The role of Egyptian media in the coup

As a result of the collusion between the media and the current political regime, in Egypt there is a news blackout concerning the abuses against human rights. This is one of the conclusions of Fatima el Issawi, researcher for the think tank POLIS (London School of Economics), in this article that analyses the role of the media, and in particular presenters of television debate programmes, before and after the January 2011 revolution

Tunisian media in transition.

The Carnegie Papers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and POLIS, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK

Moroccan national media: between change and status quo

The pro-democracy protests of the Moroccan Spring provided the national media with an open season that could not last long. Then, entrenched ?untouchable? topics were debated in the public realm, including those related to the King?s centralised power; today, journalists work in a climate of control over the media fuelled by anti-terrorism slogans and the popularisation of the model of the journalist as defender of the status quo, in the name of ?patriotism?. The Moroccan national media witnessed several short phases of openness, which could not survive the regime?s tactics and its adoption of a hostile stance towards media freedom. These controlled phases of media openness were sporadic and could not provide sustainable conditions to consolidate new investigative practices among journalists. Despite a new political dynamism, the great diversification of topics tackled by journalists, and the development of investigative reporting on citizens? daily problems and needs, the resilience of constitutional taboos ? the monarchy, Islam and the territorial integrity of the kingdom ? made the impact of these developments limited. Essential media rights are recognised by the new Moroccan constitution of 2011, but lack clear definition, are short of international standards and are often negated by the many exceptions to them. Frequent legal cases against journalists, on the basis of libel or anti-terrorism dispositions, act as strong instruments to deter journalists from challenging entrenched taboos. Moral denigration of critical journalists and rights activists ? via legal cases based on private affairs or media spin ? is used as a recipe to reduce them to silence and to isolate them socially. The use of legal sanctions and economic boycotts against independent media projects means that these projects are unsustainable. The political and ideological polarisation of the national media acts as a double-edged sword: while it is widening the scope of diversity of views and invigorating plurality in the public space, it is exacerbating the use of the national media for spin and rumours, with the race for the sensational becoming a major feature of media production. Continuous shifts and mutations in the traditional national media are aggravating the fragility of journalists? already volatile working conditions. The lack of opportunities for professional advancement and weak job stability are encouraging a wave of migration to other professions. Today, self-censorship habits are widespread, and journalists fear retribution not only for what they produce but also for their political views. With media investment linked to political and ideological agendas, engagement in support of democratic values is not a priority for Moroccan journalists

Transitional Libyan media: free at last?

Muammar Qaddafi kept a firm grip on Libya’s media sector and used it as a propaganda tool for his regime. After the dictator’s fall in 2011, the media sector was opened up, but reconstruction efforts lacked vision and have fallen prey to the tumultuous situation on the ground. A completely unbiased and free media industry remains an illusion. The rebirth of Libya’s media sector requires a comprehensive approach that involves regulatory reform and builds up the skills of journalists

Algerian national media: freedom at a cost

This report on Algerian national media and political change is part of the ‘Arab National Media and Politics: Democracy Revisited’ project, examining the relationship between Arab traditional mass media and the political sphere within the broad subject area of political change in the Arab world. Based on a series of around 30 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with journalists and media stakeholders in Algeria, as well as analysis of media regulation and individual case studies, this report looks at the role played by national media – radio, television and print – in widening, or restricting, public debate under a competitive authoritarian system

Egyptian media under transition: in the name of the regime... in the name of the people?

Polis fellow Fatima El-Issawi looks at post-uprising Egyptian Media in a new report following her previous research on media in Libya and Tunisia

Moroccan media: between change and status quo ? new research report

LSE Middle East Centre researcher Fatima el Issawi has just completed a report on the state of the Moroccan news media in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring. It aims to give voice to Moroccan journalists to tell their unique story of coping with a complex process of political and media reform: change or status Quo

Shifting journalistic roles in democratic transitions: Lessons from Egypt

While in the case of the Arab Spring the focus of research and debate was very much on the role of social media in enabling political change both during the uprisings and in their immediate aftermath, the impact of traditional national mass media and journalism on framing this political change has been less addressed. In this article, we investigate the role of Egyptian journalists in shaping Egypt’s complex and fast-moving political transition. Based on a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews and a conceptual framework building on Christians et al.’s normative roles of the media, it can be concluded that the monitorial and facilitative roles, which were prevalent in the early stages of the post-Mubarak era, were quickly overturned in favor of a radical and collaborative role. Egyptian journalists working in private media thus demonized their political adversaries, mainly the Islamists, transforming this political ‘other’ into the ultimate enemy. At the same time, the new military regime was being revered and celebrated. This arguably contributed to further destabilize the fragile transition to democracy. It is furthermore concluded that for democracy to succeed in an Egyptian context, antagonistic political conflicts need to be transformed into agonistic ones both at the level of political culture and media culture