Official media defies censors

Over the past few days, Egyptian state media journalists have orchestrated a remarkable uprising of their own: They have begun reporting news that casts the embattled government in a negative light.

Over the past few days, Egyptian state media journalists have orchestrated a remarkable uprising of their own: They have begun reporting news that casts the embattled government in a negative light.

HT Image

Whether the change is a sign of a weakened regime or result of a government decision to loosen its grip on information remains unclear. But the shift is hard to miss.

As the crisis unfolded, most people have relied on Arabic satellite channels such as al-Jazeera and news accounts from independent Egyptian dailies and sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The media's initial support of the regime in their coverage brought on the protesters' ire. They began carrying banners in Tahrir Square denouncing state-run media and calling news organisations "liars." But in recent days, state media have started to shift their coverage. "There has been a shift," Nile TV's Reem Nour said. "The shift is happening because there is going to be a change in Egypt after this revolution."

(In association with The Washington Post. For more, log on to www.washingtonpost.com)