Results matching “egypt blogs as”

In its 2008 report, Amnesty International declared that the Egyptian government's emergency powers and police force are "used systematically to violate human rights". There are just three or four newspapers said to be independent in the country, but these are cautious, and "worryingly silent" on corruption and human rights issues, explains an article in Le Monde. It is for this reason that nearly 200,000 Egyptians have embraced the freedom given by new media and begun their own blogs. Whilst only 10,000 of these are deemed "political", this is a relatively high figure given the possible ramifications.

One of the most well-known Egyptian bloggers is Waël Abbas, who revealed the brutal torture of Imad El-Kebir (as a result El-Kebir's torturers were sentenced to three years in prison, although the victim also received a three month sentence for "resistance to the forces of order"). Speaking to Le Monde, Abbas explains that the Egyptian political blogosphere is "a movement born of frustration, with neither leader nor structure". Despite Abbas explaining that the movement is unorganised, it seems to have been effective, and an exemplary use of the Internet as a means of communication - some of the bloggers command up to 30,000 readers, equalling and sometimes surpassing the circulation of government run newspapers.

To mark the relaunch of the Editors Weblog, the World Editors Forum is running a special series entitled "Doing More with Less." The series highlights major trends that editors-in-chief are using to steer their newsrooms through the difficult economic climate. The eighth in the series takes a look at France24's The Observers, which provides professionally-edited citizen journalism.

The Observers is a France24 venture launched in December 2007, which combines citizen journalism with professional editing.  Only three full time staff work on the project, yet it operates two versions of its website (one in English, one in French), has just started a weekly radio show and is about to start a weekly television slot. The Editors Weblog spoke to Julien Pain, Founder and Editor of the site, about its work.

How it works: zooming in and zooming out

The Observers is a collaborative website, with "professional content and an international scope," stressed Pain. The site displays a series of documents - either photos or videos - taken by amateurs from around the world. According to Pain, "you won't see a photo taken by a professional journalist on the site." Editors, based in Paris, then provide some background information on each document and 'observers' from the country it discusses will comment. The idea is to zoom in on a small anecdote and then zoom out, placing it within a wider context.  The stories picked to follow might be connected to well-known breaking news items, or might be about something which is relatively unknown to readers. Occasionally an extraordinary item will come to light, such as a short video sent in by a policeman in Gaza, which shows the entrance to an alleged tunnel linking the Gaza Strip to Egypt.

Who are the Observers?

As well as the three full time staff in Paris, about a dozen freelancers have been taken on as 'regional editors,' and they are paid for their time but only work when required.  Most of the documents used come from the 700 'observers' around the world who essentially act as trusted contacts. The idea is to receive information from people who are on the scene of whatever story is being told. They are used as local sources, Pain explained, "we don't try to make them into reporters. We use their expertise and local knowledge." He always looks for truly local contacts, "I am not going to get somebody in Beijing to comment on something that happened 3000km away in the Sichuan province," he insisted.  When possible, Pain always tries to get people native to the country to 'observe,' rather than French or English people living abroad, as they obviously tend to have a better knowledge of the local language and culture. Anybody who goes to the Observers site can register as a "friend" and is free to comment or contact the site, and those 'friends' who provide useful information over a course of time will be invited to become Observers. Pain hopes that the already substantial network will grow further.

Observers are not reporters: "We use their expertise and local knowledge"

Blog-style site breaks down barriers

The site takes advantage of the best aspects of a blog, but maintains professional direction. The site has the informal tone of a blog; it aims to be "smooth and easy to read," commentated Pain. He believes that "blogs have broken down the barrier between journalists and readers. Now on a blog, you can talk to your readers." The Observers hopes to be part of a dialogue, allowing comments on all stories and responding to reader reactions. "We are always very clear about what we do know, and what we don't," Pain clarified: for instance if the date of a photo is known but the exact location has not been proved, and this is where readers' knowledge could come in useful. He added that readers are asked "to provide information and links to update the story," and he occasionally specifically asks if people can check or verify content. "The story doesn't stop when it's published," Pain explained, and editors will frequently go back and add or change things.

Essential professional editing

What differentiates the Observers from other similar citizen journalism projects linked to traditional media outlets, such as CNN's iReport, is that although much content is produced by amateurs, everything is professionally checked and edited. Fact checking is a time consuming process, Pain explained, but crucial to maintain the validity of the site. "Amateur content is far more valuable if edited by professional journalists," he believes, as when faced with the vast amount of citizen produced content available on the web, it is difficult to know what is reliable. The Observers is confident that is can be a trusted source, and the confirmation process often involves checking facts with more than one contact. Pain also explained that he would feel very uncomfortable about associating unverified information with The Observers' parent brand, France24.

"Amateur content is far more valuable if edited by professional journalists"

What's next?

The Observers has just started a weekly 15 minute radio show in partnership with Radio France Internationale. The idea is to take a document and analyse it, with an expert on the subject matter, and then Pain explains how the Observers obtained it. A television slot on France24 is expected to follow shortly; it will be along similar lines, but just five minutes long. The same content will be used for all three platforms - online, radio and television - but will be presented in different ways. Pain also hopes to start an Arabic version of the site soon, and possibly increase staff numbers.

Pain was clear that the Observers' work does not intend to replace professional journalism, rather it hopes to provide an alternative voice in the news media world, where so often, almost identical stories will be published countless times. The site is likely to fascinate anybody interested in international news, and the model is extremely innovative, with an impressive output considering its tiny number of full time staff. The Observers has found a way to validate citizen journalism and turn amateur content into something more valuable, and this could well be a model used more frequently in the future as news outlets struggle with limited resources.

At ‘New Media: The Press Freedom Dimension’ conference, held in Paris yesterday and today, several experts in Blogging and Citizen media discussed the evolution of this new media and press freedom dimensions. Here are some of their views…

Press freedom is still severely restrained in Egypt and in many Middle Eastern countries in general, but the blog generation may seriously affect the State-censored press landscape.

Arrested in May during a demonstration in Cairo, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, one of the most popular pro-democracy voices in Egypt, is continuing to blog from his jail cell by sending postings via cell phone, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

A recent international poll reveals that people around the world trust the media more than they trust their governments. The poll, conducted by the organization Globescan with the BBC, Reuters and US think tank The Media Center, spanned 10 countries and some 10,230 people asking them opinions on the media on issues of trust.

Ever hear of Bluffton, South Carolina?  If you are a newspaper professional, you should know about this small US community of 15,000 people, where a new model for newspapers and newspaper web sites is succeeding.

I'm working on a presentation for the next Middle East Publishing Conference to be held in Dubai on 17 and 18 January 2005. Here are the four points I want to develop, but it is not at all a final text. Please let me know if you agree or not.

My main concern is that if you see signs of positive evolution in Arabic countries, the « global picture » is missing. As positive signs, I just point to the re-birth of an independent press in Lebanon, the new generation of newspapers in Egypt and obviously the growth of Al Jazeera and the new Arabic TV channels.

1) When I talk to Arab or Muslim editors or publishers, I have the feeling that they don’t consider themselves as representatives of the Fourth Estate. They say they represent their country or the idea they have of their country, but it is very rare to hear that they are first a « counter-power » and that their main function is to be a watchdog of the three other powers, executive, legislative and judicial. Until this mentality has not changed, I don’t see how editors, producers and journalists can work as a group linked by a common and strong ideal.

2) Secondly, there is a tremendous lack of media institutions in the Arab world. Newspapers are not setting up national associations of newspapers and the same thing goes for the TV channels. In America, the Washington Post and the New York Times are competitors, but they work together within the NAA (Newspapers Association of America). And for the TV networks, same scenario : Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya are always quarelling and they don’t want to see that they have common interests… This lack of common or national institutions explains why Arab media have a very little voice in international organisations.

3) Thirdly, the incredible and recent growth of TV channels in the Arab world is a challenge for all of us. Usually - and even in India or in China -, there was first the development of printed media, then of broadcast media, and a lot of broadcast journalists were trained in « traditional » newspapers. That’s not the case with Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya with a generation of citizens and a generation of journalists who only know this media. The risks are twofold : it creates a huge imbalance between media and the expression of citizenship is perverted: you can begin a political or an ideological debate in a TV show, but it’s impossible to pursue it or to find a consensus without the relay of printed media. It is not their sole responsability, but what I see through Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya is the emergence of a pseudo-TV democracy. A genuine democracy needs other tools and other commitments: democracy is like a chain with newspapers, radio, TV, websites and blogs. If one link in the chain is missing, there is no more chain.

4) Let me finish with a fourth argument about globalisation and the Arab world. I’m always surprised by the love/hate (or hate/love) relationship between Arabs and Americans. As a Frenchman, I can understand that, but it also appears that here in the Gulf, it’s an obsession. As if the world was divided in two parts and that Japan, Europe or South America were just bit players. For instance, when I open an Arab newspaper, the op-ed pages are full of articles from American (sometimes English) syndications, never with columns from Germany, Spain, Brazil or India. Arab media live in a polarized world that forbids them to consider a real globalised world. And now, I'm waiting your comments. I'm sure I can improve my understanding of Arab media with your feedback.