Youm 7 online daily newspaper. Photo: IMS

Khaled Salah, editor of online news e-portal Youm7, on the verge of launching new print edition and investigative unit in new unrestricted Egyptian media environment

With cautious optimism, media organisations around Egypt are testing the new waters of press freedom following the ouster of autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak's regime rigorously monitored newspapers and online media and his removal has consequently unleashed a torrent of open discussions in the press. 

New face of journalism

One individual who is taking advantage of the new media environment is Khaled Salah, the chief news editor of leading online news e-portal Youm7 working with International Media Support. During Mubarak's rule, Youm7 stood out as one of the few nonpartisan media outlets available to Egyptians and a hub for independent journalists. He sees the revolution as a catalyst for expansion in his field. 

-After the revolution, everything is changed. We have so much freedom now we cannot even bear it. The face of journalism will now be changed for the next 30 years.

Breaking ground

Khaled Salah's first undertaking will be to launch a new investigative unit at Youm7 in collaboration with ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism) a network co-founded by IMS. The group will serve as a training ground for Youm7 journalists to learn the techniques of investigative journalism, gain access to a regional and global network of media professionals and gain opportunities to publish work internationally. With this new addition, Salah hopes the upcoming print edition of Youm7 will secure a loyal reader base and a reputation for professional journalism.

-There is this big question about what we will produce for our newspaper that will be different from the website. The investigative unit will provide new content to create added value. We want to expand, to recruit more reporters who care about investigative journalism and report on topics like torture, corruption and budget fraud in depth. 

Media rivalry 

Youm7 has new competition in the form of previously pro-government media outlets that are now freely voicing critiques of the establishment and even being critical of the government. Rather than resent them, Khaled Salah views these contenders as a boon to readers and a development that will boost the quality of journalism in the region once the bad eggs are weeded out. 

-I do believe this competition will respect and inform readers. It won't be about who can insult, attack, criticize, but more about how you give information to readers, how accurate is the information, if you follow a code of respecting readers and providing accurate information then that is the newspaper that will last a long time.