“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 »Media Policies and Freedom of Expression
The School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo hosted a two-day conference on Media Policies and Freedom of Expression from February 25-26, 2015. The goal of the proceedings was to help strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks, especially in regard to freedom of expression in Egypt. Hussein Amin and Sarah El-Shaarawi revisit some of the notable discussion from the conference.
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 »Striving for Excellence in Egyptian Media: Findings from the Egypt Media Forum
The Egyptian American Dialogue Initiative (EADI), in collaboration with George Washington University and Gallup hosted the Egypt Media Forum in Washington, DC from October 1 to 3, 2014. The Forum brought together a group of prominent Egyptian and international experts on media and policy to discuss media sector reform in Egypt. This report, jointly published by Arab Media & Society and EADI, offers a summary of the discussion that took place, as well as key recommendations that emerged.
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