The Arab world consists of 22 countries that adopt Standard Arabic (SA) as an official language. They have a population that exceeds 420 million inhabitants (World Population Review, 2020), and it is believed that they share a similar linguistic landscape connected with similar cultures and a common history (Toffolo, 2008) . However, since this vast population stretches from the Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, it is hardly possible to argue that

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... their shared language of Arabic is uniform. Shafik (2017) argues that 'on the linguistic level little unity exists [in the Arab World]; in addition to the languages of ethnic minorities like Berbers, Nubians, and Kurds, the Arabic language itself has split into a huge variety of local dialects' (p. 1). Such linguistic diversity within Arabic itself has influenced the dominance of some Arabic dialects over others based on their outreach. The media, in this case, is an effective tool for reaching a wider audience and, as a result, the dialect used in media production is more likely to have a greater influence over other dialects not represented, or which have a weak presence, in the media. Due to mass media production and its high quality in Egypt, the Egyptian dialect has a clear dominance and is the most recognized amongst other dialects in the Arab world (Amin, 2002) . For comparison, in countries like Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), media production is limited to television series and short films (Shafik, 2017) . Other countries such as Algeria and Iraq have produced around 100 films, Syria around 150, Tunisia some 130, Lebanon has produced some 180 films, whilst Egypt has remarkably dominated media production with more than 2,500 films (Shafik, 2017) . Furthermore, when it comes to quality of production, the Arab world has witnessed fierce competition. For example, the media industry in Syria has excelled in producing high-quality drama series, in Lebanon the media industry focuses on producing music clips and advertisements (Shafik, 2007) , and in Dubai a pioneering media city was built to be 'a focal point of media activity in the region' (Quinn et al., 2003, p. 6). Nevertheless, media production in Egypt, ranging from talk shows and quizzes to television serials, remains the leading hub for media production in the Arab world (Shafik, 2007) . The reason behind Egypt's superiority in the media relates to its long