In this era of the new and social media, does it really matter who owns the `mainstream’ media?
“It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.” (Clemens, 1897)
Foreword
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights written up by the United Nations, its states that, “Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people” (UN, 1948). Articles 19 to 21 specifically target the freedom of thought, conscience and belief of human rights that a Democratic government must abide by and Egypt is no exception.
Arab Spring
Turmoil has been brewing in Egypt, causing great pain to its inhabitants, destroying homes and families and creating complete mayhem in the process. The first marked incident according to The Guardian is on the 1st of January 2011; a suicide bombing attempt took place outside a Coptic Church in Alexandria. By the 25th of January Egypt finally joined the Arab Spring alongside Tunisia, Yemen and Algeria. The ‘Arab Spring’ was an activist movement by several Middle-Eastern countries in an attempt at freedom from political and religious oppression and authoritarian governments. A major role in political and social affairs, which had been in play over the years, is media. From the traditional forms such as newspapers and radio to the modern day social platforms, it is very clear how influential such resources are and how influential controlling them can get an entity. It can be said that almost all the countries that took part In the Spring had authoritarian governments that had total control over people through control of the mainstream media. Assuming the Bullet Theory where to be in play here the government believes the crowds to be ignorant and by controlling their main source of media it would hence control their perceptions in to everyday matters as well as their insight on global matters and political issues. So having extended their control over mainstream media, how did Egyptian civilians try to express their freedom of speech?
This paper attempts to examine the role of the social media in paving a way towards the freedom of speech in repressed Egypt. How was media, social platforms in particular, been utilised in Egypt during their ‘Spring’ time period in pursuit of freedom of speech? Through the repression of the Egyptian government, their control over traditional mainstream media and the subjugation that they put traditional alternative sources under, civilians were fearful of harassment when speaking about anything political; forced to resort to a couple of resources to organize protests, raise general awareness and communicate in a way they felt safe and secure from the obstruction of their government. In this discussion, the different forms of social media platforms will be reviewed as well as the way in which the Egyptian rebels utilised them to achieve their hopes of freedom and justice.
The Egyptian government & Mass media
The oldest concept of government control over the mass media is dubbed as the Authoritarian Concept, it follows closely Dr Samuel Johnson’s quote, “Every society has a right to preserve public peace and order, and therefore a good right to prohibit the propagation of opinions which have a dangerous tendency” (Boswell, J. 2005). The authoritarian concept sees free press as a threat to the status of the government, governmental-control over the media was direct and published news or reported events were only for the goodwill of the state, the media are not allowed to print or broadcast anything which could undermine the established authority; any offense to the existing political values is avoided (Siebert, F.S. 1963). Siebert then hypothesized the Soviet Theory which sees the mass media, as a separate entity from the state in regards to the content of their messages, they are not expected to fully spread notions of propaganda for the goodwill of the state but they are expected to serve the working class audience, the mass media in the Soviet model are expected to be ‘self-regulatory’. Siebert went ahead to conceptualize two more theories but from his four theories we can dub the relationship between the media and the government in Egypt’s case as somewhat between the lines of authoritarian and soviet.
“Egypt had attempted to keep a strict control on the media, ever since Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the press after the 1952 revolution.” (Middle East Bulletin, 2007. p. 9)
Mainstream media in Egypt compromises of newspapers/journals/magazines, radio and television. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Egyptian government retains a controlling share in three of Egypt’s major newspapers including: Al-Ahram, which is the world’s largest Arabic newspaper, Al-Gumhuriya and Al-Akhbar (2001). The Egyptian government exercise their full control over these newspapers, as Dr Amin quoted Hafez, “The editors-in-chief of these dailies are appointed by the President through the Higher Press Council which is headed by the Shura Council Speaker, and the employees are chosen from the members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) through the parliamentary advisory body, the Shura Council” (2006). In addition the governments primary instrument of media control is the Supreme Press council which not only completely own national press but also reserves the right to release lisecnces for the rest. However, according to the CIA World Fact Book, the estimated literacy rate is 71.4% of the total population and only 58% (2005 est.) of females. So how does the government expand their control over the remaining few?
“Since radio and television have the ability to overcome or bypass the problem of illiteracy, they are frequently used as an arm of the government to guide and mobilize the public.” (Boyd in Amin, 2006, p.7)
In contrast with the Arab region Egypt has the largest and most reputed broadcasting station. As a form of media radio comes only second to television, Dr Amin states an estimate of 18,000,000 radio sets in Egypt. Since the 1952 revolution the Egyptian government has upheld a centralized model of broadcasting for radio and television. In its predominant desire to uphold and preserve national unity, the Egyptian government, according to Dr Amin, had invested its control over the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) (2006, p. 7). ERTU is a government established organization that works in close affiliation with the Ministry of Information.
Laws and Legislations
“Media activity in Egypt is governed by numerous regulations, from the Constitution to press legislation, penal codes and the emergency law. In addition, the Higher Council for the Press, the Press Syndicate, the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, the courts and the Ministry of Information each regulate and govern different aspects of the media” (Abdel Mageed in Amin, 2006, p.15). Laws that media organizations operate under include: * Law no. 84 (2002) sets out requirements for NGOs engaged in non-profit work, and empowers the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MOSS) to oversee the implementation of these regulations. Law 84 requires NGOs (defined as organizations working on "permissible activities" such as constitutional and legal rights, social defense, human rights and advocacy) to apply for MOSS registration, and allows MOSS to reject applications on the basis of an NGO conducting "prohibited activities," including "threatening national unity" and "violating public order or morals." The law requires registered NGOs to receive MOSS approval to receive domestic and foreign funds, or to send funds abroad. Law 84 allows MOSS to dissolve an NGO for receiving foreign funding or sending funds abroad without permission, as well as for various other violations. Under Law 84, MOSS can enter an NGO's premises to review its records, and can remove and add personnel on an NGO's board of directors. (The Telegraph, 2010) * According to law no. 13/1979 and modified with law no. 223/1989, the state monopolizes the ownership of radio and television networks. Thus, radio and television in Egypt express the view points of the government, while other viewpoints have no place in the Egyptian radio and television. (Global Integrity Report, n.d) * In addition Law no. 223 of 1989 contains 6 articles that cover different aspects of media, media ownership and freedom of speech constricting journalists and media reporters in speaking their mind. Article 4 specifically states: The Minister of Information shall be mandated to exercise oversight on the performance of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, and to monitor the goals and national services performed thereby, as well as other functions and tasks as stipulated under the present Law, in a manner that shall foster closer connections between such goals and services on one hand, and the sovereign policies and goals of social peace and national unity and the state-wide media and information plan, on the other hand. (Mubarak, 1989)
Media blackouts that have occurred in Egypt have proven the extent of government’s persistent control over the media. The Egyptian government up to that point had full control over media, censoring articles, prosecuting journalist as in the case of Abdel Halim Quandil and Ibn Khaldun, escalating to the beatings of Khalid Said (a crucial trigger in the revolution), even closing down organizations that attempted to criticize the president or the ruling party. As in human nature, if you push someone to their limit sooner or later they will push back. After all the years of repression and authoritarianism of their freedom of speech, the people of Egypt had enough and were willing to voice out. So how can they prevail against such subjugation? And how did they manage to triumph and speak out after all the measures that their government have taken to ensure the silencing of the masses?
Social Media: A new era
“A state that suppresses all freedom of speech, and which by imposing the most terrible punishments, treats each and every attempt at criticism, however morally justified, and every suggestion for improvement as plotting to high treason, is a state that breaks an unwritten law.” (Kurt Huber)
As mentioned before, the state of the media in Middle East is guarded heavily by legislations and control by the government. The relationship between the media and the government is more of a forced co-operation that included years of selective news publications agreed by the state. The revolutions that took place in Egypt were primarily channelled through the use of social media networks, protestors published unregulated contents of the events through mainly Facebook and Twitter also using them as platforms to gathering more protestors and keeping the world updated with domestic reports. The alternating towards social media networks as platforms of news distribution in itself speaks of the call for freedom of the press and explains further the oppressive governance control over the media in the Middle East. Human’s when left to their own devices can be quiet creative and innovative. Having been repressed and silence by the government they strived to find a means of communication that is subtle, where they felt free to express themselves without the fear of prosecution. That is where the role of social media platforms and especially the internet comes into play.
The effects of communication via the internet were seen to be extremely successful in the Egyptian uprising. The uprising began on the 25th of January, 2011, with the protests against the Egyptian government, then under the almost 30 year presidency of Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak’s neo-liberal programs brought about “vast wealth in very small sectors, and have engendered a huge corruption while severely harming the large majority of the population” (Chomsky, 2011), as well as inequality, and the repression of those who sought elementary rights. In Egypt, opposition groups existed before the uprising, however, were never as successful as they were in the uprising that ousted Mubarak. This is where the role of media and means of communication came into play as not only was the collective action of the Egyptian people kept persistent by the success of the Tunisian uprising, but the “use of social media and other means of communication made the rebellions possible and increased their strength and inclusiveness” (Dalacoura, 2012, p.67).
According to the Resource mobilization theory, developed during 1960s, various resources such as money, organizational skills, time and specific social or political prospects are crucial to the success of social movements; both the accessibility of means and actors’ efficiency in using them effectually are critical. As a revised version of John McCarthy and Mayer Zald’s, collective behaviour theory, it incorporates the notion that social media is an important resource for collective action. In Egypt’s case, there is little doubt that this was an Internet revolution as the technological advancements in the Social networking platforms had ensured its importance as an instrumental resource contributing to the success and sustainability of the January 25th protests. Due to the government agenda for socioeconomic development, ample access to social media and the internet was made available to Egyptians in an attempt to expand the nations’ information technology capabilities (Hamdy, 2009). According to Internet World Stats, as of February 2010, of Egypt’s 80 million inhabitants, more than 21 per cent had access to the internet and more than 4.5 million used Facebook (Internet World Stats, 2011); about more than 70 per cent had a cellular phone subscription (Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, 2010).
Social Platforms: A breakthrough
In the Egyptian revolutions what could be considered the most significant about the use of social media is its ability to change the dynamics of social mobilization. It maintained the ability to deliver interactivity and speed to users, surpassed traditional techniques of mobilization. As popularity of social media grew, activist began utilizing different social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other blogging websites. In 2002, Egyptian activist bloggers created sites that were initially published in English but with the development of Arabic software integrated in their servers, more bloggers were encouraged to start blogs in that language appealing to a broader domestic audience (Hamdy, 2009). April 2008 saw the first initiated cyberactivism or E-activism for Egypt. The Facebook page set up for it involved organizing a strike in Mahalla for textile workers and saw almost 70,000 supporters yet it was quickly stifled and disintegrated by government and the forces of authority.
Facebook amongst other platforms had its own influential role in this uprising, ensuring a way for uncensored news to be broadcasted on a global scale, whilst still being subtle enough to slip by authorities for a given time. Their pages went beyond general awareness and ‘Like’ my page, into deeper levels where structured protest where being organised and promoted. The use of multiple Facebook pages helped escalate the rate of the Egyptian revolution making it one of the most crucial tools of its success. The Facebook group ‘We are all Khaled Said’ was created on the 19th of July 2010 following the young man’s death in June. Khaled Said was a young man from Alexandria, while at a cyber café was approached by two officers demanding money and when he couldn’t procure it went ahead to beating and prosecuting him till he passed away. They later covered up their tracks by announcing to his family that he died choking on drugs (El Amrani, 2010). Said’s supporters, nonetheless believe that his murder was related to a video he posted online presenting the two officers extent of corruption (Egyptian policemen charged over Khaled Said death, 2010). Prior to its initial objective to raise awareness about Khaled and information regarding his death, activist started using this cyberspace as a tool to circulate information regarding the revolution against Mubarak’s regime.
Other contributions from ElBaradei and Omar Afifi gave of huge advantage to the cause. Afifi, being a former police officer was a great asset to the activist community. Having written a book, was banned by government, advising Egyptians on how to avoid police brutality was able by implementing and utilizing the social platforms aid the revolution immensely, providing instructions for the Egyptians such as when to revolt, where to revolt and even what to wear. He also provided instructional videos depicting the conception of a peaceful protest (Afifi, 2011a, 2011b, 2011c). Other social media initiatives included ‘January 25’, ‘ElBaradei for Presidency’ where even Tunisian Rebels posted instruction from lesson learned and twitter pages such as #egypt and #jan25. So in the light of all this that is happening in Egypt, how did Mubarak’s regime retaliate after realizing the speed and power of social media technologies in their extraordinary organization capacities amongst activists?
The Internet ‘Kill Switch’: Recipe for disaster
In its attempt to hinder the protestors the government started controlling the internet heavily. From blocking social utility sites such as Facebook and Twitter authorities aimed at stubbing out the rebellion. This had little effect on the protestor’s schemas as activists started either, bypassing security through proxy servers or calling up friends threw landlines and cellular phones to post it for them. Realizing their efforts were of no prevail, on 28th of January, Mubarak’s regime decided to cut of cellular phone communications and the Internet for the duration of five days. James Cowie of Renseys reported, “a virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all the routes to Egyptian networks in the Internet’s global routing table. Approximately 3,500 individual BGP routes were withdrawn, leaving no valid paths by which the rest of the world could continue to exchange internet traffic with Egypt’s service providers. Virtually all of Egypt’s Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide” (Cowie, 2011) (See Figure 1).

Figure 1
In addition cellular coverage in Egypt was cut off, plunging Egypt into a complete blackout. Matt Hamblen, of Computer World stated in his article that up to that point Vodafone, one of the leading network providers in Egypt, had 28 million customers and was forced to comply with the authorities and cut of the network. As the carrier stated, “there were no legal or practical options open to Vodafone…, but to comply with the demands of the authorities. Any actions we take in Egypt will be judged in light of [employees’] continuing well-being” (Hamblen, 2011). Vodafone resumed operation after one day of complete shutdown although other telecom services such as France Telecom were also forced to shut down.
Repercussions, breakthroughs and last attempts
Egypt pulled a feat that has long been thought after, having witnessed first-hand the implications that accompany their decision. The authorities’ vision and plan backfired immensely, while not only did they not hinder protestors but also incurred current losses and even the prediction of future ones. OECD, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development announced that the 5 day internet block in Egypt cost the national economy at least $90 million. According to their Paris-based organization, telecommunications and Internet services accounted for about 3-4% of total GDP therefore daily loss was calculated at approximately $18 million (Williams, 2011).
The rebellion was gaining immense momentum, the protestors were fuelled up and the government’s decision to close of cellular coverage did nothing more than enrage them further. Activists found ways to manoeuvre around such complications; one blogger posted instructions for using a dial-up connection, instead of connecting to the Egyptian ISP by passing it and connecting to a REMOTE free one via the landline network (Manal, 2011). Nonetheless with the amount of power and control that the Egyptian government possessed the rebels needed outside help to tip over the scales of justice.
Twitter, Google and SayNow (a Google-acquired company) worked in collaboration to introduce the ‘speak to tweet’ initiative. It was a service that enabled the Egyptian activists to drop twitter messages through voice calling from landlines (Speak to tweet for Egypt: How it works, 2011). These collective efforts were of great prominence; the Huffington Post reposted tweets sent out from Egypt, “despite the crackdowns, there are still some who have found a way to twitter in Egypt, and they’re describing the violence and events that have occurred” (Praetorius, 2011a). This was one of several methods of communication that kept the Egyptian activists connected to the outside world during the blackout.
The Egyptian government had witnessed first-hand the extent and success that social networking platforms had managed to project the revolutions, so in-light of this new knowledge they decided to take a leaf out of the protestors books and use social media against them. Having restored Internet and cellular coverage, the authorities initiated an attempt to sway the general public opinion. The released an order to all network carriers to send out text messages to the countries residents. As Amr of Vodafone commented, “These Messages are not scripted by any of the mobile network operators and we do not have the ability to respond to the authorities on their content. Vodafone group has protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable. We have made it clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator” (Gross, 2011). Numerous Egyptians received messages requesting them to stay home and not participate in the protests, even stating that protest are bad to the economy (Gross, 2011).
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter” (George Washington)
Finale

Framework:
Intro
* Freedom of speech * UN’s Universal Declaration of human rights * Example of oppression of freedom of speech (Small intro on Arab Spring) * How was the media, social platforms in particular, been utilised in Egypt during their spring time period in pursuit of free speech? * Egypt’s social media’s progress as a platform for uncensored news * Heavy control of authorities over the media/ civilians are fearful of harassment when speaking about anything political
Arab Spring and Egypt’s Mainstream media: * Commencement of Arab spring * Egypt’s mainstream media: Ownership? * Media structure? * Relationship between state and media? * Democracy? Violation of freedom of speech * Fully controlled media and silencing of people
What did the people do? “Social Media”` * What has such a form of relationship lead to? – New forms of media/more subtle * Breakthrough of an uprising * Media used to promote uprising? – Social networking platforms * How successful were these methods in raising awareness and uniting rebels * What was the government’s reaction to such tyranny? – Shut Down of Internet * Trigger - What was the outcome of their decisions? – Chaos * Outside help and aid? – Google SayNow voicemailing
Outro
* Govermnet owns mainstream media * Social Media as an attempt at freedom * Government control that as well completely silencing people * Hence controlling the media controls what info is released and what isn’t * Tool to control and silence society as it renders them ignorant, helpless and fearful * Considering Egypt is a democratic country, so they speak, violating freedom of speech and having full control over all types of media as well as silencing people is not at all democratic. * My conclusion.
Nuhas help: insert the un's charter to freedom of speech and connect this freedom of speech to the arab spring, arab spring is a perfect example of social media being utilised in the pursuit for free speeh. write a general intro to the arab spring and social media's progress as a platform for uncensorsed news and mention how arab countries their media is heavily controlled and ppl are fearful of harassments from authorities, etc when it comes to speaking abt anything political. your intro would then be followed by this sentence:
“This paper attempts to examine the role of the social media in paving a way towards the freedom of speech in repressed Egypt”. basically your paper will examine the social media and the arab spring as well as media ownership in the country you chose and how this restrictive relationship between the state and the media has led to the breakthrough of an uprising, how it has violated the freedom of speech and that a fully controlled media as well as the silencing of the people by the government is not at all democratic.

- select a country from the arab spring, egypt or libya as you wish, work on their media structure, who owns their media, give rom his numbers, his facts, prove in the paper how fucked up the media is that theres no democracy in that country for the people to voice out anything

- in relation to 'In this era of the new and social media, does it really matter who owns the `mainstream’ media? ' well i'd say the thing is if your people have access to the internet BUT the internet is therefore heavily controlled by the govt then YES it matters who owns the media because then youd have no say in shit not less finding info on shit therefore making the ppl ignorant and fearful, its a tool of silencing your people. whoever controls, gets to basically decide what gets out to the people and what doesn't get out. so it does matter yes, work on this and see how it goes.

Notes on UN universal declaration of human rights:
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Article 18 * Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19 * Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20 * Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. * No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21 * Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. * Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. * The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Notes on Egypt and the media’s role in their Arab spring: * Before analysing the events that took place over the past year, we must understand that the majority of the information given to the outside world was, and still is, indirect. We would have to be first-hand witnesses of the unrest in the nations in order to really know what has been going on, however since that is unreasonable, we must rely on the media to portray the events. Therefore this essay will have information derived from a range of sources, and are bound to have controversial and clashing viewpoints on the Arab Spring. Not only has the media supplied the world with information on the ongoing events in the MENA region, but it has played a large role in triggering and amplifying the uprisings. Through the means of media and communication, the force and voice of the people were brought together. Social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were seen to have accelerated the uprisings, particularly in Egypt, where protests were organised and footage of the violence in the country was posted. * To understand the predicament that these protestors are in, we have to dig deeper into the Egyptian system, to track records of ownership and relationships that might have been occurring between the authorities and media owners. * The effects of communication via the internet were seen to be extremely successful in the Egyptian uprising. The uprising began on the 25th of January, 2011, with the protests against the Egyptian government, then under the almost 30 year presidency of Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak’s neo-liberal programs brought about “vast wealth in very small sectors, and have engendered a huge corruption while severely harming the large majority of the population” (Chomsky, Arab Spring American Winter), as well as inequality, and the repression of those who sought elementary rights. In Egypt, opposition groups existed before the uprising, however, were never as successful as they were in the uprising that ousted Mubarak. This is where the role of media and means of communication came into play as not only was the collective action of the Egyptian people kept persistent by the success of the Tunisian uprising, but the “use of social media and other means of communication made the rebellions possible and increased their strength and inclusiveness” (p.67, Dalacoura). The impact of this was seen when Hosni Mubarak ordered “that Egypt be essentially severed from the global Internet and telecommunications systems” (qtd. in Kirkpartrick). However, this had no effect on the situation of the uprising, as through the media and the internet, the outside world gained knowledge on the revolt, and showed their support.
Quotes on freedom of speech: * It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them - Mark Twain * If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. George Washington * A state that suppresses all freedom of speech, and which by imposing the most terrible punishments, treats each and every attempt at criticism, however morally justified, and every suggestion for improvement as plotting to high treason, is a state that breaks an unwritten law. Kurt Huber * How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They have freedom of thought, they demand freedom of speech. Soren Kierkegaard * People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) * *

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