Abstract

As the world moves towards a digitalized era, it has become much easier for individuals to stay informed about the latest events by consuming news from anywhere and anytime. News plays a crucial role in providing people with updated information about diverse local and international events. Yet, despite its broad accessibility, recent global research has found that a significant percentage of people choose to avoid consuming news worldwide, posing a serious challenge for news outlets to retain audiences (Newman et al., 2024).

This exploratory study offers a new perspective on investigating a timely issue by examining the factors related to news avoidance behaviors in Egypt and providing valuable insights to support overcoming current obstacles. The effective methodology of the study involves conducting focus groups, surveys with more than 500 respondents (n=512), and in-depth interviews with media professionals and academics to offer innovative recommendations for news outlets to benefit from and shape developed strategies based on academic guidelines. This research develops an innovative conceptual model to answer questions about enhancing the news content and filling the research gaps in the news consumption field.

This exploratory research discovers the news avoidance behaviors in the Egyptian society. It offers a deeper understanding of the news consumption patterns within the digitalized media landscape in Egypt. This work aims to highlight the different factors related to turning away from consuming news produced by different media sources and platforms. The current study seeks exploring news avoidance actions in the Egyptian public sphere among a broad range of news sources, whether they are Egyptian or foreign, state-owned or private, traditional or digital, operate within structured media organizations or citizen journalism. Moreover, the current work collected data from diverse samples in order to gain profound knowledge that leads to the understanding of factors connected to disengagement with news content in the Egyptian context.

Findings of the current study provide valuable insights into different directions for avoiding the news in the Egyptian society by identifying clear themes that underline elements connected to declined news consumption rates. This research also provides actionable recommendations and suggestions, which are based on academic and professional insights, for media organizations to shape and develop the content creation strategies in the news media industry. Unlike prior Western-based study, the current work fills research gaps in the literature by focusing on Egypt’s unique news consumption patterns.

School

School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Department

Journalism & Mass Communication Department

Degree Name

MA in Journalism & Mass Communication

Graduation Date

Winter 2-19-2025

Submission Date

1-28-2025

First Advisor

Ahmed Taher

Committee Member 1

Hussein Amin

Committee Member 2

Rasha Allam

Extent

144 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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Available for download on Thursday, January 28, 2027

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