Media Monitor Egypt - 04

Bi-monthly report on the media situation (November December 2012)

Al Sawt Al Hurr Arab Network for Media Support www.asahnetwork.org

Media Monitor 04
(November December 2012)
Preface The Research Section of al Sawt al Hurr, the Arab network for media support, is producing bi-monthly Media Monitors. These reports describe developments in the Egyptian media, e.g. the emergence or disappearance of media outlets, e.g. satellite channels, newspapers, news websites and other initiatives. Each edition also covers information on the environment in which media in Egypt operate, e.g. the legal, financial, social and political developments that affect dynamism, quality and diversity of the media landscape. With these reports al Sawt al Hurr aims to provide media workers, researchers, academics and whoever else is interested in the field of media, with a systematic description and analysis of the rapid developments that take place in of the Egyptian media scene.

Each Monitor consists of the following two parts.

Part 1 General Developments

The first part provides the monitoring results on the latest developments, presented to readers with an interest in and some minimal knowledge of the Egyptian media landscape.

Part 2 Research Results

The second part zooms in on one particular issue or subject relevant to media and development and presents a summary of an analytical study conducted during the same period. For this copy research was conducted on Journalists and their use of social media sites as sources for news gathering

Research team Eman Kheir Al Shaimaa Alazab Yasr abdelAziz Petrus Schothorst Media developments Operational Research Arabic Editor English Editor

Kindly send your reactions, suggestions, etc. to info@asahnetwork.org

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General developments in the media in Egypt

Part I

1. General Developments in the media sector in general

- The main event during this reporting period was the drafting of the new constitution, which caused much media attention, demonstrations and violent clashes between supporters and opponents of the work of the constitutional committee, which was seen by most political parties and many civil and human rights organizations as not representing diversity in society and leading to a restriction of human rights and social and political freedom. - The Press Syndicate held an emergency meeting of its general assembly and decided to withdraw its participation in the committee, charged with drafting a new constitution, because of its objection to the articles concerning the press and media. - The reporting period also witnessed restrictions on freedom by the new government, e.g. the ban on broadcasts of the private satellite channel Dream TV from its main studio outside the Media Production City; the ban on several announcers of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union for criticizing the current situation in the country; the charges brought against many journalists and announcers of private channels with insulting the judiciary; the prevention from publication of several news articles from in state-owned newspapers. The developments were often seen by the media as indications of a policy to muzzle and intimidate journalists and media organizations. - In protest several private and party newspapers organized a news blackout on December 4 and some of the private TV channels did not broadcast the following day, claiming that their act is a legitimate means of objection to the new constitution.

2. Newspapers
The new constitution, adopted in a referendum in December 2012, guarantees the "freedom to publish and own newspapers, of all kinds by each natural or legal person. (Article 49) New newspapers that entered or left the market during this period - Shaab Masr weekly newspaper, with editor in chief Alaa al Banna. (independent) - Nahdet Masr independent weekly closed down

Journalists of the private newspaper Nahdet Masr were told that its owner Emad Eddin Adib decided to close it down. Hossam al Din Amir, head of the civil society department of the newspaper and some of his colleagues formed a committee to defend the rights of journalists and some human rights organizations came out in support of the workers of Nahdet Masr. New developments The article in the new constitution stated above has unprecedented consequences. It is a clear break with the policy of strict licensing of the Mubarak era; the liberalization will also
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enable each individual to become editor in chief with entitlements such as Press Syndicate membership; training allowance and other financial benefits; a different tax regime, so it is widely expected that the application of this article will be adapted Continued financial problems The Minister of Finance Mumtaz Alsayed seized 50% of the revenues state owned media houses generated from printing school books, in order to repay part of tax arrears owed by these institutions of state-owned. The Minister stated that the public treasury was forced to support these media houses with more than 40 million pounds in 2011, including 4.5 million pounds as urgent subsidies, and also gave 36 million pounds to the Supreme Council of the Press to cover monthly training allowances of members of the Press Syndicate. The administrators and workers of journalistic institutions wil be entitled to a training allowance of 25% of their basic salary. The governing board of state owned Akhbar al Youm media house issued a decision to stop recruitment and training within the institution for a period of two years, which is described by some junior journalists/ trainees as arbitrary, because it deprives their organization of dozens of competencies. The decision to exempt the children of employees from this decision is seen by some journalists as sustaining a policy of succession within the organization at the detriment of work opportunities of other competent journalists. Muhammad Jamal al-Din chairman of the governing board of state owned Rose al Youssef newspaper resigned after the Ministry of Finance withheld approximately 2.5 million pounds, from the dues owned by the organization of the Ministry of Education, without prior warning, in settlement of accumulated debts. It was estimated that Akhbar al Youm owes the ministry one million pound in taxes and by taking more than it was entitled to, the organization now accuses the Ministry of Finance of an attempt to stifle the organization and prevent it from performing its role. The sit-inn of journalists of several party newspapers at the Press Syndicate entered its fourth month. The group rejected the proposal of syndicate chairman, Mamdouh al Wali to replace the old party newspapers with a new one which will offer employment to all journalists. Representatives of the group of journalists concerned (appr. 260) demanded that the new paper will receive financial backing of the government. The chairman of the consultative or Shura Council Ahmed Fahmy did not respond to their demands till now, as they say. Editorial problems and protests An administrative courts decision returned journalist Gamal Abdel-Rahim to his position as editor of the newspaper al Gomhuria, after he was sacked by the Shura Council. The court stated that the Shura Council is not authorized to dismiss or discipline journalists and that this is the role of the Press Syndicate. The decision of the administrative court has not been implemented, and instead the Shura Council appointed al Sayed al Bably as a editor in chief.
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On November 26, state owned al Akhbar newspaper prevented publication of an article of journalist Ahmed Taha al Nakr titled The Secret of the Temple, in which he criticized the recent constitutional declaration . The writer then published the article in his personal Facebook account. The same newspaper also banned publication of an article titled Husseini Abu Deif: the living martyr by the same writer, which was then published at al Bedaya news website. Two days later, state owned al Ahram newspaper vetoed an article written by Ahmed Moussa, managing editor in the same newspaper, entitled on my responsibility in which he criticized the constitutional declaration issued by the President of the Republic and asked him to withdraw it. On December 5, eleven independent and party affiliated newspapers did not print their papers in protest of the articles on press freedom in the new constitution that was approved by referendum on December 21 and of the Constitutional declaration issued by the President of the Republic the following day. The protesters see these articles and the constitutional declaration as restricting the freedom of the press. The news black-out , is was announced to be the first step in a series of measures to protect the freedom of the press. The protest action was joined by a number of journalists of al Ahram news portal and more news websites, e.g. Egypt Independent, (the English website of al Masry al Youm ) joined the action. The presidency lodged a complaint with the General Public Prosecutor against Khaled Salah, editor in chief of al Youm 7 private newspaper and website and journalist Ola Shafei of the same newspaper, for publishing an article titled The marriage of Morsi to Fouada is null. The two are accused of libel and defaming the president.

3. Multimedia trends of newspapers

According to a study in 2012 on the online presence of newspapers, commissioned by the Forbes - Middle East magazine, al Ahram came out strongest, followed by privately owned al Youm 7. This newspaper ranked third in the list of the Arabic newspapers that were most successful in social communication during 2012, with al Ahram ranking fourth. The study also focused on the relative success of newspapers and websites in keeping readers and visitors attached. New developments: - Shaab Misr News weekly launched news website (www.egyptianpeople.com) - Vito weekly newspaper launched a news website (www.veto-eg.com) - al Shareaa weekly newspaper launched a news website (www.alshari3.com) - al alwakei electronic newspaper (www.alwakei.com) Some private, partisan and state-owned newspapers expanded their number of websites with a portal, so that all their websites become more accessible, e.g.
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al Ahram, al Akhbar, al Masry al Youm, al Hurriyah wa al Adala, al Wafd, al Fagr, al Watan and al Shorouk.. The websites of al Youm 7, al Masry alYoum, al Watan and al Sharee newspapers all started life broadcasting during this period. The website of Shaab Masr newspaper offers an integrated news network. It has its own live broadcasts in addition to satellite broadcasts through the internet. al Masry alYoum privately owned newspaper developed a visual news bulletin for mobile phones and also offers a jobs service where visitors can market their resumes. al Masry al Youm also offers the possibility to send videos of al Masry al Youm TV to the readers e-mail addresses. Google Inc. reported that al Youm 7 website had the highest traffic in Egypt in 2012. According to the classification of Alexa website, from the 30 radio and television network with their own news websites in Egypt, the following are most visited: ERTU; Radio Sawa Egypt; SIS (State Information Service); Radio and Television on Internet, Nile Television Network. From the 30 news agencies, only the Middle East News Agency (MENA) was the most visited in Egypt. Akhbar Masr Centre which is a subsidiary to the of Egyptian Radio and Television Union, present an analysis of political events in its TV show and also developed a website for live broadcasts. Some commercial satellite channels started live broadcast services on YouTube, such as CBC, al Mehwar, On TV, al Qahira Wal Nas, Dream 1 and al Hayat 3. The official website of the Ministry of Information provides a service whereby visitors can listen to Radio Masr while browsing.

4. Interactions with readers, viewers and users

al Sabah private daily has reserved a page of its newspaper for re-publishing views and opinions of the most popular and famous Facebook pages, such as Salafio Costa and Elmanio Cplantro and of the Dustour Masr hash tag on Twitter, which follows the views on the new constitution of internet activists. al Watan privately owned newspaper, followed a bit later by al Masry al Youm , developed interactive maps on their websites, where forecasts of on the constitutional referendum can be followed results per governorate. Almost all websites connected to newspapers have conducted opinion polls on peoples views on the referendum on the draft constitution.

5. Independent New websites

The number of internet users in Egypt is rapidly increasing since January 25, 2011 and has now reached the total of 31,52 million users, according to the latest report issued by the Ministry of Communications. Egypt liberalized its telecommunication and information technology sector in 2000, which helped to increase the number of internet users and the quality of services. During the last 6 months of 2012 the number of websites has increased significantly According to the Ministry of Communications the number of users has increased with about 1 million a month during 2012. New news websites that entered the scene Nureed Jaravid

Nureed website has a radio and TV facility and offers creative youth the opportunity to upload their articles, photos and videos. Nureed is based on the idea of interactive civic journalism, the development of political awareness and dialogue and community consensus. It enables young people from different parts of Egypt to express themselves. In addition to news, Nureed also runs a blog and fills pages on other social networking websites. Jarayid publishes news and articles from a collection of Egyptian newspapers. al Wakei news website is the best known popular interactive website. The idea behind it is to monitor the reality and deliver the peoples opinions. It is written by readers and posts their comments. The website of al Mogaz, and the website of Masr 11, on the internet both cover news and are also present on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+. Independent news websiteMasrawy started a new hot line: Masrawy Online, a service for business owners to facilitate their communication with their customers.. The launched a new application for mobile phones and Ipads to connect them to the Masrawy website, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. It offers the possibility to follow-FM radio channels and live broadcast of Masrawy TV. Forbes - Middle East magazine ranked independent news website Masrawy as the most powerful news website in the Arab world during 2012. Hoqook.com website that reports on human rights has a radio service in addition to YouTube, Twitter, Google+, and Facebook. Independent websites have also run opinion polls during the period of the constitution drafting and the referendum.
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6. Egyptian Radio and Television Union

The mandate of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) is based on Law no 13 of 1979, which states that the Union aims to convey media message, audio and video, in a matter of policy, planning and implementation, respecting the general framework of policies and regulations guiding the community and media requirements. According to an estimate of the Ministry of Finance, ERTU will collect revenues of one billion and 396 million pounds in 2012 and incur a loss of 3 billion and 319 million pounds. The new budget was raised by 724 million pounds to meet an increase in salary payments. ERTU employs some 43 thousand staff, despite the fact that its main Maspero office can only accommodate some 7 thousand as agreed the current Minster of the media Salah Abdel-Maksoud and his predecessor Osama Haikal. ERTUs debt to the National Investment Bank has reached 19 billion pounds and it owes an additional 900 million pounds to private companies. ERTU and the Union of Arab producers, led by Dr. Ibrahim AbuZikry convened a gathering In December 2012 in Egypt. The Union of Arab producers was responsible for organizing the event, and ERTU took care of sponsorship and media coverage. The State Information Service (SIS), in collaboration with the German Hans Seidel foundation convened an annual meeting of the Nile Centers for Media, Education and Training, in order to assess their performance, and develop a new strategy for the media in 2013. (There are 30 centers in different governorates of the country), ERTU presenters Bothaina Kamel and Hala Fahmy were temporarily suspended of work, following a decision of ERTUs Legal Affairs Committee which reprimanded them for professional irregularities in their programs Events of 24 hours and al Dameer both broadcasted on Channel 2. The chief of the Prime TV sector and the head of the specialized ERTU channels both resigned in protest of the poor TV coverage of the protests against the draft constitution and the presidents Constitutional Declaration. Ismail Shishtawi has been appointed as the new head of the Egyptian radio and television Union. ERTU made five of its channels available to broadcast episodes of its program, the Constitution where to? (Channel Two, Sawt al Shaab, Nile Life, Family & Child and the Satellite channel for regional broadcasts in Egypt in addition to cultural, educational and regional radio stations. The program was the first co-production between ERTUs News Sector and the Shura Council.

7. Commercial Satellite TV
The expansion in commercial satellite TV of the previous period has come to a halt and the economic problems in the country negatively affected the advertisement market. New developments - MBC network has launched a new satellite channel, MBC Egypt. The MBC group runs one of the first Arab satellite channels. - On TV network changed ownership from Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris to Tunisian businessman Tareq Ben Ammar, owner of the Tunisian breeze channels. On TV channel premiered with the first investigative reporting program on Egyptian TV, as part of a talk show. Problems and protests Dream TV network was forced to stop broadcasting from its main studio at Dream city because the minister of Information decided that its special permit to broadcast from outside Media Production City had expired. The administrative court issued a ruling allowing them to continue broadcasting till the case has been tried. Presenter Sheriff Mansour of TV channel Egypt 25, was charged with insulting the judiciary, during an episode of his show Spectrum, when he called the replacement process of the Attorney General illegal. Khairy Ramadan, presenter of the program Mumkin CBC channel resigned his position, due to the channels interference in the selection of guests. Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi was prevented from appearing on the show. Ramadan only rescinded on this decision after his guest was allowed to join his program.. The Office of the President pressed charges against presenter Mahmoud Saad, for libel against and defaming of the president of the Republic. Saad was summoned for interrogation and was released on bail of 5,000 pounds. On December 4, four satellite channels switched the screen to black to protest against what they named the restriction of freedom of opinion and expression as demonstrated in articles of the new constitution and the constitutional declaration issued by the President of the Republic. The media expressed their grave concern at the attempts to intimidate media workers at Media Production City by Islamic groups, supporters of Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, former presidential candidate for the Salafi movement. The group threatened to enter the media production city by force and attack journalists.

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8. Freedom of expression
During the period under study, the media repeatedly expressed their grave concern that freedom of the media will be systematically curtailed during the coming period. Emad Hejab, the media expert and supervisor at the Media Freedom Observatory presented and analytical study that showed that Egypt is experiencing a period of unprecedented freedom of opinion and expression, particularly the free flow of information in the private media. The study observed a relation between media freedom, the current political freedom and the spread of the political debate. New developments In February 2012, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology submitted a proposal to parliament to amend some laws that hinder the freedom of expression and it started a dialogue with the commercial sector, civil society and the media. This dialogue resulted in the agreement to amend the 5 paragraphs with 55 articles Among these laws, the Telecommunications Regulatory Act No. 10 of 2003 articles 65 and 67, and that were used by the Egyptian government to sever contacts during the revolution of January 25, 2011. Article 65 puts the device in conjunction with the Ministry of Defense and the competent authorities state a detailed plan prior to run communications networks implemented during periods announced a general mobilization in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 87 of 1960, regarding the general mobilization, which is limited to the tension of international relations or the danger of war or the occurrence of war or natural disasters, environmental or crises threaten the national security of the country and the plan includes determining who is subject to management some or all services and communications networks of any operator or service provider and call which also his employees based on the operation and maintenance of these services and networks to meet the cases referred to and passed The plan is updated periodically to ensure national defense and security and is committed to operators and providers of telecommunications services to the implementation of that plan. Article 67 in the case of the Declaration general mobilization stipulated in Article 65 The Council of Ministers issued a decree activating the plan referred to Article 65 that includes the decision to determine the timing of the start of the implementation and the implementation of the plan, and in all cases, prohibit all or certain types of telecommunication services or decommissioning whole or in part except upon written decision issued so the President of the Republic on the proposal of the Council of Ministers to submit the President a detailed report to Parliament the reasons why so within fifteen days of the issuance of the decision in the absence of the Board is display in the first session held him and, in any case shall not be interrupted or stop or emergency relief services.

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9. Infringements on the Freedom of Expression

The concern over the future of the freedom of expression lead to several initiatives during this period of journalists and human rights organizations to organize themselves in defense of present freedoms. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights stated its position on the control of content on the internet, following a verdict of an administrative court to block so-called pornographic sites. Its statement argues, among other things, that censorship is the inherent jurisdiction of the judiciary and not of any executive authority, whether public or private. It also argues that the creation and management of central control systems on the internet involves a lot of money, making the option is economically unsound if the cost need to be paid by the general budget of the state. Sexual content on the internet is a problem, but the solution lies in family control rather than government control. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights recommended the State encourages internet service providers and other non-state parties, including individuals, groups and civil society organizations, to make family controlled software available. The Network for the protection and freedom of journalists denounced the threat which Said Shoaib, president of the United Journalists Center received from a group calling itself the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice group in Egypt because he filed a case against the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The group stated their demand that the case be withdrawn. The continued violence against journalists by the police forces and the arrest and assault on individual journalists while they cover demonstrations was seen by some media as a direct result of the Constitutional Declaration of absolute powers issued by President Mohamed Morsy. Marwa Toukhi, internet journalist at al Bedaiah website was held in custody for one night and Ahmed Gomaa, photographer of al Dustour privately owned newspaper Ahmed Gomaa was tortured by the police, who also confiscated all his belongings including his camera, which recorded the events. Hoqook.com website started legal action against the Muslim Brotherhood, after a number of its correspondents were battered and received death threats from supporters of the group for their coverage of events and demonstrations related to the presidents Constitutional Declaration.

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10. Access information

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology prepared a draft law providing data and information, to develop controls and specific mechanisms for the freedom of access to information so as not to turn this freedom into chaos. The draft Access to Information law seeks to set limits and legal controls to any disclosure of data and information, with an emphasis on the right to privacy and public freedoms. Creating a High Council as the Supreme Council of data and information, with broad powers and enjoying the independence in practicing his functions and powers, not permissible to interfere in its affairs. This Councils main task is to regulate disclosure and trading data and information, and granting similar immunity to the judiciary immunity, it ceased its decisions only by virtue of the Administrative Court. The Council will consist of seven full-time members, experienced experts, selected by the Shura Council upon the nomination of the Prime Minister, the First Deputy Chairman of the Court of Cassation, the First Deputy Chairman of the State Council, and one representative of each State apparatus of the national security. By law, employees of the ministries of Defense, Interior and the General Intelligence Service are forbidden to engage in political work and should not accept work with other units of the state administrative apparatus in order to maintain their independence. They are also prohibited to disclose information or data that may (potentially) harm the higher interests of the country. The law includes seven sections containing 50 articles, and represents the largest possible response to the requirements of civil society, according to the report issued by the Ministry of Communications on 10 2012.

11. State and government institutions dealing with the media

The Shura Council committee charged with drafting the new constitution completed its work and the president put it to a popular referendum on December 15, in spite of the refusal of many political and civil bodies and independent journalists and media professionals. The minister of Information, Saleh Abdel-Maksoud, approved the participation of a number of reporters at radio stations and television channels of Radio and Television Union in training programs of Arab Reporters on Investigative Journalism AREEJ The minister of Information joined the Kuwait held conference of the Islamic press, at the invitation of his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Mohammad al-Abdullah aiming to activate media cooperation between the two countries. The minister of Finance, Dr. Mumtaz al Saeed announced his ministrys decision to allocate 35 million pounds per year in support of the training & technology allowance of members of the Press Syndicate. It also raised its support to Middle East News Agency (MENA) from 47 EPS to 55 million EPS to cover the needs of the Agency. According to Mamdouh al Waly
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chairman of the Press Syndicate it will also donate one million pounds to Rose al Youssef media house; Dar al Helal media house and the National Distribution Company in order to enable the insurance fund to release the cars it had sequestered to compensate for the debts owed by these media houses. President Mohamed Morsi met a number of media leaders and Arab media at his presidential headquarters, and stressed that the media should not write against government institutions unless there is corruption, and government officials, from their side, must seek communication and interaction with the media by all the means. The Supreme Council of the Press The Economic Committee of the Shura Council launched a special six months program to develop state-owned media institutions, which will be executed in two phases, the first phase will include four institutions: Dar al Tahrir, Dar al Maarif, Dar al Helal, and Rose al Youssef, while the second phase will include the remaining institutions. A delegation of the Supreme Council, provided the Constitutional Committee with proposals to ensure the freedom and independence of the press in the new constitution, but the Committee ignored these. The representatives of the Press Syndicate in the Constitutional Committee withdrew from the committee. The Press Syndicate held an emergency meeting of its general assembly and decided to withdraw its participation in the committee, charged with drafting a new constitution, because of its objection to the articles concerning the press and media. It also protested against the Constitutional Declaration issued by President Mohamed Morsy. The Supreme Council of the Press issued a press statement, denouncing the attack on the headquarters of al Wafd newspaper by supporters of former presidential candidate of the Salafi movement Hazem Salah Abu Ismail and called for the protection of all journalistic institutions partisan, privately and state-owned that are exposed to threats. The Shura Council and the Constitutional Committee The committee charged with drafting the new constitution completed its work and the president put it to a popular referendum on December 15, in spite of the refusal of many political and civil bodies and independent journalists and media professionals. National Council for the Press and (audio-visual) Media Article 215 of the new constitution demands the establishment of a national media council that will assume responsibility for organizing radio and television broadcasting services and for regulating the printed press, digital and other. It shall manage the state owned press and media institutions; to promote their development and assets and ensure their commitment to a professional and administratively and economically sound performance. (Article 216) The Council shall be responsible for ensuring media freedom in various forms and manifestations; to maintain plurality and prevent monopolies and protect the interests of the public. It should also develop and maintain controls and ethical standards for the media profession and preserve the Arabic language, and take into account the values of the community and its positive values and traditions.
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12. Journalism Syndicates

The Press Syndicate attracted much media attention during this period with several issues and its actions were widely debated by its members. The Press Syndicate withdrew from the Constitutional Committee after all its proposals were refuted, including the ones on the freedom of the press and the minimum wages for journalists. According to Gamal Fahmy, Deputy Chairman of the Press Syndicate held an emergency general assembly to publicly announce the rejection by the Constitutional Committee of its proposals on the freedom of opinion and expression. The Syndicate referred its chairman of the board, Mamdouh al Waly, to a disciplinary committee of the Syndicate because he continued to partake in the Constitutional Committee in spite of his syndicates decision to opt-out and even endorsed the final version of the draft during the last voting round. The Press Syndicate organized several marches against the Constitutional Declaration of absolute powers of the President and the draft constitution. The Press Syndicate submitted a complaint with the General Public Prosecutor against the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, accusing them of instigating the murder of journalist al Husseini Mohammed Abu Deif, while he was documenting the assault of followers of the Freedom and Justice Party and the Muslim Brotherhood on peaceful protesters against the Constitutional Declaration and the draft constitution. The Board of the Press Syndicate during an emergency meeting, decided to honor the family of martyr of the press Husseini Abu Deif, with an extraordinary pension because of what they called the circumstances under which he was killed while performing his job around the presidential palace It also agreed to accept journalists of the new (post-revolution) newspapers al Masreyoun, al Sharee and al Tahrir as full members and the registration committee will convene in February to process their registration. The Freedoms Committee of the Press Syndicate condemned the attacks on journalists and photographers of several state and privately owned newspapers, by members of the Central Security Department, while covering the events commemorating the battle at Mohammed Mahmoud street .It also demanded from Saad el Katatni, Chairman of Freedom and Justice Party, to punish followers of his party who struck against the director of the Gharbiya Governorate Office of al Youm 7 newspaper, while covering protests against the Constitutional Declaration of absolute powers issued by President Mohamed Morsy. The Syndicate for Electronic media at Opera House, celebrated the graduation of the first batch of trainees on its new initiative the Announcer Project.

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13. Activities of civil society organizations related to media development

During this period, human rights organizations started to focus more on media freedom and developed partnerships with media organizations. A large media and human rights action started in solidarity with the satellite network Dream TV, after the Minister of media stopped broadcasts of its two channels from the premises of its Dream Studios City. The minister claimed this was because the license granted to it to broadcast from outside the Media Production City had expired. The Network for the protection and freedom of journalists in collaboration with the United Group and with support of the British Foreign Office, established a legal assistance unit Milaad to defend journalists at the courts free of charge as of January 2013. -The Observatory for the Freedom of Information of the New World Development and Human Rights Foundation, issued its analysis of the performance of privately owned media, satellite channels and newspapers, during the first phase of the referendum. Some media leaders and a number of Board members of the Press Syndicate formed an independent media unit, aimed at ensuring freedom of opinion and expression, professional development and the defense of journalists and media workers against restricting freedoms to the benefit of a single political faction according to a newspaper report of their first meeting in al Watan newspaper, titled Defending the right of citizens to free media.

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Part II Research Findings

Journalists and their use of social media sites as sources for news gathering

Field Study

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Introduction:
Social media sites have become a technological option for internet users, especially for journalists, as these sites have facilitated the ability to gather news and information, both quickly and easily. This has forced every journalist to follow these sites, which are nowadays no longer new, as many public personalities and politicians use these social media sites to express their political views and standpoints. Therefore, we find that social media sites are often the primary source of news. And despite the marked increase of social media sites users in Egypt, especially after the events of January 25th Revolution, we find that within the journalistic field there are only a few journalists who have the knowledge and expertise to use such sites as sources for news. Moreover, news organizations have not paid enough attention to such social media sites with regards to the role the latter could play in facilitating news gathering. Often times, news organizations turn to people, who are not journalists, perhaps bloggers or information technology specialists, who lack journalistic skills and expertise. Within this context, Al Sawt Al Hurr, the Arab Network for Media Support, has prepared and organized some 15 training workshops between March 2011 and November 2012, under the title, Journalists & Social Media (JSM), stemming from its deep belief in the importance of such sites for journalists and their importance in developing journalism performance. This study was undertaken to find out how journalists use the news provided by social media networks; how these journalists check the credibility and correctness of such news; and the impact of the way journalists use these social network sites on the journalism work. The sample used in this study was composed of Egyptian journalists from various news organizations, as well as social network sites users; all alumni of the Al Sawt Al Hurrs training workshops on social networks, an estimated total of 200 journalists.

Study findings:
This study produced a number of findings, which were the result of an analysis of data of (125) electronic survey questionnaires, which the sample respondents filled out. Here are some of the most important findings: The findings show the importance of social media sites usage for journalists, due to the following information: The high number of journalists within the sample who use such sites. Half of the journalists within the sample surf social media sites via mobile phones. 55% of the journalists within the sample work with newspapers that have set professional journalistic guidelines which dictate the method by which journalists deal with news gathered from social media sites. 64% of the journalists within the sample described social network sites as secondary sources for news gathering; 33% described such sites as primary sources; whereas only 4% regarded such sites as weak sources. A high proportion of journalists depend on social media sites as a source for news coverage; whereby high users and middle users were a greater proportion versus
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low users, with regards to depending on social media sites for news and information gathering. 54% of the journalists in the study sample were able to break news via news gathered from social media sites. The study findings revealed that despite the fact that journalists have a positive attitude towards social media sites and that a high proportion of these journalists depend on such sites (as mentioned previously), it was found that a greater proportion of journalists have a neutral attitude towards news shared on social media sites, in addition to a predominant negative attitude by journalists over a positive attitude. An explanation for this aforementioned finding, is that respondents requested further training in the areas such as: investigating the degree of truth behind news shared on social media sites; how to differentiate between real and fake twitter handles for people on Twitter; how to improve the professional use of social media sites in order to prevent journalistic pitfalls. Respondents requested these subjects because they want to improve their overall journalistic performance. Privately owned newspapers are ahead of other (state-owned and party-affiliated ones) newspapers in the sense that they depend more on social media sites for news gathering; use news gathered from social media more often to break news; and have a positive and trusting attitude towards such sites. It should be noted that 45% of the respondents of this sample work for privately owned newspapers. (33% state owned and 20% party affiliated). It should also be noted that privately owned newspapers form the most popular group of newspapers in terms of readership and pay more and continuous attention to training of their staff. The following part describes the theoretical and procedural methods of this study in more detail:

Defining Social Network Sites:

The advent of Web 2.0 paved the way for social media networks, the content of which is produced by the users itself, such as blogs and Facebook, which allows users to get connected. Other sites, e.g. Twitter allows users to send messages to one another and/or to share news and opinions; Flickr is a social media site which allows users to share photos. Meetup is another social media network which allows users to organize events. All these networks allow users to share information and to form groups with a large number of people in an interactive manner.

Launch Dates of Main Social Network Sites:

Geocities (1994); it used to offer people a way to build websites and tell the world about themselves with postings and photos. Classmates (1995); the website was created to connect former schoolmates with one another. SixDegrees (1997); the first online business website that attempted to identify and map relationships between real people using their real names.
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 LiveJournal (1999); offered the first rudimentary form of social networking. Friendster (2002); the site that introduced many people to social networks. Tribe (2003); allowed people to form online communities around shared interests. MySpace (2003); the sites success peaked in 2008, but users began migrating to Facebook. LinkedIn (2003); this social media network connects users on a solely business level, achieving fame in 2011. Twitter (2006); this network lets users express themselves in short messages, i.e. tweets, and it is contains a cascade of information. GooglePlus (2011); wasnt Googles first foray into social networking, but it certainly was the search companys most ambitious attempt to compete with Facebook. Companies are now heading towards creating a number of smaller, more limited social networks. Pinterest, for example, is a site for heavy photos, meant for sharing images whereby users collect photos in one location to help them come up with new ideas for various projects. Path, is a personal network, allowing users to share videos, photos and updates with a smaller group of friends. Instagram, exists only on mobile devices and is used only to share photos between users. Nextdoor.com, aims to collect people who are physical neighbors through a closed social network.

History of the use of Social Media Networks by Journalists

Its safe to say that it is the use of social media networks for political news, which attracted the attention of conventional media to the importance of social media networks as sources of news. This goes back to the protests in Ukraine (2004-2005), which later became known as the Orange Revolution. Researchers see this as the first revolution in history organized via the internet, therefore it also became known as the Twitter Revolution, where opposition journalists used social media networks to voice their dissent. In 2009, clashes occurred in Iran, later known as the Green Revolution, in protest against Iranian President Ahmeddin Nejad victory in the presidential elections. American politicians had to resort to the internet in general, and to social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook, in particular, as main sources for information on events happening in Iran, especially after authorities in Iran banned journalists from covering Ahmeddin Nejads pro and anti political protests. But the real transformation in journalists relationship with social media networks occurred when CNN managers attested to monitoring social media networks, describing such networks as complimentary to their reports on events in Iran. As for Egypt, blogs paved the way for Egyptian journalists and for the public in general to find news which was previously kept away from them. In 2005, social media blogs played a prominent role in the coverage on parliamentary elections. In 2006-2007, a case captured public attention, later in media circles known as the Emad El Kebeer bus driver case, where Emad was detained and tortured by Egyptian police. This case stirred public opinion when an Egyptian blogger, Wael Abbas, published a video of the event, taken with a mobile phone and shared it on the internet, after which private newspapers picked up the case.
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In 2008-2009, Esraa Abdel Fattah, an Egyptian female, on her Facebook page called on Egyptians to participate in civil disobedience on April 6, 2008, in protest of the Egyptian governments policies and in support of the Mahala textile factory workers. Conventional media began reporting on the civil disobedience invitation and it began creating a buzz in public opinion. Then followed the case of Khaled Said in 2010, where social media networks played a crucial role in bringing the case to the forefront of public opinion.

Research Objectives:
Main Objective: The study aims to find out how Egyptian journalists in the study sample utilized social media networks to gather news and information and how this is incorporated in their news coverage. Secondary Objectives: 1. Discovering journalists patterns of use of social media networks. 2. Determining the importance of social media networks for journalists in their work. 3. Finding out how journalists perceive the credibility of this news on these sites. 4. Detecting the way in which journalists use of these social media networks in their work. 5. Finding out how journalists use their personal identity when using social media networks. 6. Uncovering the causal relation between the news organizations editorial policies and the journalists use of social media networks, and to what extent such editorial policies affect the journalists news and information gathering. 7. Analyze a possible relationship between journalists demographics (gender, age, newspaper ownership) and their view on the credibility of social media networks. 8. Uncovering the consequences of journalists use of social media networks on news coverage. 9. Determining what journalists see as the most important training needs to improve their journalistic performance.

Sample Study:
The study depended on Judgment Sampling (purposive), targeting Egyptian journalists from various news organizations (state- and privately owned or party-affiliated), social media network users, all alumni from the Journalists & Social Media workshop (JSM) of Al Sawt Al Hurr. A total of appr. 200 journalists, 125 of which actually took part in the study.

Information Gathering Instruments:

The study depended on the internet for data and information gathering, via Google.doc, which allows the design of an online survey and for receiving immediate responses.

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The survey was divided into several sections, corresponding to the objectives of the study, whereby questions included were both closed-ended and open-ended. The sections aimed at finding out the various patterns of use of social media networks by journalists; the way of using these; journalists perceptions on social media networks as sources for news and information gathering; and finally, the consequences of using such sites.

Part One:
Field Study Results for a Sample of Journalists who use Social Media Sites: 1. Attributes / Specifics of Sample of Journalists who use Social Media Sites: Data analysis of the field study revealed a number of demographic specifics and attributes which characterized the sample of Egyptian journalists who use social media sites, and have acquired training on how to use social media for journalistic work with Al Sawt Al Hurr. These specifics / attributes are as follows: a. Age: the under 30 age group came in first place with 43.2%; the 30 to 40 group came in second with 39.2%; and the 40 to 60 age group ended in last place with 22%. b. Gender: males comprised a greater portion (64%) of the study than females (36%) c. Education: 72.8% of respondents hold a college degree; 26.4% hold a postgraduate degree and 0.8% of respondents have a (post) secondary degree. d. Newspaper ownership: 45.6% of respondents works for privately owned newspapers; 33.6% work for state-owned owned and 20.8% works for partyaffiliated newspapers. 2. Patterns of Journalists Use of Social Media Sites: Study results showed that Facebook was the most used social media site by journalists within the study sample, capturing the highest percentage with 98.4%; Twitter came in second place with 83.2%; followed by YouTube in third place with 76%; Google+ came in fourth place with 37.6%; LinkedIn in fifth with 14.4%; and finally, other social media sites such as Flickr and Goodreads came in last place. Results showed that journalists within the sample study who have been using social media sites for more than 3 years formed 48.8%; followed by 45.6% using these sites for 1-3 years; while 7 journalists, i.e. 5.6% used social media during less than one year.

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Chart 1. Number of hours spent on surfing social media sites

As for the number of hours that interviewees spent on such social media networks: more than half of the respondents (65.6%) used the sites for 3 or more hours; whereas 28.8% used the sites for 1-3 hours per day. Study results showed that 75.2% of the journalists within the study sample scored high; 17.6% scored average and 7.2% scored low on a scale on the intensity of social media use. This can be explained by the fact that all respondents of the study have attended a training workshop on how to use social media networks, therefore they have a special interest in such sites, besides the fact that the nature of their work requires them to follow up on all possible sources for news and information. When asked about their ability to use social media sites via mobile phones, almost half of the respondents within the study sample (62 respondents, i.e. 49.6%) stated that they use mobiles for social media surfing; whereas 63 respondents, i.e. 50.4%, stated that they do not use mobiles for surfing on social networks. Study results showed that 79.2% of journalists within the study sample work for a news organization that has an Online department; whereas 20.8% did not work for such an organization. Half of the respondents (51%) stated that the editorial policies of their news organizations to some extent affected their choices of news from social media sites; whereas 17% stated that this greatly affects their choice of news; and finally, 32% stated that editorial policies did not affect their choices.

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Chart 2. The influence of editorial policies on the choice of news from social media sites

With respect to verbal and written guidelines regarding news gathered from social media sites, it was found that 55.2% of the journalists within the study sample said that such guidelines were in place in their news organizations; whereas 44.8% of respondents said that no such guidelines on the gathering of information from social media sites exist. A high percentage of respondents, 68%, did not have a separate journalist account next to their personal account; whereas only 40 respondents mentioned having a journalist account, of which 38 respondents stated that they use their real names, while only 2 respondents stated that they use an alias. According to the recommendations given by Reuters Agency, which advises journalists to use work accounts instead of personal accounts when using social media sites, the aforementioned study result points to the fact that Egyptian journalists have not yet followed such directions. 3. Journalists Perceptions on Social Media Sites in General, & as Sources for News / Information: A majority of journalists (64%) who participated in this study generally have a positive attitude towards social media networks; 36% expressed a neutral stance and 36% has a negative attitude. Study results also demonstrated that respondents within the study sample have varying opinions on the news and information gathered from social media sites. 62.4% has a neutral stance; 22.4% had a negative stance and only 12.2% expressed a positive viewpoint. This means that Egyptian journalists do NOT trust social media networks as sources for news and information gathering, despite the fact that they rely heavily on such sites, and also despite the fact they have a generally positive attitude towards such social media networks. Considering the perceived importance of social media as news sources, the study showed that the highest proportion of journalists, 63.2%, regard social media sites as secondary sources for news and information gathering; whereas 32.8% regard such sites as a primary source; and a mere 4% regard social media sites as weak sources of information.

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Chart 3. Journalists and their perception of the importance of social media as sources of news

4. The ways in which Journalists use Social Media Networks as Sources of News: Study results revealed that politics supersedes all other subjects, by a great margin, with regards to news gathering from social media sites, with a whopping 91.2%; followed by the social subjects with 60%; entertainment with 48%; sports with 36%; and, finally, economics with 32%. The study also showed that politicians pages were the main source of news and information for journalists, garnering 82.4% as opposed to other sources; followed closely by official government pages, with 71.2%; citizen journalism pages captured 69.6%; political party pages garnered 68%; and in final place came public figures in sports and entertainment with 40%. It was also found that getting information was the primary reason for journalists resorting to social media sites; followed by obtaining news sources; stirring up discussions on a specific issue; job marketing; conducting opinion polls; and finally, spreading a specific cause. Chart 4. Reasons for journalists consultation of social media

The study showed that the tools most utilized by journalists (within the study sample) on social media sites were as follows: sharing photos, articles and videos captured 92%; research garnered 68.8%; notes got 41.6%; creating lists came in with 21.6%. As for the type of source journalists get their news from social media sites: videos, 72.8%; photos, 57.6%; articles and blog posts, 56%; eye witnesses, 48.8%; tips sent to journalists by email, 45.6%; and finally, user comments, 43.2%.
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The study revealed that a high proportion of journalists within the study sample do not use the available advanced applications, on social media sites, with 72% non-users, as opposed to only 28% users. This means that the majority of respondents use social media networks just like everyone else, and not as professional journalists, thereby not acquiring the skills necessary to differentiate themselves from anyone else using social media sites. Chart 5. Journalists and their use of advanced applications

When the group of 28% was asked for the type of advanced applications they use, the following applications were named: Google; Hashtags; RRS; News Apps.; Iphone applications for Facebook and Twitter; as well as Hootsuite, which was most often named by journalists. (It is interesting to note that many of the terms mentioned are not actual applications). When asked about the level of reliance of newspaper organizations on social media networks, 51.2% of respondents view reliance of their organization as average; 25.6% assessed reliance as low and 23.2% as high. When respondents were asked, in an open-ended question, how they verify the credibility and accuracy of a piece of information that they obtain from social media sites, the answer most given was: reverting to the source of the news, in person. Other respondents within the study sample resorted to official government pages, pages of political parties and movements for verification of information. Other respondents resorted to the source of information itself, i.e. the person who shared the information, by verifying this persons credibility and viewing his/her personal profile on Twitter. Other journalists stressed the importance of checking the date of publication of a piece of information as well as the date a video or photo was uploaded on YouTube. In the view of some interviewees comparing several neutral sites was the best method to verify the credibility of a piece of information. A few respondents resorted to Google or to the news scene itself in order to verify the piece of information. Local news garnered a whopping 98.4% of the news gathered by respondents from social media sites, whereas international news captured 45.6%. With respect to abiding by ethical standards of journalism when obtaining news from social media sites, a high proportion of respondents 76% said they abide by the rules; whereas 24% said they did not abide by such standards.

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Chart 6. Journalists and their compliance with ethical standards when obtaining news from social media

As for how these journalists deal with a news story in the event of the presence of several news stories and eye witness reports, the responses varied. Some respondents stated that they review all sources and choose the most prevalent version; while others said they will mention all versions and cite all sources by using the phrase news that and by leaving out illogical information. Some journalists resorted to relying on the most credible sources, e.g. official sources, eye witnesses, international news sources, and or verification of information via telephone or presence on location at news scene. The study showed that 53.6% of the journalists within the study sample were able to break news with news gathered from social media sites; whereas 46.4% of respondents did not manage to do so. Within a related context, 71.2% of respondents stated that it never happened to them that they reported a piece of news, gathered from social media networks that turned out to be not true or accurate; whereas 28.8% of respondents did have this experience. As for the events which create the greatest dependence on social media networks for journalists within the study sample, the study showed that political crises were the events most mentioned capturing 28%; followed by protests garnering 24.8%; presidential and parliamentary election with 19%; human rights violations and natural disasters with 13.6% and 4% respectively. It was also found that a marked 67.2% of respondents stated all of the above, meaning that they depend on social media networks in all such events. When asked in an open-ended question about which training workshops they see as most needed to improve their use of social media sites, and indirectly the quality of their work, interviewees within the study sample responded as follows: More specialized courses on how to use social media networks. Mastering the use of social media sites in order to minimize professional mistakes. Standards and regulations for new mass media. How to publish photos taken at the news scene, while reserving copyrights. How to conduct an interview with a news source via the internet. How to find news via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Flickr as well as how to benefit from their various applications.

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 How to use social media sites to gather news stories that require investigative journalism. Training on how to verify the accuracy of information shared on social media sites. How to verify real, as opposed to fake accounts for certain personalities. How to manage news sites. Workshops on photography. How to find the source of a photo as well as its publication date. How to form a Social Media unit or team, as well as the fundamentals required to allow this team to operate in a dynamic and flexible manner in order to follow news events minute-by-minute. How to continuously increase the number of newspaper followers on Twitter and Facebook. How to manage YouTube. Workshops with foreign news channels. How to write a news story in a compelling manner. Training on how to break news ahead of the rest of the pack. How to compose tweets in a particular journalistic fashion. How to detect forgery via comparing material in films, photos or news. How to market journalistic work via social media sites. Sharing expertise with international news organizations in dealing with social media sites. Training on the guidelines of international media organizations, e.g. Reuters and on how their editors interact with social media sites. Training on the responsibilities of the social media editor in large news organizations. How to create Twitter lists.

Part Two:
Examining Relationships between Study Sample Variables: The study also examined the relationship between a number of variables. No significant statistical relationship was found between a newspapers ability to break news with information gathered via social media networks and the presence of verbal / written guidelines at the newspapers; the same applies for the relation between false or inaccurate news and the presence of guidelines. A relationship between types of ownership and journalists attitudes towards social media sites, or towards information shared via social media sites in general could also not be found. Attitudes towards social media sites were not significantly related to gender or age of journalists in the survey.

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CONCLUSION:
It can be concluded that journalists within the study sample are fully aware of the importance of social media networks as credible sources of news and information which can be used in news gathering, possibly resulting in breaking news. In general, the respondents trust these social media sites and rely on them heavily for news and information, but they do, however, understand that information shared on these sites needs to be verified from more than source and compared to other sources in order to achieve the highest degree of credibility. Based on the analysis of information obtained from the respondents survey, we can infer a general conclusion, that half of the journalists within the study sample have a high degree of professional usage of social media networks; whereas the other half require further training on the use and application of such sites. The study shows that politics is the subject most sought after by journalists within the study sample, as opposed to economics which was the least sought by journalists on social media sites. This outcome is not surprising, but it requires more attention from trainers and experts on how to use social media networks as a source for gathering economic news. Study results indicate, as alluded to previously, that journalists working for privately ownership newspapers are better equipped when using social media networks as sources for news coverage. Therefore, it would be useful to concentrate more attention on training journalists working for state-owned and party-affiliated newspapers on the use and application of social media networks.

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