Scroll down for the Arabic abstract. Turkey’s Council of State, the highest Turkish administrative court, handed down its decision on July 10, 2020 regarding Hagia Sophia. The council reversed the monument’s status from a museum back into a mosque as from July 24, sparking heated debates between those in favor …
Read More »The Earth Turns and the World has Changed: Egyptian and Arab Science Journalism in the Digital Age
Abstract Science journalism in Egypt reflects the way science is taught, perceived and practiced in the country. Online publications cover science and technology in different ways. Yet, all of them rely on translators as most of the science stories are sourced from foreign outlets. This paper looks at how science …
Read More »The Reality and Challenges of Scientific Journalism in the Arab World (Arabic)
Scroll down for the Arabic abstract. Despite its early onset in the Arab world in the nineteenth century, science journalism is, nowadays, facing different challenges that hinder its role in contributing to the sustainable development and prosperity of our society. The main pillars of science journalism are professionalism, accuracy, reliability …
Read More »Social Media Applications in Crisis Management of Natural Disasters: Lessons for the Arab Region
Introduction Throughout history, nations have suffered natural disasters that inflict damage, spread chaos, and claim lives. In contrast to anthropogenic or human-made disasters that are usually limited in scope, a natural disaster can impact a whole country, or even a continent. Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, landslides, and hurricanes, to name a …
Read More »Tech, Time, and Jihad
On December 28th, 2015, when the Iraqi army felt confident enough of the military situation around Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, it invited the world’s media to witness the raising of the national flag atop a central administration building. For the Iraqi government, the ejection of ISIS jihadists from …
Read More »How Egyptian Laws Contradict the Universal Principles of Freedom of Media & Press
“I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” This was Thomas Jefferson’s decisive answer when asked to choose between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government.” Throughout the past four centuries, the universal avowal of democracy and the rule of law have dramatically evolved. As a …
Read More »Building Narratives: A Study of Terrorism Framing by Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya TV Networks
Using framing theory and content analysis, Saeed Abdullah & Mokhtar Elareshi investigate how Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya TV networks cover terrorism. This paper focuses on how the two networks differ or are similar in covering terrorism and identifies factors that may influence each network’s news selection processes and the framing of terrorism stories. This work represents an initial effort to expand research on terrorism coverage by pan-Arab media.
Read More »Media Law in Egypt and the Universal Principles of Freedom of Expression
In an effort to elucidate the legal structures governing the media in Egypt, as well as the country's declared obligations according to international law, Mostafa Shaat offers a breakdown of the existing frameworks, highlighting inconsistencies between the legal concept of freedom of the press as delineated in international law and Egypt's national laws. He further discusses some of the current reform efforts underway.
Read More »Media Privatization and the Fate of Social Democracy in Egypt
Nour Halabi asks why the social democratic aims of the January 2011 Revolution have not been advanced in the four years since. Halabi posits that private media ownership structures established during Mubarak's neoliberal economic reform initiative are largely to blame, arguing that despite the popular demands for social justice, the structure of Egyptian commercialized media inhibited the translation of social justice demands into discussions of economic policy.
Read More »Why Egypt needs an Audiovisual Translation Authority
Muhammad Y Gamal makes a compelling case for the establishment of an Egyptian Audiovisual Translation Authority. Laying out a short history of translation in Egypt, Gamal argues that the country has not laid the groundwork to keep up with changing modalities of translation and communication in the information age. This, he argues, is critical for the proper development of several sectors, including education, tourism, entertainment and foreign affairs.
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