The digital divide in the journalism sector

Abstract

This article argues that the digital sphere has maintained the offline hierarchal forms of political, economic, and cultural powers, taking the Arab journalism sector as a topical case study. The article explores the potential of digital platforms as a new source of revenue for Arab news media and a new site for disseminating informative content that helps push the freedom of speech in the region. It demonstrates the difficulty of achieving either goal partly due to the monopoly of Big Tech over the digital advertising market and partly due to the competition among Arab media outlets to use clickbait content to lure audiences and hence increase superficial metrics such as clicks and shares. The article draws on different forms of evidence, including articles penned by Arab journalists, in which they reflect on their experiences in the digital sphere, papers by Arab scholars, in addition to informal conversations with selected Arab journalists.