Support independent journalism in Egypt
Almost every morning I read half a dozen articles in Egypt Independent, the English-language, online (and now weekly print) offshoot of Al Masry Al Youm. (Today, for example, I read this and this.) We link to their stories regularly.
I think the publication had gotten off the ground shortly before the revolution, and I remember their entire staff -- a dozen people at least -- sharing a room in the Semiramis hotel (which at the time had one of the only working internet connections in the city) to cover Tahrir. I don't think anyone in that room slept for a week.
Since then, the publication has grown, cultivating talented local voices and reporters; becoming largely independent of its Arabic sister publication; and offering long-form investigative pieces like this that are rare. It features great photo slide shows and original columns from some of my favorite Cairo-based writers (Maria Golia, Sarah Carr), and from Egypt experts like Robert Springborg, Khalil Al Anani and Michael Hannah.
At the moment, the entire private media in Egypt is suffering from the economic crisis, and EI is encouraging readers to subscribe. Please do -- you can see a message from them after the jump.
Have you benefitted from Egypt Independent over the past few years in getting news from Egypt? Has it been a regular source of information for you? Do you value their contribution to English language journalism in/on Egypt? Do you appreciate their writers, columnists, cartoonists, and staffers that strive to bring you top-notch work day-in and day-out? If you answered yes to any of these questions, and you are keen on making sure independent and free-wheeling journalism in Egypt continues to flourish, then you should subscribe to the weekly print edition for 300 LE a year. To do so fill in this form:
I started out in journalism in Cairo many years ago at what was then the only independent English-language news publication in town, the Cairo Times. I was grevously underpaid, stupendously ignorant, and almost immediately hooked. English-language media in Egypt can get away with publishing stories that the Arabic media is pressured to squelch; it is a window on Egypt for the whole world; and it is often a great place for local and foreign journalists to learn from each other and combine their strengths.
As media censorship and intimidation in Egypt increases, and the economic crisis makes it harder for alternative voices to thrive, it's more important than ever to support publications like Egypt Independent.