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Reference ID	Created	Released	Classification	Origin
09KINSHASA1125	2009-12-22 15:39	2011-08-26 00:00	UNCLASSIFIED	Embassy Kinshasa

VZCZCXRO3035
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1125/01 3561539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221539Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0479
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1326
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 2984
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0175

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 001125 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR, RRU, IIP/G/AF, IIP/T/GIC, AF/C, AF/PDPA 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL SCUL CG
SUBJECT:   SURVEY FINDS PRESIDENT OBAMA IS MOST 
           POPULAR POLITICIAN IN KINSHASA 
 
KINSHASA 00001125  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  A recent public-opinion survey found President 
Barack Obama is the most popular political figure in Kinshasa, but 
obtained just two votes more than his nearest rival, President 
Joseph Kabila.  Other findings in the survey attest to the pervasive 
impact of television, especially among young and female audiences. 
Radio listenership in Kinshasa experienced a loss in audience share, 
particularly among women who stay at home.  Newspapers also showed a 
loss in daily readership, and overall they reach only a small 
percentage of the population, being particularly weak among youth 
and women.  End summary. 
 
Obama most popular politician 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) President Barack Obama is the most popular political 
figure in Kinshasa, according to Les Experts, one of the more 
reputable public opinion and survey research organizations in the 
Democratic Republic of Congo.  Obama beat out President Joseph 
Kabila by two votes in a sample of 1,000 residents of 22 different 
neighborhoods in Kinshasa.  Microsoft founder Bill Gates was 
identified as the third-most popular business figure, behind diamond 
dealer and music entrepreneur Didi Kanuani and Governor of Katanga 
Province Moise Katumbi. 
 
Television the dominant media 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Television is watched by 100 percent of the sample, with 
79 percent of youth and students (aged 12 and 24) watching 
television every evening between 6:00 and 9:00 pm local time.  The 
five most popular television channels are, in order: Mirador, 
Antenne A, RTNC1, RTGA, and Congo Web TV.  The most popular programs 
are local soap operas, news, Nigerian films, music, and sports. 
 
Radio has less impact than in Kinshasa 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Kinshasa residents listen to radio much less than their 
compatriots in provincial cities and rural areas, where television 
broadcast signals can be weak or non-existent.  Radio listenership 
in Kinshasa registered an 8 percent decline of audience from a 
previous Les Experts survey.  Daily radio listenership decreased by 
20 percent among women who stay at home.  23 percent of those 
interviewed listen to the radio every day.  The majority of daily 
radio listeners are white collar managers/professionals who tune in 
between 6:00 and 9:00 pm.  The most popular radio stations are 
Mirador FM, Radio Okapi, RTGA, JD FM and RSM.  While popular music 
dominates the programming at Mirador, RTGA and JDFM, Okapi is 
popular for news broadcasts and RSM for its sermons, religious music 
and prayers.  Both Radio Okapi and Radio France International 
(broadcast from Brazzaville) scored much higher than government 
radio RTNC for news listeners. 
 
Newspapers read by few 
---------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Newspaper reading continues to decline, with only 3 
percent of those interviewed reading a newspaper every day, and 20 
percent at least once a month.  13 percent of white collar 
managers/professionals report reading one of the ten daily 
newspapers, while youth, students, and women who stay at home report 
negligible readership rates (1 to 2 percent).  The pro-government 
"Le Palmares" remains the most popular newspaper, read by 41 percent 
of those interviewed, while "Le Potentiel" came in second at 28 
percent.  "Depeches de Brazzaville," a newspaper from the 
Qpercent.  "Depeches de Brazzaville," a newspaper from the 
neighboring Republic of Congo (just across the Congo river from 
Kinshasa), is read by 12 percent of the sample, probably due at 
least in part to a cover price that is one tenth of the Kinshasa 
papers (200 Congolese francs vs. 2,000). 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment:  President Obama's popularity is very strong in 
the DRC, as this survey indicates.  Yet it is difficult to evaluate 
how that personal popularity translates into support for U.S. 
policies and values.  It would be helpful to have measureable 
baselines for Congolese opinions and attitudes on U.S. politics and 
culture in order to measure effects of Embassy programs and focus 
communications efforts more strategically.  On a related point, the 
results of this survey show the power of television in Kinshasa. 
Since newspapers hold the attention of only an elite audience in the 
capital, Embassy's press and outreach activities should target 
television audiences in Kinshasa and radio listeners in other areas 
to enable us to communicate effectively with the masses.  End 
comment. 
 
KINSHASA 00001125  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
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