The Egyptian Protests: Who Cares?

Apparently not Americans--at least not to the extent that the media does.

According to a Pew survey, the US media is paying a lot more attention to the demonstrations in Egypt than Americans are:

Limited Public Interest in Egyptian Protests
Turmoil Draws Extensive Media Coverage

So far, the extraordinary anti-government protests in Egypt have drawn much more attention from the news media than from the American public.

Only about one-in-ten (11%) cite news about protests in Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries as the story they followed most closely last week. By contrast, more than three times that number (38%) followed news about the aftermath of the Jan. 8 Arizona shooting rampage most closely last week, according to the latest News Interest Index survey conducted Jan. 27-30 among 1,007 adults.


For its part, the media devoted more attention to news about unrest in the Middle East (20% of coverage) than any other story last week, according to a separate analysis by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ). Just 4% of coverage was devoted to the aftermath of the Arizona shootings.

As the crisis grew last weekend, so did coverage. From Jan. 27-30, as the survey was being conducted, unrest in the Middle East accounted for 36% of all news coverage, with coverage of Egypt alone accounting for 30% of the newshole.

Public interest in the ongoing drama in Egypt and the Middle East, while modest, is in line with interest in other overseas protests in recent years. In fact, more than twice as many said they followed the Egyptian protests very closely than the protests in Tunisia a week earlier (17% vs. 7%).

However, the dramatic protests in Iran in mid-2009 – and the subsequent government crackdown – attracted much more public interest. Nearly three-in-ten (28%) followed the protests very closely the week of June 19-22, 2009, and 31% followed the crackdown on election protestors very closely the following week (June 26-29). [emphasis added]

That last item would seem to indicate that the lack of interest in the Egyptian protests by Americans is not an issue of indifference per se towards the plight of Arabs under despotic rulers.

The difference could be that the background of the protests in Iran were more dramatic and easier to identify with: Ahmadinejad stole the election and Iranians wanted their voices--and votes--to be heard: it was an issue of democratic rights The protests in Egypt are for more mundane--if vital--reasons, but also involve a scorecard of groups and individuals to keep track of, as the issue of the transfer of power is discussed. Also, the protesters want Islamic, and not necessarily democratic, rule.

I suppose this level of interest could change, when elections become a concrete reality--and as the implications for the West become clearer.

Technorati Tag: Egypt.