El Tahrir (newspaper)

El Tahrir (in Arabic التحرير meaning The Liberation) is a privately owned Classical Arabic 18-page daily published in Egypt. It was named after the Egyptian Tahrir Square which has been witnessing demonstrations. The daily was the second publication launched after "the revolution".

El Tahrir
التحرير
TypeDaily newspaper
Founder(s)Ibrahim El Moellam
Ibrahim Eisaa
PublisherIbrahim El Moellam
Editor-in-chiefIbrahim Eissa
EditorIbrahim Mansour
Founded1 July 2011 (2011-07-01)
LanguageClassical Arabic
HeadquartersCairo, Egypt
WebsiteEl Tahrir

History and ownership

The daily was launched in July 2011 following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and was named after Tahrir Square.[1][2] It is the second daily started during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.[3]

One of its owners and board chairman is Ibrahim El Moellam, who also owns the independent El Shorouk daily.[3][4] Ibrahim Eissa is the other founder and editor-in-chief of the daily.[5]

Content and editors

El Tahrir is an 18-page daily.[1] In July 2011, Ibrahim Mansour, the executive editor of the daily, argued that it primarily targets young readers, who "lost faith in the print media because it served the regime."[2][6] Significant editors of the daily include Ibrahim Mansour, Belal Fadl, Omar Taher and Ahmed Esseily.[7] Mahmoud Salem, who was a leading novelist, published weekly articles in the daily, the last of which involved criticisms over the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.[8]

Following the US President Barack Obama's description of the July 2013 events in Egypt as a "coup" the daily published an English message on its front page on 4 July, saying "It's a revolution .. not a coup."[9][10]

Political approach

The first issue of the daily reported "it will be a replica of El Dostour in terms of its opinionated content and sarcastic flourishes."[1] The initial approach of the paper was "to represent the voice of the January 25 Revolution," which opposed the Mubarek regime.[11] It tries to challenge authoritarianism and corruption and all the red lines Egypt's rulers try to draw around a free press.[12] Following the election of Abdel Fattah Sisi as president of Egypt the headline of the paper was "Egypt is in joy".[13]

Controversy

In August 2012, El Tahrir and two other dailies, El Masry El Youm and El Watan, blanked their columns, protesting the appointment of editor-in-chiefs by the Egyptian Shura Council.[14] On 4 December 2012, Al Tahrir together with eleven papers and five TV channels went one strike for one day, protesting the then draft constitution.[15]

References
  1. Noha El Hennawy (3 July 2011). "Al Tahrir newspaper launches, hoping to be voice of opposition". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  2. "Overview" (PDF). Dubai Press Club. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  3. El Gundy, Zeinab (3 July 2011). "Egypt's newest daily, Tahrir, hits the newsstands". Ahram Online. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  4. Judy Alspach (19 November 2012). "MEMP Preserves Arab Spring Newspaper Al Tahrir". Center for Research Libraries. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  5. "Ibrahim Issa". Arabic Fiction. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  6. "Egypt's newest newspaper 'El-Tahrir' hits the stands". The Jerusalem Post. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  7. "The first issue of "Al Tahrir"". ANHRI. Cairo. 3 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  8. "Egyptian author Mahmoud Salem dies age 84". Daily News Egypt. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  9. Erin Fuchs (4 July 2013). "Egyptian Newspaper Has A Message for Obama on Its Front Page". Business Insider. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  10. "Egypt: The Revolution Continued by Aliaa El Sandouby". Los Angeles Review of Books. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  11. "2011 year in review". Egypt Today. July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  12. Thanassis Cambanis (8 July 2011). "Still Pushing the Boundaries: Egypt's New, Free Press". The Atlantic. Cairo. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  13. Nadia Abou El-Magd (1 June 2014). "Pro-coup media may well be hindering not helping Sisi". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  14. "New editors appointed by Shura". Daily News Egypt. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  15. "12 Egyptian newspapers and 5 TV channels strike for freedom of expression". MENA Observatory. 4 December 2012. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
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