One of Egypt's broadcasting pioneers, Taher Abu Zeid, has died at the age of 88. Abu Zeid was announced dead at the Sheikh Zayed Hospital this morning. It has also been reported that his funeral will take place this afternoon. Taher Abu Zeid was born on 5 April 1922 in Talkha and obtained a high school degree at a public school in Mansoura. Abu Zeid did not complete his education and had to work for a living. During the Second World War, he became a stenographer, but he later enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alexandria, and obtained a Bachelors Degree in Law in 1948. In 1950 he became a news anchor on Egyptian radio along with renowned broadcasting giants Safia El Mohandis, Awatef El Badri,Tomader Tawfiq, Ali El Ra'ei, Hosni El Hadeed, Anwar El Mishri and Abdel Wahab Yusuf. From 1967 to 1972 Abu Zeid became the head of the Middle East Broadcasting station and became famous for a number of radio programs including Garab Hathak (Try Your Luck), which won great popularity among listeners. Later, Abu Zeid moved to television where his show Al Fann Al Sha'abi (Culture/Folk Art) became a great success and introduced a number of local artists to television. Among his more famous radio shows are Ma'a Maglis El Omma (With the Council of the Nation), in which he shared his thoughts with the audience, and Hekayat Taher Abu Zeid (Tales of Taher Abu Zeid), which continues to be broadcast on the public program network.
