Online media overview: Egypt

ESSENTIAL FACTS

> Half the population has Internet access but broadband and mobile access are uncommon.
> According to the Reporters without Borders index, there is less freedom of information in 2015 than under the Mubarak regime and repression against journalists and bloggers continues.
> The three principal paper-format daily newspapers in the country dominate online news, despite competition from numerous pure players.
> Traditional media and pure players have a large following on Facebook and there is much interaction between audience and media via social networks.
> Advertising revenue remains low in an economy made precarious by political instability.

News websites to watch:

Mada Masr, Tahrir, Noon Post, Qoll.

METHODOLOGY

Each country file starts with four indicators to illustrate the environment within which the online media are evolving:

• Internet penetration level, according to the 2013 figures from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• Online advertising revenue per Internet user per annum, for 2015, according to Arab Media Outlook projections cross-referenced with the ITU statistics
• The 2015 Work Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters without Borders
• The Freedom of the Net 2014 Index, compiled by Freedom House

The above four indicators are represented graphically in the four quarters of a "sonar" screen, in which the coloured area is proportional to the absolute value (in the case of Internet penetration level) or relative value (in the case of word press and Internet freedom scores and for advertising revenue) across the sample for the eight indicator countries.

A table then lists the five principal news websites most visited in that country, in accordance with the Alexa platform ranking.

For each of these news websites we indicate the following:

• The website URL
• The number of Likes on its Facebook page
• The number of its followers on Twitter
• The type of news website: