The battle between state-owned and independent newspapers appears to have been contained, for the time being at least, writes Shaden Shehab During Saturday's meeting at the Press Syndicate between editors of state- owned and independent newspapers the two camps agreed on mechanisms aimed at ending any violations of the profession's code of ethics in a move intended to defuse a simmering row that had degenerated into the hurling of insults on both the pages of the press and satellite television channels. In the last two weeks differences between the two camps boiled over, with editors of state-owned newspapers threatening to set up an alternative association to the Press Syndicate which, they charged, had shown itself ineffective in promoting the interests of journalists. The crux of the argument between the two focussed on just how much leeway newspapers should enjoy in writing about the president. Editors of state-owned newspapers accuse their independent counterparts of slandering the president while independent editors say that their criticisms are not only legitimate but are protected by the constitution. And in a riposte to the position adopted by the editors of national papers, some journalists argued that the logical extension of banning criticisms of the president would be to extend such immunity to all public figures, including politicians opposed to the ruling National Democratic Party. The row erupted following the publication of the annual report of the Shura Council-affiliated Higher Press Council which called on the Press Syndicate to act to end "improper journalistic practices [including] insulting the president of the republic". Following the report an Orbit satellite channel talk show hosted Karam Gabr, chairman of the state-affiliated Rose El-Youssef and Abdel-Halim Qandil, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly Al-Karama. The programme degenerated into a slanging match as the two exchanged accusations in front of the cameras, with Gabr accusing Qandil of acting as an agent for foreign interests and Qandil branding Gabr a stooge of the regime. The following day the editors-in-chief of state-owned press establishments held a meeting at which they demanded the profession be "cleansed of vulgar and debased" practices. The Press Syndicate Council invited editors of newspapers to Saturday's meeting in an attempt to contain the crisis. It was agreed that a committee of senior journalists be formed to monitor any violations of the code of ethics. Offenders will first receive a written warning. Should they continue with the infringements they then face the prospect of being expelled from the syndicate. The meeting ended with a vaguely worded statement being issued in which "immoral" violations by "some" newspapers were condemned, though neither the violations nor the newspapers guilty of them were named. The statement also called on journalists to cease criticising one another in the interests of unity, and underlined the status of the Press Syndicate as the "legitimate body that defends press freedom and resolves disputes between journalists". Criticism of public figures, it said, is permissible when it is deemed to be in the public interest but no such criticisms should contravene the profession's code of ethics. "It seems that some common ground has been reached between editors who only recently were calling each other names and it is a good start," said prominent columnist Salama Ahmed Salama, "but the problems facing the press remain extensive." It is perfectly normal, Salama pointed out, for state- owned and independent newspapers to have different agendas. Ibrahim Issa, the editor-in-chief of Al-Dostour who is currently appealing a 12-month jail sentence handed down after his paper accused President Hosni Mubarak of misusing government funds, did not attend the meeting. Meanwhile, the trial of three journalists -- Wael El-Ibrashi, the editor-in- chief of Sawt Al-Umma, Hoda Abu Bakr, a journalist on the same publication and Abdel-Hakim Abdel-Hamid, a reporter on Afaq Arabiya -- resumed on the same day as the meeting. The three are accused of publishing the initials of judges who reportedly colluded with the authorities in falsifying the results of last year's parliamentary elections. Lawyer Gamal Tageddin faces charges of having provided the journalists with the list.
