Arab Revolutions: Breaking Fear| Egypt's Unfinished Revolution: The Role of the Media Revisited

Authors

  • Anne Alexander University of Cambridge
  • Miriyam Aouragh University of Westminster

Keywords:

Egypt, revolution, internet, journalism, political activism

Abstract

This article analyzes the role of the media in the Egyptian revolution, distinguishing between the political synchronization of media forms, which was achieved during the 18 Days uprising, and broader processes of media convergence. We locate the key dynamics of media production and consumption by revolutionary activists not in the affordances of the Internet but in the shifting balance of forces between revolution and counterrevolution on the wider political stage. Using various examples, we argue that parts of the popular movement inEgypt have moved away from reliance on old and new capitalist media as simply carriers of their voices and hopes toward media practices seeking to develop media voices and infrastructures of their own.

Author Biographies

Anne Alexander, University of Cambridge

Research Fellow, Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities and Co-ordinator, Cambridge Digital Humanities Network

Miriyam Aouragh, University of Westminster

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, CAMRI, University of Westminster

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Published

2014-03-17

Issue

Vol. 8 (2014)

Section

Special Sections

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