COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Wrestling with Egypt
- Operate quality, independent journalism in Egypt
- Sustain a banned, independent media outlet in an increasingly authoritarian context
HOW TO
The Arab uprisings, for all the ensuing violence, have left a legacy of bold and
creative media ventures. Without them, the Middle East’s public space would be
shaped in the image of failed regimes, whose answer to growing socioeconomic
needs is mostly limited to repression and propaganda. In Egypt, the independent
digital daily Mada Masr is fighting hard to protect what is left of freedom of
expression. Founded in June 2013, in the crucible of massive demonstrations
leading to a military takeover, the platform is officially banned in the
country. Its staff, however, operate out of Cairo, pushing the limits wherever
possible.
Lina Attalah, one
of its co-founders and its current editor-in-chief, is as relentless a journalist as any in the field. She describes, with her characteristic
intensity, how Mada Masr preserves its unique ability to produce a steady flow
of quality reporting even within a stifling environment.
How exactly does
Mada Masr go about setting itself apart, and what are the aspects of journalism
you are keen, as a team, to reinvent?
As an independent outlet with limited resources, I think that what’s special about our output is that we keep gathering news and investigating tips until we have a verified story to expose. We focus less on analysis, of which there is plenty in the Arab world, because we believe that there isn’t enough empiric work out there. Our responsibility is to remedy that. We even like to borrow some research techniques from academia, as the firewall between disciplines makes no sense. Once I told a journalist that I would hire a researcher to sift through a large case file about a significant political assassination in Egypt. I assumed that the journalist would be put off by 5,000 pages of judicial jargon, read the research and write a story based on it. But he told me: “Well, if journalists are stripped of their research hat, what’s left of their mission?” He ended up diving into the case file himself.
There isn’t enough empiric work out there
At the same time,
we try to invest in strong writing, through rigorous editing. In general, we
care about all forms of delivery, be they textual or audiovisual. And while we
may be traditional in our newsgathering and storytelling methods, we experiment
with form. We don’t just emulate anything that worked for others. The idea is
to develop our own style in touching and engaging our audiences. That is a
beautiful challenge.
In what ways has
the public been changing in recent years, and what lessons have you learned
about engaging your audience?
First and
foremost, I must say that we are capitalizing on an audience that built an
appetite for good, independent media content in the late 1990s, when the
Mubarak regime loosened controls over the media ecosystem, as part of broader
liberalization measures. Several private TV channels and newspapers were
launched, delving into a diversity of previously unreported topics: human
rights violations, economic issues, life outside of Cairo, etc. Dailies would
set the agenda in the morning, and the issues they brought to the public sphere
would be discussed in TV talk shows in the evening. The media was eminently
political back then. Today, we are witnessing the passing of that category of
political media. But the audience is not dead, and this is what we are trying
to capture.
At first, our
public mainly comprised people who shared our opinion. We are getting past that
stage and that is important for us. Our audience and its growth are a weapon.
It’s also too easy to remain in the comfort zone of the margins, preaching to
the converted. To be political, we must care about impact and find ways of
reaching different audiences, which has entailed constantly changing skins and
tactics.
For example, we
may combine serious goals with a fun approach. One day, our main cartoonist
came up with a vision for a web-series. His alter ego would give weekly advice
to the dark-skinned Egyptian citizen, about an issue of public concern. The
show, called Akh Kebir, or Big Brother, essentially mocked the authorities, who
patronize people like that. It became a hit in Egypt and the Arab world. The
least politicized people around me—and I still know a few!—were watching and
repeating lines that have become Internet memes. It was impressive. Sadly,
though, Big Brother had to go, facing threats from a Bigger Brother still. We
posted a notice saying that he would go offline in coming weeks due to bad
weather conditions. We hope the weather will get better.
How do you
navigate the shrinking space for free expression in Egypt, and do you feel that
Western financial and moral support really helps in promoting Arab journalism?
I always say that
one of the things I struggle with the most is the unpredictability of today’s
authoritarianism. Under Mubarak, there was a more or less clear space for us to
operate in, and we knew what kind of risks we were getting into every time we
ventured out of those margins. Now it feels like any act is punishable no
matter how trivial. A banal joke can land you in jail for years, just as the
most elaborate, damning investigation could. The new laws dealing with media
and cybercrime, among other legislation, are mostly punitive instruments, as
opposed to tools designed to regulate the media or the internet. What is hard
to believe is that there is no space at all, even on the margins. I mean, can
any system—no matter how hegemonic—really function without a margin?
We must find ways of reaching different audiences
We have
internalized the premise that we can be gone tomorrow. We aren’t obsessed about
surviving, but nor are we suicidal. We make political calls all the times, on
how and when to publish critical content. But we won’t give in to fear and shy
away from publishing altogether.
We like to believe
that our international audience, especially policy-makers, civil society
activists and academics concerned with Egypt and the region, are always ready
to extend their support. But we are realists—not the subdued type, though! We
understand that this is not a moment when international pressure is going to do
much, by way of promoting independent media. There was a time for such hopes,
but it’s gone. We enjoy the feeling that we are part of a broader,
transnational community that empowers us. But we know that it cannot save us.
8 October 2018
Illustration credit: Mural showing wrestlers in action on Wikipedia / public domain.
