Lina Attalah ( ar, لينا عطاالله) is an Egyptian media figure and journalist. Attalah is co-founder and chief editor of
Mada Masr
''Mada Masr'' ( ar, مدى مصر) is an independent Egyptian online newspaper, founded in June 2013 by former journalists of the English-language newspaper ''Egypt Independent'' following the shutting down of its editorial operations in April 20 ...
, an independent online Egyptian newspaper and was previously managing editor of the ''
Egypt Independent
''Egypt Independent'' is an online newspaper that formerly published a weekly 24-page English-language edition of the Egyptian newspaper, ''Al-Masry Al-Youm''.
History
On 24 November 2011, the first print edition of ''Egypt Independent'' was pu ...
'' prior to its print edition closure in 2013. She is active in the fight against the restriction of honest journalism. ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' recognized her as a "New Generation Leader", calling her the "Muckraker of the Arab World" in 2018,
and including her in
''Time''s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
in 2020 she was awarded the Knight International Journalism Award from the
International Center for Journalists
International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is a non-profit, professional organization located in Washington, D.C., United States, that promotes journalism worldwide. Since 1984, the International Center for Journalists has worked directly with ...
.
Education
Attalah is an alumna of the
United World College of the Adriatic
United World College of the Adriatic (''UWC Adriatic'' or ''UWCAd'' ) is a part of the United World Colleges, a global educational movement that brings together students from all over the world with the aim to foster peace and international un ...
in Duino, Italy. She then studied journalism at
the American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...
.
Journalism
Attalah's journalism has covered notable events in the Egyptian world, including the
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
. She has published articles in ''
Al-Masry Al-Youm
''Al-Masry Al-Youm'' ( ar, المصري اليوم ', , meaning ''The Egyptian Today'') is an Egyptian privately owned Daily paper, daily newspaper that was first published in June 2004. It is published in Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic as is it ...
'', ''
Cairo Times'', ''
The Daily Star''
and the ''
Christian Science Monitor
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...
'' and for the
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre.
Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...
news agency.
She worked as a radio producer and campaign coordinator for BBC World Service Trust in 2005.
Attalah was managing editor of the ''
Egypt Independent
''Egypt Independent'' is an online newspaper that formerly published a weekly 24-page English-language edition of the Egyptian newspaper, ''Al-Masry Al-Youm''.
History
On 24 November 2011, the first print edition of ''Egypt Independent'' was pu ...
'' prior to the closure of its print edition in 2013.
She is co-founder and the first chief editor of ''
Mada Masr
''Mada Masr'' ( ar, مدى مصر) is an independent Egyptian online newspaper, founded in June 2013 by former journalists of the English-language newspaper ''Egypt Independent'' following the shutting down of its editorial operations in April 20 ...
'', an independent online Egyptian newspaper.
Repression
In 2011, Attalah was among journalists who were attacked by security forces while covering a demonstration in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
.
In November 2019, Attalah was briefly detained by Egyptian security services after ''
Mada Masr
''Mada Masr'' ( ar, مدى مصر) is an independent Egyptian online newspaper, founded in June 2013 by former journalists of the English-language newspaper ''Egypt Independent'' following the shutting down of its editorial operations in April 20 ...
'', of which she is Chief Editor, published an article
about plans for president
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...
's son
Mahmoud el-Sisi
Mahmoud el-Sisi ( ar, محمود السيسي; born 1982) is the deputy head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate and the son of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Biography
Mahmoud is the oldest son of President Abdel Fattah E ...
to be transferred from the
General Intelligence Directorate (GIS), one of the three Egyptian intelligence services,
to the
Military Intelligence agency
The Military Intelligence Agency ( sr, Војнообавештајна Агенција / Vojnoobaveštajna Agencija, abbr. VOA) is the military intelligence agency of the Ministry of Defence of Serbia. The Military Intelligence Agency is an exp ...
and assigned to a
diplomatic position in Moscow in 2020 in response to Mahmoud's media visibility having a negative impact on president el-Sisi's image.
''Mada Masr'' member
Shady Zalat was detained for a day and a half, laptops and telephones from the ''Mada Masr'' office were confiscated, and ''Mada Masr'' staff, free lancers and guests were held incommunicado in the office for several hours by security forces.
On 18 May 2020, in what was described as a "growing crackdown on freedom of expression linked to Covid-19," Attalah was arrested outside
Tora prison
Tora Prison ( arz, سجن طره '; ) is an Egyptian prison complex for criminal and political detainees, located in Tora, Egypt. The complex is situated in front of the Tora El Balad metro station. The main buildings in the Tora Prison complex a ...
in Cairo while interviewing the sister of detained journalist
Alaa Abd El-Fattah
Alaa Ahmed Seif Abd-El Fattah ( ar, علاء أحمد سيف الإسلام عبد الفتاح, ; born 18 November 1981), known professionally as Alaa Abd El-Fattah ( ar, علاء عبد الفتاح), is an Egyptian-British blogger, software d ...
. Attalah was released on bail hours after her arrest.
Public speaker
Attalah is a frequent public speaker and has been invited to address
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's
World Press Freedom Day
The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the righ ...
, Storyful in Australia, the Arab Media Forum, and a host of other events.
Online media
Attalah is active in
online social media. She had over 50 thousand followers on Twitter in 2022.
Recognition
Attalah was awarded the 2020
Knight International Journalism Award from the
International Center for Journalists
International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is a non-profit, professional organization located in Washington, D.C., United States, that promotes journalism worldwide. Since 1984, the International Center for Journalists has worked directly with ...
. Attalah was one of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' 100 most influential people of 2020.
Attallah was awarded
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres with a Knight degree by the French embassy in Cairo in 2022
Personal life
Attalah is a
Christian.
See also
*
Lists of Egyptians
The following is a list of some of the notable Egyptians inside and outside of Egypt:
Actors Male actors
* Abdel Moneim Madbouly
* Adel Emam
* Ahmed Zaki
* Ahmed El Sakka
* Ahmed Ezz
* Ahmed Helmy
* Ahmed Mekky
* Ahmed Ramzy
* Ali Mans ...
References
Other sources
Lina Attalah on Media in EgyptLina Attalah
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attalah, Lina
Egyptian journalists
Living people
1983 births
People educated at a United World College
The American University in Cairo alumni
Egyptian women writers
Egyptian Christians