By: Abdelrahman Amr and Michael Matthiesen. In the fourth part in an Egyptian Streets article series under the name of East-West Chitchat that aims to spark increased dialogue between Americans and Egyptians, Abdelrahman Amr and Michael Matthiesen explore media coverage variations in Egypt and the United States of the 25th January revolution. The US and Egypt have uniquely problematic, rightfully complained about cultures surrounding each countries news coverage. Americans live in a constant state of fear generated by a tsunami of negative news from privately owned news organizations. Egyptians have a government-controlled news cycle that only covers stories with a government approved spin on it. The contrast between both countries is especially evident to the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, which ranks the US at #43 and Egypt at #167 in terms of their of freedom of expression. Americans may have more freedom of expression than Egyptians, but that doesn’t mean they use it properly. American news is probably both the most innovative and ridiculous system in the world. It is the privatization of news that has led to the American free and independent press to become known as “The Fourth Estate” of…
East-West Chitchat: The 25th of January News Coverage in Egypt and the US
April 11, 2018
