The characteristics of the comments of news websites readers on political crisis: A case study on Rabaa and Nahda sit ins.

Document Type : Original Article

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Associate professor – Journalism Department – Faculty of Mass Communication – Cairo University

Abstract

There has been an increasing interest among Egyptians in following the political news after January 2011. They joined political debates online around many political crises facing Egypt during that transitional period, including Rabaa and Nahda sit ins. This study attempts to analyse the readers’ comments on news websites, which provides a channel to freely express their attitudes and opinions about news events compared to traditional mass media. This study uses a mixed method approach in which the researcher combines survey, comparative and case study methods to conduct a content analysis of Al-Yom El-Sabea coverage of Rabaa and Nahda sit ins between the 27th of July and the 14th of August. The study showed that there was no direct relationship between the news angle and readers’ attitudes expressed in their comments. The comments varied in their nature between being directed to the news story itself and to other commentators. Readers at many times interacted with each other through their comments, creating a sphere for discussion and debate.

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