Journalism and new media: the 4M adventure
Related project
4M MashreqLaunched in 2011, the 4M label (for 4th Media) embodied CFI’s wish to support new media practices, particularly in the Mediterranean, where the social media revolution had taken on special importance with the onset of the Arab Spring.
The first international 4M meetings were held in June 2011 at Montpellier in France, bringing together around 200 of the main players from new Mediterranean media outlets: male and female bloggers and journalists from the press, audiovisual world and Internet. These gatherings were an opportunity for those present to discuss their experiences, know-how and visions concerning these new practices. 2012 saw the rollout and ramp-up of the 4M label.
In January, one year on from the Jasmine Revolution, a second regional forum took place in Tunis, followed by another in Montpellier in June.
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The second regional forum focused on the role of citizen journalists, on the theme: E-politics, after the revolutions come the elections. In other words, how the Internet can lend a new dimension to democratic debate. Then in early 2013, the regional forum in Cairo focused on the impact of social media on journalism and news in Middle Eastern countries. How has digital development transformed the news? Has news quality improved?
These questions were also at the centre of the third international meetings held in Montpellier in June, bringing together 150 people from 40 different countries, representing the partners and beneficiaries who were galvanised into action at regional forums and workshops. Over the course of the following years, a series of training workshops was held on multi-platform journalism as well as regional forums on new journalism practices in Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria and Palestine as well as in Central Europe, Africa and Asia.
The international 4M meetings in Paris in April 2016 brought together 250 online media players from 38 countries. It was a unique opportunit.
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The way from Tahrir: Egypt’s first online documentary
In October 2011, twelve Egyptian journalists from the independent press, radio and TV met in Cairo for a 1-week 4M workshop on the concept of global media. Egypt’s first online documentary saw the light of day as a result of that workshop: The way from Tahrir – Tahrir, and after…, a series of multimedia reports that start out from an interactive map showing the district of the capital featuring several places of great topical symbolism or significance in Egyptian politics, such as Tahrir Square, the Parliament building, Cairo railway station, the El Horreya coffee shop and the Faggala district.
Six months later, those same journalists produced a follow-up to The way from Tahrir, exploring Egypt’s post-revolutionary period, with portraits of key personalities in the arts and literature dotting a multimedia narrative.
Through the testimonies, portraits of journalists and the human adventures of our series Aswat Jadida ("New Voices", in Arabic), discover ten years of support for media development in the Arab world.
