Tunisia, Egypt and the voices of the revolution in Al Jazeera English

Viola Sarnelli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Although satellite channels still have a central importance for the circulation of news in the Middle East and North Africa, the attention of many scholars has recently shifted towards the development of social media and their political use in the region. This article aims to focus on the convergence between the two media fields, specifically looking at how social networks’ contents have been selected and amplified by Al Jazeera English during the Tunisian and Egyptian 2011 revolutions. These issues are illustrated through the analysis of a selection of videos and posts published online by Al Jazeera English from 4 January to 11 February 2011.
Even though other media brands previously experimented with user-generated contents, the article argues that Al Jazeera English promoted a new configuration of ‘big’ and ‘small’ media in the MENA (Middle East and North African countries) region, based on the already well-established local media convergence.
The article also intends to explore the profile of the international public interacting with the channel’s website during the Egyptian Revolution. To do so, it analyses a selection of the comments left by the readers from 28 January to 11 February 2011, showing how during the revolts the channel became a reference point for a large international audience.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)157 - 176
Number of pages20
JournalJournal of Arab & Muslim Media Research
Volume6
Issue number2-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2013

Keywords

  • television
  • social media
  • Al Jazeera English
  • Arab Spring
  • news

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