New editors and board chairmen of 10 state-affiliated press organisations were appointed this week. Gamal Essam El-Din explores the new dynamic The state-affiliated press finally got its long-awaited shake-up this week, as the Shura Council named 10 new editors to the tops of state-run publications. Five of the organisations also got new board chairmen, in a move meant to separate their management and editorial processes. Safwat El-Sherif, chairman of the Shura Council and its affiliated Higher Press Council, said that kind of separation "is especially important in big press organisations with highly valuable assets and diversified commercial and economic activities". Al-Ahram, Akhbar Al-Yom, Dar Al-Tahrir, Rose El-Youssef and Dar Al-Shaab all had their editorial and management wings split up. At Al-Ahram -- Egypt and the Arab world's largest and oldest press organisation -- Chief Editor and Board Chairman Ibrahim Nafie, 71, was replaced by Salah El-Ghamri, 63, as board chairman and Osama Saraya, 53, as chief editor of Al-Ahram daily newspaper. El-Ghamri was previously chairman of the National Distribution Company, while Saraya was chief editor of the weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi magazine. At Akhbar Al-Yom, Chief Editor and Board Chairman Ibrahim Seada, 68, was replaced by Mohamed Ahdi Fadli, 61, as board chairman, Momtaz El-Qott, 50, as editor of the weekly Akhbar Al-Yom and Mohamed Barakat as chief editor of the daily Al-Akhbar. At Dar Al-Tahrir, Chief Editor and Board Chairman Samir Ragab, 68, was replaced by Mohamed Abul-Hadid as board chairman and Mohamed Ali Ibrahim as chief editor. At the weekly Rose El-Youssef magazine, Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, 68, was replaced by Abdallah Kamal, 40, as chief editor and Karam Gabr, 61, as board chairman. At Dar Al-Shaab, Yaqout Saawan, was appointed as board chairman and Mohamed El-Azizi as chief editor of the weekly Al-Ra'iy newspaper. At four other organisations, the new appointees came on board as both chairmen and chief editors: Abdel-Qader Shuhayeb at Dar Al-Hilal and the weekly Al-Mussawar magazine; Ismail Montasser at Dar Al-Maarif and the weekly October magazine; Hassan El-Rashidi at Dar Al-Taawun and the weekly Al-Siyasi Al-Masri newspaper; and Abdallah Hassan at the Middle East News Agency (MENA). Mohsen Bahgat took over as board chairman at the National Distribution Company. According to El-Sherif, the Shura Council's choices were meant to inject new blood into the so-called "national" press. As such, many of the new editors and board chairmen are in their 40s and 50s. The council has caught much flak in recent years for its laxity in appointing new board chairmen and chief editors. This, according to prominent Al-Ahram columnist Mohamed El-Sayed Said, meant that some of these organisation's top brass had been allowed to remain in office for more than 20 years. Many had gone far beyond the retirement age limits set by the press law. "Staying in office for long periods of time naturally leads to stagnation and the formation of centres of power, at the expense of innovation and the streamlining of publications," El-Said said. He hoped the new editors would be liberal and innovative enough to make their publications more appealing in a highly competitive market. "There is no doubt that a significant proportion of readers have stopped buying national newspapers in favour of independent and opposition papers in an attempt to find out what's really going on with the news," El-Said said. While some have speculated that the criteria behind the shift had more to do with the new editors' and board chairmen's loyalty to the ruling National Democratic Party, El-Said said the next few months would clarify matters. "We can only judge things based on how these papers will cover the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections," he said. This week the Shura Council also appointed new members to the Higher Press Council. According to the 1996 press law, the council's membership must include the editors of national press organisations, editors of opposition newspapers, the current head of the Press Syndicate and four former Press Syndicate heads. The council's new members will now include Ibrahim Nafie (in his capacity as former Press Syndicate head), as well as eight new public figures: former Akhbar Al-Yom Editor Ibrahim Seada; former October editor Ragab El-Banna; former MENA editor Mahfouz El-Ansari, 70; former Rose El-Youssef editor Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, 70; former Al-Akhbar Editor Galal Dewidar; Rose El-Youssef 's new editor Abdallah Kamal; and Al-Ahram 's new editor Osama Saraya.
