ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the evolving and transformative Arab media landscape, before and after the eruption of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ or ‘Arab Uprisings’ of 2011. It highlights the most important and significant changes in the Arab media scene and their potential effects and implications on civil society, civic engagement, political activism and different forms of mediated communication and journalistic practices. Special attention is paid to the shift from the highly uniform mainstream media, which have been mostly controlled by the ruling regimes in the Arab world to consolidate their power, to the widely diverse new media, especially social media, which have been used by ordinary citizens, especially young activists, to inspire socio-political transformation and to enact change. The chapter investigates the various potentials and limitations of this new wave of citizen journalism before, during, and after the eruption of the ‘Arab Spring’ movements, as well as the future prospects for this new wave of citizen journalism and its multiple implications moving forward.
