The Egyptian Syndicate and (Digital) Journalism’s Unresolved Boundary Struggle

Abstract

Focusing on the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate crisis in 2016, this article examines how non-traditional journalists contest their peripheral position and push journalism’s boundaries within an asymmetrical context beyond political-legal control. As digital and freelance journalists are excluded from legal journalism definitions, outdated regulations divide professional journalists into a hierarchical system. Rigid boundaries and blurred practice exist side by side. Power imbalances, media patrimonialism, and an ambivalent professional association divide the journalists’ community over recognition and benefits. A qualitative media analysis of three newspapers and interviews revealed a contested spectrum. Journalists demanded professional autonomy but did not push for boundary expansion. Radical critique was missing. Beyond the regional focus, this article offers a contextualized analysis of how severe exclusion and power imbalances shape journalism boundaries. It brings journalists themselves, not just politics, as a force into the foreground to be reckoned with as journalistic divisions block change and sustain inequalities.

Keywords:

• Journalism
• syndicate
• Egypt
• Arab Spring
• autonomy
• boundary work
• polarization
• qualitative
• interviews
• frame

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).