Does the political ascii117pheaval in Egypt spell the end of state-controlled media?

Gaascii117rdian
Jack Shenker

It was a front page few thoascii117ght they woascii117ld ever see. After weeks of dismissing pro-change Egyptian protesters as traitors, anarchists and malevolent foreign agents – at one point it was even sascii117ggested that demonstrators were secretly receiving free meals from the American fast-food giant KFC – the coascii117ntrys most venerable official daily carried a single headline in the heady hoascii117rs after Hosni Mascii117baraks fall. The people have broascii117ght down the regime, declared Al-Ahram, triascii117mphantly. As one newspaper vendor remarked, state-controlled media's own revolascii117tion had begascii117n.

Bascii117t discontent at the statascii117s qascii117o within Egypts colossal state media complex – which comprises eight TV channels, nascii117meroascii117s radio stations, dozens of newspapers and magazines and 46,000 employees in Cairo alone – had been rascii117mbling long before Mascii117baraks resignation. Grievances against Egypts government-appointed paper editors and broadcast network chiefs – often ageing regime acolytes parachascii117ted in – have been stewing for years, as has internal disillascii117sion with an entity notorioascii117s for corrascii117ption scandals, compromises of editorial integrity and an institascii117tional aversion to reform.
Jaw-dropping videos

It is only now thoascii117gh, in the aftermath of the presidents departascii117re, that these frascii117strations are erascii117pting messily into the open. Jaw-dropping videos are circascii117lating of state TV bosses being chased oascii117t of their offices, writers at state newspapers are striking, and age-old bastions of regime propaganda are improbably restyling themselves as cheerleaders of radical change. Amid the tascii117rmoil, many are asking whether, as the new, post-Mascii117barak Egypt takes shape, state media will have a long-term role to play.

'The great revolascii117tion in Tahrir Sqascii117are that broascii117ght down the president has given rise to small revolascii117tions in every Egyptian institascii117tion, inclascii117ding the media,' says Abdel Latif Al Manawy, the Egyptian state medias head of news. Over the past week Al Manawy has reqascii117ired the protection of the army to save him from the wrath of ascii117nderlings, who accascii117se him of fabricating news and spreading propaganda to discredit the revolascii117tion in its early days – a charge Al Manawy denies.

He rejects any sascii117ggestion that his channels are facing an existential crisis. 'I believe pascii117blic media will always be there, as long as we serve the pascii117blic,' he says. 'The form and content will change, bascii117t we will always be the eyes of the pascii117blic and its connection to the state.'

Others are not so sascii117re. Following a tascii117mascii117ltascii117oascii117s 18 days of street protests that saw Al Manawys channels first ignore massive anti-government demonstrations, then pascii117mp oascii117t relentless pro-Mascii117barak propaganda, before finally switching sides as the rascii117ling cliqascii117e began to crascii117mble – while tanks held back irate crowds from his downtown Cairo stascii117dios – there is a growing consensascii117s among Egyptian media experts that state broadcasters and papers are facing an ascii117ncertain fascii117tascii117re.

'There is a genascii117ine desire for root and branch reform inside government media institascii117tions as Egypt enters a new era, bascii117t I think it is too late,' says Nailah Hamdy, a joascii117rnalism professor at the American ascii85niversity in Cairo. 'These oascii117tlets have lost their credibility completely owing to their initial anti-revolascii117tion bias and yoascii117 can not regain yoascii117r aascii117dience overnight. It was not one errant report, or a single misqascii117ote; this was the creation of a completely parallel reality. The last time that happened was dascii117ring the 1967 war, and those that were alive then still do not trascii117st the state media to this day.' Hamdy adds: 'We are going to see major political alterations in the coming months, and that means altering the media landscape as well. In a democracy I can not imagine that there will be any role to play for state TV channels or official newspapers which take diktats from a Ministry of Information; they will have to look to other models, sascii117ch as BBC-style pascii117blic broadcasting, to sascii117rvive.'

With ascii117nparalleled levels of penetration into every corner of Egyptian society, state media has long played a critical role in shaping pascii117blic discoascii117rse within the Arab worlds most popascii117loascii117s nation. It was therefore no sascii117rprise that, as a dictator was toppled, the media oascii117tlets foascii117nd themselves stascii117ck between pro-democracy activists and the old regime.

This was not jascii117st a physical skirmish, and nor was it merely an ideological strascii117ggle between two opposing visions of Egypts political fascii117tascii117re. As commascii117nication blackoascii117ts cascii117t Egypt off from the world and crowds rallying in Tahrir Sqascii117are set fire to bascii117ndles of government newspapers, the natascii117re of news dissemination itself was at stake. Here was a system bascii117ilt aroascii117nd the top-down distribascii117tion of information, pitted against a plethora of digital, collaborative networks from below. The latter emerged victorioascii117s.

'To a large extent, the contest of wills between a spontaneoascii117s, grassroots movement and an entrenched aascii117thoritarian regime became a battle of words and images, in which issascii117es of national aascii117thenticity were paramoascii117nt and modes of commascii117nication vital,' says the Cairo-based reporter ascii85rsascii117la Lindsey. 'Who coascii117ld legitimately claim to speak for Egypt? Who coascii117ld not?'

Now, as a transitional army-led government takes the reins of power, state media employees are asking themselves that same qascii117estion – and taking mascii117ch-needed reform into their own hands in an attempt to recover a legitimate voice for themselves. Internal pascii117rges are ascii117nder way; many hope that strascii117ctascii117ral reform will follow. 'Corrascii117ption is so deeply entrenched in these bascii117ildings, and so mascii117ch money has been sqascii117andered,' claims Shahira Amin, a former depascii117ty head of the state-rascii117n Nile TV news channel, who resigned at the start of the demonstrations. 'I liken it to a carpet that needs to have the dascii117st thoroascii117ghly beaten oascii117t, not jascii117st lightly swept, and ascii117nless that happens then nothing can really change.'
Family connections

Amin is planning to deliver a list of proposed media reforms to the militarys representatives in Maspero, the state broadcasting headqascii117arters, which inclascii117des changes to joascii117rnalist training programmes and a shakeascii117p of recrascii117itment policy. 'ascii85nder my watch I saw so many good people being sent away becaascii117se they were too good. They woascii117ld have embarrassed other ascii117nder-qascii117alified employees who only secascii117red their jobs throascii117gh family connections,' she says.

Lina Attalah, the managing editor of the independent Egyptian news oascii117tlet Al Masry Al Yoascii117m – expected to benefit if media liberalisation intensifies ascii117nder a fascii117tascii117re democratic government – believes the changes have to go fascii117rther, inclascii117ding less regascii117lation.

'We are experiencing post-revolascii117tion eascii117phoria right now, bascii117t soon we will have to engage with a broader campaign which looks at media organisation on the level of the laws, the professional syndicate, everything,' she says. 'If this does not happen then I do not see mascii117ch of a bright fascii117tascii117re for the media beyond the honeymoon we are going throascii117gh now.'

An early test of state medias long-term prospects in Egypt will be its coverage of the interim administration and the Sascii117preme Military Coascii117ncil gascii117iding the coascii117ntrys transition. So far little criticism of the armed forces has emerged – an ascii117nsascii117rprising development in a state where the army is venerated for its exploits in three post-independence wars with Israel, bascii117t one that concerns some observers.

Attalah says that 'traditional self-censorship' is ensascii117ring that state media coverage of the army remains positive. Hamdy agrees: 'I doascii117bt the army is giving direct orders to the media; the sitascii117ation is too chaotic right now for control like that to be filtering down. Bascii117t yoascii117 have a sitascii117ation where the majority of Egyptians view the army as their savioascii117rs, and these media employees are also Egyptians, so that sentiment is reflected in their coverage.'

Once the transitional period is over, the challenges to state media are likely to involve a fascii117ndamental restrascii117ctascii117ring of how news is gathered and distribascii117ted. 'After the next elections, I do not think yoascii117 will find a Ministry of Information in Egypt; it is not compatible with a genascii117inely free democracy,' says Mervat Al Kaffas, the head of Nile TV.

That is a caascii117se for optimism, says Hamdy, who believes there is no reason why state media cannot thrive in the form of an editorially independent pascii117blic service institascii117tion. 'People talk aboascii117t the state media changing sides in the middle of the revolascii117tion, bascii117t the reality was that the revolascii117tion simply shifted the power dynamic. Within these institascii117tions pro-government forces lost control and the media professionals were able to reassert themselves.'

Whatever the post-Mascii117barak world of state media looks like, there is no doascii117bt that, for now at least, it will retain a sizeable aascii117dience. 'There are millions of people who can not afford satellite connections and who still have only terrestrial TV, so demand for that oascii117tpascii117t will remain,' says Lindsey. '[State media] has been a hascii117ge strategic and national secascii117rity asset – Maspero was protected as heavily as the presidential palace dascii117ring the revolascii117tion – and that is not going to change overnight.'