ONE NEWS REPORTER Anthony David Gatt wrote this as a facebook note. J’accuse is posting it as a zolabyte with the author’s kind permission. It is his take on how the media – local and foreign – has dealt with the Egyptian uprising. As Anthony says, this note is a look at what is happening from the journalist’s point of view as well as at the effects of media. The floor is open for discussion.
L-Egittu: rajnieh u wassalnieh
L-Egittu kien fuq fomm kullhadd fl-ahhar jiem. Habba li l-pajjiz huwa tant vicin taghna, minhabba ir-rappurtagg kontinwu fuq l-istazzjoniet tal-ahabrijiet u permezz ta-Twitter u Facebook, hassejna lilna nfusna eqreb tal-izviluppi. F’din in-nota tajt harsa lejn dak li qed jigri mill-lenti gurnalistika u l-effetti tal-midja.
Kardashians flok Tahrir
Wahda fost l-aktar mossi medjatici importanti f’dawn id-dimostrazzjonijiet kienet id-decizjoni tal-Al Jazeera English li jwasslu xandira diretta bla waqfien mill-Egittu. Dan filwaqt li l-istazzjonijiet l-ohra kollha, jew kellhom problemi biex jxandru jew ma tawx l-importanza li din l-istorja sthoqqitila mill-ewwel. Tant li fuq CNN fl-ewwel jiem tal-gimgha, meta kollox deher li beda jeskala, ghal xi hinijiet dehru l-Kardashians jitkellmu fuq fettuqiet flok iz-zghazagh Egizzjani jiggieldu ghal-drittijiethom. AJE tassew wasslu rappurtagg tajjeb u reali mit-toroq tal-Kajr, Lixandra u bliet ohra. Dehret id-differenza mill-midja l-ohra, kellhom iktar access ghal sorsi politici gharab ghaliex l-istazzjon ewlieni ta’ din n-network beda bl-Gharbi u huwa iccentrallizat mal-hajja Gharbija.
AJE
Dehret differenza wkoll bejn l-mod kif l-midja amerikana titratta l-korrispondenti ewlenin bhal Anderson Cooper u Hala Gorani tas-CNN. Il-kjass li qam meta gew attakkati, mhux ghax gew attakati gurnalisti u l-ghajb ta’ azzjoni bhal din, izda ghax gew attakati ismijiet kbar. Fuq huffingtonpost rajna artikli shah “Anderson Cooper attacked”, “Anderson Cooper admits he is afraid”, anke jien semmejt l-fatt li gie aggredit fir-rappurtagg tieghi. Izda minn jaf x’raw ma wicchom kemm l-gurnalist bla isem fl-ahhar jiem? Ghal AJE ma kienx importanti l-glorifikazzjoni tal-korrispondent daqs is-sahha tal-kontenut. In-newsanchor gieli inghaqdet ma korrispondent minn nofs pjazza Tahrir minghajr ma semmiet ismu. Forsi bhala mizura ta’ sigurta’, imma hi x’inhi kienet sistema li hadmet u li tat lill din in-network status qawwi tul ir-rappurtagg shih.
Internet bahh
Twitter rega ghamilha. Nies tweetjaw minn djarhom biex nbdew l-protesti, tweetjaw minn pjazza Tahrir, u mit-toroq tal-Kajr sakemm inqata l-internet. Hekk cum bum. Waqaf kollox. Jum minnhom qed niccettja ma kollega tieghi u qaltli ezatt x’ghaddiet minnu fil-jiem tal-protesti u l-ghada bahh. Fuq tweetpic rajt ritratt ta’ kif il-graph tat-traffiku tal-internet waqghet minn mija fil-mija ghal-tnax fil-mija. Izda Facebbok u Twitter fil-bqija tad-dinja baqghu ghaddejjin u whud mic-cellulari fl-Egittu kienu ghadhom joperaw wkoll. Allura zghazugh minn Kalifornja espert fil-qasam tal-kommunikazzjoni u li ghandu shabu fl-Egittu u kemm il-darba mar hemm, haseb sew x’jista jghamel u ghamilha! Talab lill kull min ried jikkomunika mill-Egittu biex jcempel u jghaddi messagg fuq sistema jew jibghat sms. Hu imbghad jaqlibhom fi tweets jew jahllihom bhala vuci. Il-bniedem rega dawwar il-bieb imsabbat f’wiccu tat-teknologija… f’id ta’ ghajnuna b’sahhitha u soda.
Ghax ma nintervistax lill Mubarak?
Impressjonajt ruhi wkoll bil-mument ta’ ispirazzjoni ta’ Christiane Amanpour li telqet mis-CNN u issa qieghda l-ABC. Kienet qed thares lejn l-cameraperson taghha bilqieghda qabel ma jintervistaw il-Vici President l-gdid, u hasbet bejna u bejn ruhha… ghalfejn ma nintervistawx lill Mubarak. L-iktar haga ovja u semplici, u fl-istess hin l-haga li qass tghaddilek minn mohhok f’miljuni ta’ snin f’dik l-atmosfera. Mubarak kien hemm biss biex jghajruh u biex jghati diskorsi mistennija b’herqa u jerga jghib. Mhux biex jkun normali u jitkellem ma persuna ohra, ma gurnalista! Ghodda ta’ propaganada jew le, ghalija l-intervista ghinitu, ghallinqas f’ghajnejja. Kif spjegajt lill Stephen Calleya, Kap tal-MEDAC, jien nhares lejh minn zewg perspettivi… minn naha bhala tirann kattiv kif pengewuli u lilna l-Egizzjan,i u minn naha l-ohra bhala statista li ghalkemm imperfett ghad ghandu f’qalbu lill dawk li forsi xi darba kienu uliedu u ma jridx jitfa pajjiz fl-abissi. Mghomi bil-biza tal-izlamizmu jrid jibqa fil-kariga u jiehu hsieb, mqar ghalissa.
Ovvju
Dan apparti li jkun superfluwu li nsemmu kemm gurnalisti tal-midja tradizzjonali gabu informazzjoni u vidjos minn fuq twitter u youtube bis-sahha tac-citizen journalists fit-triq. Dan l-fenomenu issa nafuh sew, kull ma nistghu nghidu hu li gie rikonfermat u issa zgur li m’hemm ebda dubju tas-sahhat ta’ din it-tip ta’ midja gdida.
Gurnalizmu bil-‘G’ kbira
Kellna wkoll l-interess rari tal-gurnalisti Maltin. Karl Stagno Navvarra ha d-decizjoni li insemmghu lehinnha ghal-kif shabna fl-Egittu qed jissawtu, jigu arrestati u mwaqqfa minn xoghlhom. Karl ghamel tajjeb. Izda l-‘protesta’ quddiem l-ambaxxata Egizzjana saret f’hin hazin u mhux hafna minnha setghu jattendu. Whud li setghu m’attendewx, ghaliex forsi jahsbu li dan kollu teatrin ghalxejn. Forsi mhux kullhadd kellu l-kilba li jmur l-Egittu, forsi ghal hafna l-gurnalizmu ghandu l-‘g’ zghira.
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Zolabytes is a rubrique on J’accuse – the name is a nod to the original J’accuser (Emile Zola) and a building block of the digital age (byte). Zolabytes is intended to be a collection of guest contributions in the spirit of discussion that has been promoted by J’accuse on the online Maltese political scene for 5 years.
Opinions expressed in zolabyte contributions are those of the author in question. Opinions appearing on zolabytes do not necessarily reflect the editorial line of J’accuse the blog.
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Related articles
- Mubarak loyalists beat journalists covering unrest (sfgate.com)
- Anderson Cooper And CNN Crew Attacked By Pro-Mubarak Mob In Egypt (mediaite.com)
- Anderson Cooper latest journalist to leave Egypt (hollywoodnews.com)
- Jon Stewart Declares to Egypt “Hands Off Anderson Cooper!” (brainz.org)
