Book project: The freedom of the media in Egypt

Shortly after the Egyptian revolution of January 2011 there was a moment of freedom. To every free society belongs a free media environment - so there was an abundance of new TV stations, newspapers, blogs. Today, however, media freedom in Egypt has deteriorated like never before. This book aims to provide answers: What has happened? What can journalists do to counter the various threats they and the whole media face?

We asked 14 journalists to write for us, from their own perspectives. How do you deal with a mob that suddenly appears in front of you and tries to take your camera? How do you protect yourself and your sources from the eyes of the state security? And how does media cover the fragile interreligious dialogue between Muslims and Christians?

The book starts with a historical overview on the media landscape in Egypt. The main part consists of essays by (mostly) Egyptian and German renowned journalists and comprises various photo series. The book ends with a critical conclusion.

Who are the participants?

• Sherif Abdel Samad (Producer)
• Andrea Backhaus (ZEIT Online, Welt, taz)
• Khalid El Kaoutit (Deutsche Welle)
• Khalid el-Balshy (ONTV, al-Bedaiah, Egyptian journalism syndicate)
• Amira Salah-Ahmed (Mada Masr)
• Mohamed el-Baaly (Dar Sefsafa)
• Ahmed Elhawary (Bashkatib, al-Masry al-Youm)
• Claudia Mende (Qantara, Neue Zürcher Zeitung)
• Gihan Abou Zeid (al-Maktaba al-Seyaseya, head of the Egyptian Women's Union)
• James M. Dorsey (The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, various other media)
• Maher Hamoud (Daily News Egypt, member of The Middle East and North Africa Research Group at Ghent University)
• Sofian Naceur (Cicero, Wochenzeitung, junge Welt)
• Julia Gerlach (Berliner Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau)

The translators:

• Antonia Brouwers
• Benedikt Henkel
• Andreas Bünger
• Eric Bartolotti
• Boris Liebrenz

The photographers:

• Mohammed Albdewi
• Pascal Mora
• Nadia Mounier
• Heinrich Holtgreve
• Mahmoud Khaled
• Matthias Sailer
• Philipp Spalek

Preface and critical conclusion by:

• Jürgen Stryjak (ARD radio)
• Ehab Zelaky (senior editor al-Masry al-Youm)
• Prof. Dr. Carola Richter (FU Berlin, International Communication)

The book focuses on the people behind the headlines, the journalists. We aim to open up the perspective, showing how Egypt can be considered to be typical for the development of the freedom of the media in countries in crisis - and why it might not be an isolated case.

The book is aimed at journalists who are interested in the region and young scientists in the fields of Arabic, Islamic or other regional studies. It can also serve as a comprehensive, informative source of information for the training of the younger generations in these fields.

Because we think that good, profound journalism should be appropriately paid. Most of the people involved in the book - authors, photographers, translators - are freelancers. With this crowdfunding campagne we hope to be able to reward them.

And this is why we need your help!

There is quite a number of people involved in the book: authors, photographers, translators. The money will exclusively be used to reward these contributors.