Journalism was another importation from Europe, adapted to satisfy the public’s need for information about different aspects of life.
Napoleon Bonaparte introduced Egypt’s first printing press with the French-language newspaper
La Courier d’Egypte (29 August 1798) and the quarterly journal
La Décade Egyptienne (1799). Khedive Muhammad ‘Ali and his successors then introduced journalism for an Arabic-reading public with publication of
al-Waqa’i‘ al-Masriyya (Egyptian Affairs),
al-Yasub (a monthly medical journal),
Rawdha al-madaris (a literature magazine),
Wadi al-Nil (a bi-weekly political newspaper) and
Masr (a weekly newspaper). Lebanese immigrants in Egypt founded two of the most prestigious journals that still exist today:
al-Ahram (The Pyramids, 1876) and
al-Hilal (The Crescent, 1892). In 1877, Yaqub Sanu‘ founded the first Arabic-language satirical magazine
Abu Naddara. In Ottoman lands, in 1860 and 1891 respectively,
Tercüman-ı Ahvâl (Interpreter of Facts) and
Servet-ı-Fünun (The Wealth of Knowledge) were among the first non-state sponsored periodicals to be published.