Radically Polarized Publics and the Demise of Media Freedom in Egypt

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze both the achievements and the failures of the Egyptian public sphere on the basis of the theory of comparative media systems and transformation theory. The fact that new military rulers introduced harsh censorship is proof that media are vulnerable to political manipulation. However, the reasons for the regression of the Egyptian media system are manifold. Media capital, largely concentrated in the hands of old elites, exerted pressure against the democratic transformation. During the Arab Spring transition radically polarized media and audiences did not enable the creation of democratic consensus and pluralist public spheres. The journalistic profession as well as audiences can be considered co-responsible for the neo-authoritarian downswing of the public sphere that followed the military coup.

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