The author discusses the role of new mass media in sustaining the momentum of the Arab revolution by broadcasting uncensored developments on the Internet. The popularity of political protests across the Middle East was marked by the development of satellite technology and growth of television channels such as Al-Jazeera, BBC Arabic, France 24 and Al-Hiwar. A new form of citizen journalism agais…
In authoritarian-ruled Arab societies, new media, exemplified by the Internet, are perceived as the harbinger of democracy. In interviews conducted in Egypt in 2009, I asked bloggers, human rights activists and journalists about their motivations for blogging, the nature of the relationship between blogging and traditional media practitioners and the challenges that hinder the efficacy of blogg…