Egypt's Unresolved Media Transition: A Comparative Analysis of the Role of the Egyptian Press Amid Political Turmoil.
This research explores Egyptian newspapers’ output during a pivotal time in Egypt’s modern history, dating from June 30th, 2010, a few months before the January 25th, 2011 revolution, when Egypt was under the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak, to June 30th, 2015, two years after the events of June 30th, 2013, and a year into the rule of President AbdelFattah El-Sisi. The comparative analysis looks at the news production of the state-owned Al-Ahram, the private Al-Masry Al-Youm, and the opposition party paper Al-Wafd, presenting a panoramic overview of the print media landscape. The study analyses the role played by the press as a tool of democratization considering the ownership, political power, and political economy of the media, consumer power, market pressure and the essence of journalism, based on comparative content analysis and interviews, and reflecting key research questions regarding power and control. The findings show the imprints of power and media blocking hindering the political consolidation phase, raising new definitions of media autonomy and journalistic independence, leading to recommendations to safeguard the media transition. The results offer an important baseline for Egyptian journalism which can act as a mirror to media performance amid the country’s transition to freedom.
Egyptian media, newspapers, press, political economy of the media, framing, agenda setting, transition, democracy, ownership, El-Sisi, Morsi, Mubarak, SCAF, revolution, January 25, June 30, armed forces, Muslim Brotherhood
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