Egypt On My Mind

This week I published an article on EgyptSource with my views on the relationship between Egypt and the United States. You can find it here: http://www.acus.org/egyptsource/what-i-really-want-out-us-egypt-relationship

I've also updated my list of favorite media outlets covering Egypt and the Middle East. You can find that post here: http://listenlearnactandreflect.blogspot.com/2013/07/my-top-websites-for-reliable-accurate.html

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My Top Websites for (Reliable, Accurate, Thoughtful) Information and Analysis on Egypt and the Middle East

by Phoebe Farag Mikhail

Egypt's Tahrir Square on July 3, 2013, celebrating the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi.

As the US and Western-based media (CNN, ABC, BBC, the Guardian, etc.) finally got around to covering Egypt’s historic 2013 revolution that culminated in the impeachment of its president, many of us who follow the events in the region closely knew for weeks that a major political confrontation was brewing. The unfortunate reality is that even when the major western media outlets did start to cover the events in Egypt more extensively (after June 30^th marked what may be the largest single political demonstration in recorded history), the analysis is still skewed as they view the events in Egypt through the lens of people living in an established democracy and erroneously frame the events as a military coup. Few want to acknowledge the collective action of millions of Egyptians, and very few are grasping the complexities of the Egyptian situation. There are, however, several resources available, in English, for those who are interested in astute and culturally-versed analysis of the ongoing events. These are the ones I usually check:

Mada Masr (http://madamasr.com/)
Before its parent company shut it down, citing economic reasons, Egypt Independent was the best independent English language news and opinion outlet coming out of Egypt. Thankfully, its editorial team regrouped and created Mada Masr. Most of its writers live in Egypt.

Jadaliyya (www.jadaliyya.com)
This portal provides news and views for all of the Middle East, and provides content in English and Arabic. Some articles are long, but worth it – these issues cannot be covered in sound bytes, and they are rarely black and white. Most of the writers live, or have lived extensively, where they write, and it covers culture and politics. The Egypt portal is http://egypt.jadaliyya.com.

EgyptSource (http://www.acus.org/egyptsource)
The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East runs a blog on Egypt with many contributors, as well as a news feed with live updates on the current events. Its editors and contributors all have extensive experience in and on Egypt.

The Arabist (http://arabist.net/)
This blog, mainly run by a journalist with a heavy focus on Egypt, is particularly useful in its gathering of relevant articles in English and translating portions of Arabic news as well for those of us with limited Arabic reading proficiency. 

Muftah (http://muftah.org/)

I've only recently been introduced to Muftah and find its articles very thought provoking. It's a resource for analysis moreso than news, and covers the region "from Morocco to Pakistan." The Egypt page is: http://muftah.org/?category_name=egypt.

Al-Monitor (http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/home.html)
This site covers the region and does not have a specific Egypt portal, but does often share thoughtful analysis of major events in Egypt.

Al-Jazeera was initially hailed for its coverage of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions in 2011, but remained just as silent as Western media on the June 30^th 2013 events, betraying a clear bias due to its funding from Qatar. There are some good articles written by its analysts on the English language website, however.

I am also particularly appreciative of The Daily Beast (www.thedailybeast.com, home of Newsweek) coverage and analysis, which has also refused to use the common clichés plaguing most other Western news media, focusing not on rising gas prices but on the true concerns of the people of Egypt.

What are you favorite outlets? Please share them in the comments below.

A Common Conversation

By Phoebe Farag Mikhail

It was bittersweet, reading Newsweek’s last print issue (it can now only be read digitally). All the writers reflected on a common theme in that issue – the unique type of “group journalism” that was used in this weekly news magazine. Stories and analysis were written based on files from reporters all over the world based on an agreed upon journalistic standard. For a long time, the articles in Newsweek didn’t even have bylines.

Now, instead of “group journalism,” news is produced and consumed in a very fractured way. “Group journalism” is a thing of the past, and most people now follow the analysis of television celebrity “talking heads.”  There are countless outlets, websites and channels, and many of us consume our news in a very tailored manner. I recently talked with some friends who said that they only watch one particular news channel – because they agree with that channel’s viewpoint, not because it had any excellence in news reporting.

The information revolution has allowed us access to news and information that is no longer controlled by a few major sources. It has allowed us access to news media from all over the world and from different perspectives. In some parts of the world, it has allowed us to hear alternative stories that we don’t hear due to state (or corporate) controlled media.

But it has also reduced our ability to have conversations based on a common groundwork of information and assumptions. We get the information we want, and consume more of the opinions that we agree with and that do not challenge our way of thinking.

And as a result, especially on topics we disagree with, we can’t talk to each other without either offending each other or wondering how on earth the other could think that way and still be a human being. The most recent US presidential election was an example of that, with so much political vitriol being shared and spread over Facebook, for example, that many people wanted to “de-friend” some of their friends because of their political opinions.

I want to change that, at least for myself. Here is what I’m doing to keep my mind open and capable of having common conversations:

1. I maintain diverse friendships. Despite being very tempted to “de-friend” some people on Facebook, I decided to keep them as friends and even force myself to read their posts and comments. I do the same with friends in real life, not just on social networks. I want to keep my mind open to the way others think, and why they think that way. 
2.  I double-check my sources. I rarely rely on one news source for information. I keep a few trusted sources, but  I’ll usually check a few outlets, especially if I find a story hard to believe.
3. I avoid talking heads. It’s hard to check the facts while at the same time be entertained by a “talking head” with whom I might emotionally agree. 

How do you keep your mind open? How do you maintain common conversations and good relationships with people you may disagree with?