The Ex-Journalist
Hi! This is Islam, the ex-journalist that pivoted his main career to data analytics. With a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication, I spent four years working as a reporter, editor and translator for independent media outlet.
Professional Timeline Highlights
In a nutshell:
- I kicked off my career in journalism as a junior student with an investigative journalism project, producing a piece on news outlets censorship in Egypt, published by Daily News Egypt.
- As a sophomore, I joined Shafaff News Network, an independent news website, covering higher education, university campuses and youth issues across Egypt, in a period when campuses where expected to be politically and socially vital.
- At Shafaff, I started as a trainee, and progressed to a freelance reporter, translator and editor, in addition to coordinating two rounds of the network's training program.
- Interactive journalism caught my aspirations. I got into the use of atypical tools for reporting, and started working with data for journalism. Data visualization and data reporting caught my interest.
- I worked with data-focused journalism agency called InfoTimes, producing data-driven reports and visualizations on various topics.
- In the first days of shifting from journalism to business research then data analytics, I did several freelance pieces for other independent media outlets, including Mada Masr and Manshoor.
Unfortunately, the domains of Shafaff News Network and InfoTimes no longer exist. Below are highlights of my pieces that still exist online.
I started my journalism career with this:
Egyptian news outlets self-censor in response to authoritative concerns
An investigation into how Egyptian news outlets face censorship and self-censorship practices. The report examines cases from major newspapers including Al-Watan and Al-Masry Al-Youm, revealing the mechanisms and pressures that lead journalists to suppress critical reporting.
And I ended my journalism career with this:
What Egyptians watch: A quest for the most-watched films since 2011
A data-driven investigation into Egyptian cinema audience preferences. Using statistical analysis and proprietary databases, this piece uncovers the true most-watched Egyptian films based on ticket sales rather than box office revenue, examining how ticket price inflation affects our understanding of cinema popularity.
Between the start and the end, here are few of the other stories I did:
شعلة الإسكواش المصرية: متى بدأت البطولات، وكيف وصلنا إلى الهيمنة؟
A comprehensive historical investigation into Egypt's squash dominance from the early 1800s to modern times. Tracing the sport's evolution from its British origins through Egypt's championship victories, examining the infrastructure, academy systems, and talent development that enabled sustained global supremacy.
Is Watch iT worth it?
An investigative analysis of Egypt's newly launched government streaming platform Watch iT, examining its technical failures, security vulnerabilities, content monopoly by Synergy, and competition with piracy platforms during Ramadan 2019 TV season.
How do Egyptians Spend Their Money? 5 Things We Discover from Numbers
A data-driven analysis of Egyptian household expenditure patterns using CAPMAS statistics. Reveals spending priorities, trends over time, and disparities between urban and rural consumption behavior from 2004 to 2015.
Egypt Internet State: 'Not Free', Slow, for 'the Few'
A statistical investigation examining Egypt's internet freedom status, connection speeds compared globally, and access disparities across the population. Uses Freedom House data and connectivity metrics to analyze digital inequality and censorship landscape.
Transformation into Data Analytics
Archival Status
While the active journalism career has transitioned to data analytics, the investigative skills and storytelling approach continue to inform current work in business intelligence and data visualization.
Key Transferable Skills:
- Research Methodology: Systematic investigation and source validation
- Narrative Construction: Building compelling stories from complex information
- Critical Analysis: Questioning assumptions and validating findings
- Deadline Management: Working efficiently under time constraints
Connect & Collaborate
Interested in data-driven storytelling, investigative analysis, or collaborative projects that combine journalism and data analytics?
