Transformations in Egyptian Journalism ─ Media and the Arab Uprisings

Egypt's revolutionary uprising in 2010-2011 raised important questions about the kind of journalism that would be viable as a result of the country's changing political dynamics. Suddenly the output of bloggers, online radio and social media news operations, which had all formed part of the groundswell of action against dictatorship and repression, posed an explicit challenge to journalists in state-run and commercial media companies who were more directly subject to government controls. In this book, Naomi Sakr considers the new visions of journalism which emerged as the struggle for power and influence intensified among Egypt's different interest groups. She also charts recent transformations in Egyptian journalism, analyzing diverse approaches to converged media and the place of participatory cross-media networks in expanding and developing the country's body of professional journalists. Finally, this book analyses journalists' initiatives for restructuring publicly-owned media and securing a safe and open environment in which to work.

Naomi Sakr is Professor of Media Policy at the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster and Director of the CAMRI Arab Media Centre. Her books, all published by I.B.Tauris, include Arab Television Today, Satellite Realms, Women and Media in the Middle East and (as editor) Arab Media and Political Renewal.