New media in Egypt Integration and interaction within the public sphere

“A revolution organized by Facebook, spread by twitter and organized by a guy working for Google” #jan25 #ILOVEOURREVOLUTION, tweeted by Sandmonkey on February 7.

Social media within the Egyptian political configuration

Social media language and temporality, and the lack of hindsight it implies, have also helped convey an abbreviated reading of political reality. Neoliberal globalization in a digitalized world has accelerated economy and society, leaving behind the slower rhythm of democracy. The Arab uprisings were also an example of networked-society politics conducted at the speed of the network itself. There can be no radical acceleration of the democratization process in the way that it has been encouraged by networked communication. There are latent conflicts within the youth between its components and it should not be considered as a united entity. There are two generations of young activists: the pioneers and the “Shabab”, taking the streets without being scared of getting killed. They also want to become famous; they want changes to happen faster. Here again high-speed social media pace dislocates political actions from their goals. On the other hand pioneers have been propelled to the front scene after having been operating underground for years. Few were prepared to deal with such power of leading opinion and potentially influencing political outcomes.

Interaction between traditional and new media

Since the revolution traditional outlets have been resorting to new media content in an increasing manner. Newspapers are also trying to catch up with the social media trend by launching their own YouTube channels. Parallel to the digitalization of newspapers, a number of independent news websites have now gained visibility. They are called “alternative media”. The most famous are Al Badil, Masrawi, Al Dustur Al Asly. This kind of websites and social media are considered a reference for the public to question information and a filter to know which media is telling the truth can be trusted. The hype on social media that followed the revolution has impulse a trend in TV news industry: the necessity to use on air Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. This material is easy to manipulate out of its context of production and can thus be used to illustrate whatever the presenter wants to prove. It raises deontological concerns in terms of truthfulness and reliability. Another important form of interaction between traditional and new media is the emancipation from computer screen to TV screen. Bassem Youssef started his show Al Bernamig? on YouTube in March 2011. In August 2011 his emission was launched on ON-TV. On the opposite path, Doa Sultan after being forced to stop her show Talk Shows on Tahrir TV turned to social network where she enjoys a higher degree of freedom of speech.

Online journalism and activism in the Egyptian media industry

This relative freedom is only the result of the chaos in which the country has fallen since the revolution. Media expression is held hostage by political uncertainty and power struggles. Within such chaos and with the burst of online journalism, everybody wants to express himself and be considered as a legitimate voice. Arab journalism can be characterized by its political engagement and the central place it gives to opinion pieces. A fairly neutral piece might be received with suspicion by the public. In such period a journalist has to be an activist. Not only out of personal convictions but also because the majority of his competitors in the industry is not objective either. In a closed society where public debate is restricted, journalism has rapidly emerged as a substitution scene for political expression and activism. The absence of proper professional formation within an industry where rumors and sensationalism sell is a key concern. The consequence of both the current chaos and the lack of professionalism lead to interference between media discourse and the audience. Journalists’ credibility is actually very low. This situation is very easy to perpetuate in a society where 40% of the population are illiterate and lack the ability to criticize the information they ingest.

Conclusion

Getting rid of the current regime won’t happen without a deep restructuration of the media industry, from its production system to its syndicates and its market principles. Media have always been the entrance to public debate. Today, with the rise of social media, online journalism and private satellite news channels, voices can’t be silenced anymore. Political agents in control of the public sphere will be forced to open it to their contestants. Even if it means that the informative chaos is going to get worse for a while. The real revolution was not the fall of Mubarak but instead it is the new potential younger generations now have to express themselves in very different terms than those used by their elders. And they are now contesting everything, the society, its identity, in a way that is far from being organized. But those who were holding the reins of the political debate so far have been overwhelmed by the rise of new media and don’t have the relevant keys to keep their position on the long run. They won’t be able to continue to exclude the youth and ignore its claims anymore.