Egypt shifts towards a networked journalism paradigm

This study attempts to explore the relationship between the role of the traditional press, the output of social media as it emerged during the 25 January 2011 revolution, the 30 June 2011 protests and beyond; and also to determine if the mainstreaming of social media changed journalism practices in Egypt. The findings of this study indicate that there has been a significantly increased flow of citizen-generated content into journalism practice, although there is also a certain amount of resistance to its use. Findings also suggest that a traditional gatekeeping approach is the preferred model for governing this flow; yet, editorial structures and mechanisms to govern this model are not in place generally. Nonetheless, this uncertain transition period appears to harbour the possibility of better quality journalism in a networked future.