ª Bassem Youssef is the first Egyptian to win the 2013 Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) International Press Freedom Award. Defending journalists worldwide, four journalists who face imprisonment and other threats for exposing realities in Ecuador, Egypt, Turkey and Vietnam will be honoured with CPJ's 2013 International Press Freedom Awards and they are: Youssef, Nedim Sener, Janet Hinostroza and Nguyen Van Hai. As a window for free expression opened in Egypt following the demise of the Mubarak regime in 2011, cardiac surgeon Youssef began dissecting society with a satirical newscast produced in his living room and posted on YouTube. At the time, Youssef's show criticised the Egyptian government's institutionalised control over editorial content by pointing up its hypocrisy. “The B+ Show” went viral, earning him a spot on the airwaves as the host of Al-Bernameg (The Programme), a satirical newscast first televised by the independent Egyptian television station ONTV and later by the Capital Broadcast Centre (CBC). The show had more than 40 million viewers, with at least three million others following Youssef on social media channels. On his programme, he has taken on political conservatives and liberals alike, in a quest to inform and shatter stereotypes. He uses sharp humour to report on and critique government failures to improve the economy, public services, and safety, and efforts to suppress opinion — whether in the name of religion under Morsi or in the name of security under the current military-backed government.
