 84% of the opinion leaders said that governments practice methods of soft containment. It is noticed that there is a rise in the percentage among the opinion leaders as they are the main target for the governments which try to gain their support and prevent them from criticizing the government policies due to their great capability in influencing the public opinion.

In general, the outcomes of the study show the high percentage of journalists who have conviction that the governments practice methods of soft containment to dominate press. This also was proved in the two previous studies for 2011 as the percentage reached 86% while it reached 70% in the first study carried out in 2009.

It can be said that the high ratio of the journalists who affirmed the governments' practice of the methods of soft containment over the years 2011 and 2012 is due to the increasing need of the governments to contain media and exploit it in favor of their policies, and the second reason is the rise of the level of daring among the journalists.

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