Online radio stations for Egypt's youth are booming, Ghada Abdel-Kader tunes in "I'd like to thank those working in online radio for all the new and useful ideas you've given me. It's the first time I listen to the programme and I've started downloading all the episodes I'd missed. You are playing a very important part in changing many concepts I had wrong. Well done! Keep it up and thank you," read one of the thousands of comments written in a similar vein which flooded the e-mail inboxes of online radio journalists. In just a few months of life, online radio stations in Egypt have attracted thousands of young listeners. "I think it's cool to discuss our interests and problems online," 21-year-old Nesrine Mahmoud told Al-Ahram Weekly. "It's interesting, and besides, online radio has a flavour of its own." One of the most recent online radio stations is Radio Mahatet Masr (Egypt's Station). Founded by prominent radio presenter Osama Mounir, the station was launched on 8 February. The idea was broached in 2004 and the domain name was ready by 2005. "At first the station was a joint project with a well known Internet company but they didn't pick up on the idea so the project was halted," Mounir said. Afterwards, he decided to create a local radio channel in Heliopolis. "During Ramadan, I sat with my team: Hatem Fahmi, director of the station; Ahmed Zakaria, creative art director, as well as members of the financial department, and conducted a comprehensive study including marketing, goals and target audiences," said Mounir. "The budget reached more than LE1 million. I was aspiring to do the best thing ever." He added that the station's objective is to address listeners in a frank, decent, and civilised manner. "We will interact and discuss all matters that concern our listeners, criticise all the problems in our society and work on regaining lost ethics and morals of the 1970s and 1980s." Mounir said the target audience was between 12 to 45 years old, and that each broadcasting segment appeals to a certain age group. All shows are on air: Talk Lok from 10-12am, Talk Show from 9- 10am and 1-3pm, and Freeway in the evening. There is also a coffee break from 1-2am. Top Ten for songs is coming soon. The station had more than 11 million hits in only 10 days. "We didn't face any obstacles in the establishment of our station. I've had a licence since 2005 because I have a company and an advertising agency that have received security approval." Mounir said journalists from newspapers and magazines had committed themselves to writing scripts and programmes for the station. There are also reliable sources for its news shows from well-known newspapers and magazines. "Online radio is not the end of the story. In 2004, we had only 400 or 500 Internet users in Egypt. Now, we have more than 300,000. Tomorrow, Egyptians will have WiFi radio in their cars and will have immediate access to online radio streams. The government is currently studying the WiMax wireless Internet technology, that will cover all of Egypt, in 15 or 16 months. It allows connections over longer distances, replaces cable and DSL services, and provides universal Internet access just about anywhere you go." Among the online radio channels Egyptian youth are tuning into is Radio Horytna (Our Freedom), launched March 2007. Created by Ahmed Samih, the station targets young Egyptians. Within a year, the non-stop broadcaster has proven to be a success, attracting some 80,000 listeners from all over the world. "The idea came from Samih, who heads the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies," Maha Maher, executive editor-in-chief of Horytna, told the Weekly. The name of the channel was chosen to reflect the way the station wants to be perceived, as a free space to tackle human rights as well as the social problems that Egypt's younger generation faces today. The station is committed to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek news and ideas, receive and impart to others, through any media and regardless of frontiers." Dutch organisation Press Now, which supports independent media outlets and institutions, provided a bridge grant to set up radio Horeytna under the auspices of the Andalus Institute. Mohsen Kamal, deputy executive director of Horytna added that the station is currently financed by the United States Embassy, Press Now organisation and the BBC. "We didn't face any problems in the establishment of our station because we are financed by donors. We own the domain and equipment. In addition Egypt and the Arab countries don't have legal regulations concerning Internet broadcasting," noted Kamal. Trained by the BBC in radio broadcasting, the station began with a staff of five people, while it now counts on 44 young staffers who work to address the issues facing their own generation. Horeytna website has developed into becoming something of a small online paper, with programmes mixing politics, sports, art, entertainment and radio drama. From programmes that discuss the latest books and concerts, to Haqqak (Your Right) programme discussing rights and duties, the station has much to offer. In some ways, it would appear that the online medium spells the comeback for radio. But for 24- year-old Rania Mohamed, online radio is not such a good idea. "The Internet is there to help us search for information, not for entertainment," Mohamed told the Weekly, adding that satellite television provides more than enough fun. Maher, however, was optimistic. "Every mass medium has its time, sure. But radio is still fundamental, even though our concept of radio is and should be changed. Some radio stations are more popular than others. Nowadays, online radio is very successful among Internet users," she said. Indeed, the fact that there is now more than one online radio station goes some way towards proving her point. For one, prominent musician and singer Hamid El-Shaeri, along with his brother Magdi, co-founded Rehab FM, first launched January 2008. Residents of Rehab City in New Cairo, they first tried to establish a local radio station, but things didn't work out as planned. "Instead we turned it into an online radio station that targets listeners aged from 14 to 28. We try to help our listeners enjoy themselves and at the same time receive useful information," Magdi El-Shaeri told the Weekly. "Programming is interactive and broadcast live from 2pm to 4am." Though the station does not generate any income and is based on voluntary efforts, listeners are anything but few. "In the beginning we didn't expect these numbers. We now have two millions listeners: one million from Egypt, 600,000 from America, Australia, and Europe, and 400,000 from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait and Sudan," said El-Shaeri. On another level, the popular Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel is preparing to launch the Sound of Al-Saqia, another online radio channel. "The exact launch date has not yet been decided," said Mohamed Ali, manager of Al-Saqia radio project. However, the staff are busy working on the idea and preparing for the big day. "We haven't faced any problems setting up our station. Online radio is still new in Egypt. There are only seven or 10 professional stations. The Internet doesn't have any rules or laws: anyone can say anything they want. Though recently the Egyptian government asked some government officials to censor, make laws and enforce certain rules regarding Internet use," said Ali, emphasising that the Al-Saqia's online radio channel will abide by the Cultural Wheel's code. "In other words, we are only a cultural centre and have nothing to do with human rights, politics or any other critical subjects." With listeners aged between 20 and 35 as their main targets, "the Sound of Al-Saqia will cover all the centre's activities, whether concerts, workshops, awareness campaigns or seminars. The workshops and seminars will be broadcast as news. Concerning plays, we will advertise them for sure, and are currently studying whether we add them for free or charge for them on our web site," explained web programmer and radio station assistant Menat-Allah El-Masarani. On the legal side of things, it looks like the cultural centre is on top of things. "We added an article to Al-Saqia's standard contracts, to ensure artists' consent," said Ali. "Young local bands we talked to liked the idea because they are in their beginnings, and the type of music they play is different from the commercial stuff. This way, both parties emerge as winners. Besides, the music cannot be downloaded, one can only stream it," El-Masarani concluded.
