Journalism with Restraint: A Comparative Content Analysis of Independent, Government, and Opposition Newspapers in pre-Revolution Egypt.

Journalism with Restraint: A Comparative Content Analysis of Independent, Government, and Opposition Newspapers in pre-Revolution Egypt.

This content analysis examines Egyptian newspaper output during an important period relatively late in the Hosni Mubarak era. Specifically, the study analyses the official Al-Ahram, the independent Al-Masry al-Yom and the opposition Al-Wafd. The coding scheme addressed the three newspapers’ choice of news topics, framing of the government and political opposition, and treatment of average Egyptian citizens, among other things. The analysis revealed some similarities, but many differences in the products delivered by the three newspapers. All three papers made regular, frequent mention of the Egyptian government and focused many stories on official concerns and perspectives. However, the government-owned Al-Ahram’s reportage often spoke favorably of the government, quoted and paraphrased government sources, and photographed (former) President Mubarak, while omitting news about political opposition groups, crimes and problems in Egypt. The absence of these topics suggests that Al-Ahram contributed to the Mubarak government’s objective of projecting a stable, secure national image.

In contrast, coverage of the Egyptian government by the independent Al-Masry al-Yom and the party-owned Al-Wafd was more balanced, incorporating both positive and negative news and presenting government issues and actors in a more neutral tone. The study’s findings — offering an important Mubarak-era baseline for Egyptian journalism which can be used to compare and contrast with post-Mubarak era news performance — offer a democratic barometer of sorts, underlying areas of need and focus for the new era of Egyptian news.