When the Egypt Independent was shut down in April 2013 by its publishers, a group of its former journalists got together under the leadership of Lina Attalah to establish a new online bilingual newspaper, Mada Masr.
Attalah, the former editor of Egypt Independent, is the chief editor and founder of Mada Masr.
Mada, which means “span” or “range” in Arabic, but it’s also the spot where a stone is placed on a ring, a symbol of taking a position, and Masr is often referred to as Egypt. The website was launched on 30 June 2013, the day that a mass demonstration calling for the resignation of Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s president, was planned.
Mada Masr was Attalah’s seventh news venture; many of the previous ones had closed because of successive governments’ attitude towards independent-minded journalists.
With over 38,000 followers on Twitter, Atallah is regarded as a respected voice on Egypt, having covered all notable events in the country’s recent history. As well as editing Mada Masr, Atallah has written for numerous publications including Reuters, Al Masry Al Youm and Cairo Times, and has worked as a radio producer and campaign coordinator for the BBC World Service trust.
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