Face-off at Egypt’s Press Syndicate
Egypt’s Press Syndicate is under fire from the Sisi government; plus, the rise of the far-right in the Dutch media.
For the first time in its 75-year history, the Egyptian Press Syndicate has been taken to court by the state. Three senior members of the Syndicate now join numerous other journalists, dissidents and activists fighting harsh rulings that could leave them in jail for years.
Talking us through the story: Timothy Kaldas, writer and commentator; Khaled Diab, journalist and author; Mohamed Elmasry, media scholar; Marwan Kraidy, author of The Naked Blogger of Cairo.
On our radar:
- US President-elect Donald Trump summoned American TV news executives and anchors to a meeting in New York this past week, in what could have been a chance to clear the air after a contentious election campaign. According to multiple accounts, though, it did not go well.
- Following a debate about the effect of fake news on the US election result, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledges the company should be doing more to stop misinformation online.
- Another reporter has disappeared in Yemen, a country which is becoming one of the most dangerous places in the world to work as a journalist.
‘Anarchist’ media in the Netherlands
With far-right movements gaining support across Europe, we track the media outlets rising alongside them. In the Netherlands, we focus on GeenStijl and PowNed. The outlets call themselves ‘anarchist’ and claim they are giving voice to a segment of the Dutch population ignored by mainstream media.
The Listening Post’s Johanna Hoes reports from Amsterdam on the dilemma facing Dutch mainstream journalism, and how the rise of the far-right is forcing a change in the country’s media landscape.