Obituary: Man of integrity Magdi Mehanna (1956-2008) Egyptian journalist Magdi Mehanna, one of the country's most widely read columnists, passed away this week after a long battle with hepatitis C that gave rise to liver cancer. According to his doctor, Mahmoud El-Meteeni, Mehanna's condition deteriorated 1- days before he went into a coma. Mehanna died last Friday an hour before midnight. Mehanna was one of only a few journalists to be trusted and respected by members of all the country's political factions, regardless of their differing views. His integrity was unquestionable. He sailed against all tides, whether of corruption or of sensationalism, many people seeing in him the embodiment of journalistic professional ethics. Mehanna managed to express the thoughts and feelings that many Egyptians shared, but could not articulate. He had a way of saying the boldest and the bluntest things in a matter-of-fact way, yet he never gave offence. Mehanna's funeral last Saturday and the gathering to pay condolences to the family on Monday are proof of the esteem and affection in which he was held, and they brought together government and ruling party officials, members of the opposition, journalists, intellectuals, and, above all, his readers, for one final gathering in his honour. Even in early life Mehanna had his own mind. He managed to keep his independence, as he worked for many differently coloured, even apparently conflicting, publications. After graduating from Cairo University's Faculty of Mass Communication in 1978, Mehanna started his career at the weekly magazine Rose El-Youssef. At the same time, he started to write for Al-Ahali, mouthpiece of the leftist Tagammu Party, in 1982 as a features writer, a time remembered well by his colleague Salah Issa, editor-in-chief of Al-Qahira and features editor of Al-Ahali at the time. Mehanna also wrote for the liberal newspaper Al-Ahrar. In 1984, Mehanna moved to work for Al-Wafd, newspaper of the Wafd Party, first as a features writer, then as managing editor, and finally, in 2001, as co-editor-in- chief. He was also a contributor to the opinion pages of Al-Ahram Weekly. "Both of us worked at Al-Wafd under its first editor, the late Mustafa Sherdi, whom Magdi considered to be his mentor. Magdi took after Sherdi in his style of writing, which was full of daring criticism and took no heed of 'red lines'. His only goal was serving the truth," remembers Sayed Abdel-Ati, co-managing editor of Al-Wafd. It was in Al-Wafd that Mehanna's popular column Fil- Mamnou'e (Forbidden Things) first appeared. "Right from the beginning, Magdi was a promising reporter. In 1986, he won the Press Syndicate's first features award for a piece he wrote about rape," notes Abdel-Ati. Mehanna was always a member of the Wafd Party, he says, becoming a member of its leadership in 2006. Mehanna moved to the independent Al-Masry Al-Yom in 2004, carrying his column with him, which now appeared daily on the newspaper's back page. Thousands read that column. It was often said that people started reading Al-Masry Al-Yom backwards, starting with Mehanna's column. However, in today's technological environment Mehanna could not help but be attracted to television, and he started a television interview show, again carrying the name of Fil-Mamnou'e on Dream TV. When he first talked about this project in 2001, some people were sceptical about this new role, wondering whether it would harm him as a journalist and whether he could make it on television. He did, of course, and while thousands read his column, through television he reached the unreached, including all the millions living along the banks of the Nile. A year ago, Mehanna started a new programme, Baad Al-Mudawla (After Deliberations), on the second channel of Egyptian television. As early as 1987, Mehanna became a member of the Council of the Press Syndicate, serving for three consecutive terms ending in 1999. According to Yehia Qallash, a member of the council, "although his membership was on the council, Magdi was a determined combatant for the profession as a whole and for protecting press freedom. In 1993, he was the first to uncover, on the front page of Al-Wafd, a catastrophic draft press law. Again in 1995, he was one of the first in the successful battle against Law 93, which posed a serious threat to the freedom of the press." Mehanna's dedicated independence was part and parcel of his work for the syndicate, and he never used his post for personal gain. "Magdi was loyal to his profession, to his fellow journalists, and, above all, to his readers. One of his greatest merits was that he would correct himself if he discovered that a position he had taken was false. He had this kind of courage," Qallash says. To remember Mehanna's life and contributions, Al-Masry Al-Yom, in cooperation with the Press Syndicate, has announced the inauguration of a professional press award for young journalists carrying Magdi Mehanna's name. His articles will also be compiled in a book to be published by the newspaper. Veteran journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal wrote of Mehanna that he, together with some other members of his generation, gave grounds for hope that Egyptian journalism, after years in the wilderness, would continue its great traditions. Hala Sakr
