6
2011
Lessons from the Revolution: You Can’t Determine the Medium
One NPR On the Media broadcast likened the system of control inside many of the older Egyptian newspapers to Hosni Mubarak’s dictatorship. Social media provided a way to navigate real-time knowledge without a completely free press. And the less trust people across the world placed in the news coming from Egypt’s state media, the more trust was put in the protesters themselves.
As the crisis unfolded, the Egyptian government shut down the Internet, which some protesters believed made the revolution stronger because people were more motivated to get the information themselves. And at least one analyst has suggested that removing the distractions of media — which is one of the root causes of the Pinhole — was, in fact, part of what helped the rebellion gain focus and was a key part of converting conversation to action.
There are several lessons we can draw from Egypt: 1) the noise of the media marketplace can be paralyzing, and conversely, lack of noise can be catalyzing; 2) people want trustworthy, pertinent content and will find it on their own if necessary. In this environment, the playing field gets considerably more level between media giants like CNN, BBC or the Associated Press and smaller networks like Al-Jazeera, independent shows like B+ (also known as the Bessem Youssef Show), and direct information from activists like Gigi Ibrahim and bloggers like Maikel Nabil.
Though some traditionalists may see this as the end of journalism as we know it, it’s more a taste of the Pinhole world, where noise both deadens and quickens, and where people accept that they may have to search for truthful, relevant information from a variety of different sources.
