EgyJournalist

Very much :)
Decision makers in the country are very concerned when people talk to foreign outlets or press, about the condition of the country.

Hi,
Thank you for the invitation and giving me a platform to express some of my thoughts.

Currently, the status of press freedom in Egypt is in a critical condition. Currently, there are ongoing and strong attempts to nationalise press in the country, hence taking the official/governmental narrative as "the truth". And as a result independent press, print and digital, as several of the main media outlets are starting to be taken over by the government or its different bodies.

Personally i started working in journalism in 2012, a year where the criticality and creativity of journalism reached a peak. Journalists had some freedom to report, access sources, and report negative aspects. Currently, if you question a statement that is released by the press office of some ministry, you can be accused of being a "traitor".

There are a lot of stories that i would really want the outside people to know. One of them is current status of the lower classes in Egypt, who are the ones who are really suffering from the neo-liberal polices the government is currently applying in the country, in order to bring in foreign investment. Such policies are increasing prices, while wages and salaries are the same. The state is attempting to build luxurious resorts and desert cities while public education, health, and housing are suffering.

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Such contradiction bring up many stories.

I am Adham Youssef, a Senior Journalist at Daily News Egypt. I  also work as a reporter, critic, and translator for other publications. The reason why i work for more than one place has to do with the status of the press in Egypt, where if you want to make a living you have to work more than one job.

I mainly cover local politics in the country, military conflict and insurgency, state sponsored violence, and minority and labour rights. Currently in Egypt the state is cooking or already cooked several laws that will regulate the media and the press in the next years, laws that many describe as a step to nationalise journalism in the country. 

This AMA is part of r/IAmA’s “Spotlight on Journalism” project which aims to shine a light on the state of journalism and press freedom in 2018. Join us for a new AMA every day in October.

The new law, in my point of view, in a general sense aims to control the institution, and to regulate their content. If you have control the media institutions financially and managerially, then you can easily control them editorially.

The new law are not yet applied. Hence the physical result on how press and media work is yet undone.

Journalism in Egypt cover a lot of stories and angles in the Middle East. However, reporting about the Middle East and its conflicts are in many cases influenced by the state see such conflicts. For example, due to the high influence of the Gulf countries in some channels and newspapers, you can see a lot of reporting about how "liberating" the Yemen War is.