Al Jazeera Replay (Feb 1-4, 2011)

The Egyptian revolution of January 2011 took mainstream media outlets by surprise. While initially lagging in their response, Al Jazeera English (AJE) soon cleared its regular programing to provide non-stop coverage of the events.

Despite the Egyptian government’s efforts to disrupt the broadcast, AJE maintained a continuous live feed on satellite TV and online. In addition to journalists on the ground, the channel brought together interviews with leaders, politicians, officials, experts, and commentators with a flood of participant and citizen journalist contributions culled from various online venues. Scholars and journalists alike acknowledge the network’s comprehensive coverage as a turning point in the network’s position in the global media landscape. AJE became the medium for the revolution and perhaps a medium of the revolution. Al Jazeera Replay revisits AJE’s 24-hour coverage through a continuous screening of a four-day period of coverage and a panel discussion.
Writer and curator Sohrab Mohebbi will moderate presentations by Rawya Rageh, an AJE correspondent who reported from Cairo and Alexandria during the revolution, and media scholar Scott Bridges, author of the recently-published 18 Days: Al Jazeera English and the Egyptian Revolution.