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Press Eject: Did 'Harsh' Egyptian Media Help Topple Mursi?

October 18, 2013 College of Arts and Humanities | Communication

Press Eject: Did 'Harsh' Egyptian Media Help Topple Mursi?

Communication Professor Dr. Sahar Khamis weighs in on the dramatic overthrow of Egyptian leader Mohammad Mursi.

by Matt J. Duffy, Al Arabiya

Following the dramatic overthrow of Mohammad Mursi, some experts question whether the Egyptian news media treated him fairly – or whether biased coverage contributed to his ousting as president.

Most observers agree that Mursi received vicious coverage from some media outlets in Egypt.

Dr. Sahar Khamis, a communications professor at the University of Maryland, said she’s no Mursi supporter and noted he had “many shortcomings.”

“But, I think he’s not been treated fairly,” she said. “Many Egyptian media outlets have treated him too harshly.”

She said that anti-Mursi diatribes on several political talk shows such as those on ONtv or CBC essentially mobilized the June 30 protests.

Khamis said it was “ironic” that many news shows criticized Mursi as a dictator like ousted President Hosni Mubarak. She said that many statements on news programs about Mursi would have never been tolerated under Mubarak.

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