Throughout the past two months, Egyptians have felt that there is an international conspiracy against them. While such a feeling is not new to Arabs in general, what is new is that Egyptians and many Arabs were shocked at the Western media, which has long been thought of as being neutral and impervious to governments’ influence. The question has become: Why have Western media outlets taken this desperate position in support of the Muslim Brotherhood, to the extent of reversing the facts and taking things out of context? They have even lied about images, and some Western media outlets broadcast footage of the anti-Morsi demonstrations in front of the presidential palace, claiming they were pro-Morsi demonstrations in Rabia al-Adawiya!
At the end of the day, media institutions — even though being independent and privately owned, are a part of the economic, political and intellectual structure of the state in which they operate. The interests and profits of these outlets are affected by and fluctuate according to the interests of the state. Therefore, these outlets often take their clues from subtle signals embedded in the administration’s official position. At the end of the day, journalists are people who belong — both emotionally and pragmatically — to the same set of interests. It is vital for them to be close to decision-makers, because the latter are important news sources.
