Citizen Journalism Is Booming In Egypt and The Middle East, Despite Serious Risks

"American? You are welcome here."

I must have heard that three dozen times during my visit to Cairo, Egypt last week. Every Egyptian I met made it a point to let me know I was safe in their country.

Egypt is, after all, in something of a PR crisis following a revolution this past spring and regular demonstrations ever since. For a country that relies so heavily on tourism, foreigners' continued fears are directly affecting many residents, from the guys hustling camel rides at Giza's pyramids to the restaurants and hotels that are usually bustling with Western tourists.

Many people told me, "Go home, tell Americans it is safe here."

So there you go. I can at least vouch for myself and say I never felt in danger (except for when I took Cairo cabs - talk about a rush!).

My tour guide lamented the notably smaller number of tour buses lined up in front of the Sphinx and Great Pyramids. She told me the numbers had been down all year, but she was really hoping they'd pick up in the fall, usually a very busy season.

Though tourism may be down, another industry (if you'd want to call it that) is thriving all over post-revolution Arab World: Citizen journalism.

Many online news outlets have launched or grown after the dust has started to settle following the Arab Spring. MediaShift describes the citizen journalism landscape as three-tiered: Independent bloggers; joint initiatives from citizen journalists; and larger citizen journalism platforms such as Global Voices and Menassat.com.

Citizen journalism has a long history in Egypt , in particular. Since the early 2000s, bloggers and activists were chronicling complaints and demonstrations against then-President Hosni Mubarak outside the purview of the mainstream media.

While the news availability may be spreading, there are still dire consequences for citizen journalists (and professional journalists) for writing negative posts about the wrong parties.

In March, Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad was arrested for criticizing the Egyptian military's role in the revolution. He was sentenced to three years in prison for libel. Human Rights Watch called his arrest "the worst strike against free expression in Egypt" in more than three years.

On Monday, activist and blogger Alaa Abd El Fattah was arrested for speaking out against the military junta's role in violence that erupted at an Oct. 9 Coptic Christian protest in Cairo.

Despite the dangers of doing civic journalism in a time of such upheaval, I had an opportunity to work with some Arab journalists who are doing just that all over the Middle East. I was actually visiting Egypt as an instructor with the International Center for Journalists, helping to guide a selected group of journalists working on investigations of civic issues in their home communities.