Abstract

While Egypt enjoyed a heritage of local community press, genuine professional endeavors were nearly non-existent till recently. However, with Egypt undergoing a transitional phase, the emergence of community journalism became central to facilitate the shift into a more democratic state. Hence, this study explores the relation between community journalism and civic engagement in Egypt through examining a case study, El-Fayoumeya newspaper published as part of Sahafet Welad El-Balad media project. The study also discusses the state of community journalism in Egypt and the government's media policies related to the issue. This includes an assessment of the state of community journalism in Egypt's governorates, taking into account the challenges it faces and opportunities ahead. Moreover, the study examines the effect of political and socioeconomic status on civic engagement in Egyptian local governorates in post 2011 Revolution, and verifies whether the state of community journalism in Egypt's governorates matches with the definitions of the concept found in the literature. The study utilizes a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods through combining interview data and survey data. It concludes that the poor heritage of community journalism is mainly an outcome of the constraining media policies adopted by the consecutive Egyptian governments to ensure tightening its control over privately-owned newspapers. Also, of the three broad categories of civic engagement (Awareness, Interaction and Participation), awareness is the most evident outcome of recent community journalism initiatives in Egyptian governorates.

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Policy

Graduation Date

2-1-2015

Submission Date

January 2015

First Advisor

Amin, Khaled Zakaria

Committee Member 1

Barsoum, Ghada

Committee Member 2

Allam, Rasha

Extent

69 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Library of Congress Subject Heading 1

Jourlism -- Egypt -- 21st century.

Library of Congress Subject Heading 2

Press -- Egypt -- 21st century.

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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