Soapbox: Radio talk By Samir Sobhi There is something about radio that no other media can touch. Remember the great announcers of a generation ago: Farouk Shousha, Taher Abu Zeid, Galal Muwaad, Fahmi Omar, Ahmed Farrag and Samia Sadeq? Their traditions were kept alive by the next generations: Omar Battisha, Nadia Saleh, Inas Gawhar and many others. It is not just the news that makes radio what it is. It is the blend of music and culture, erudition and entertainment, art and science and politics. I might proudly remind you that it was on Egyptian radio that the Arabic language first made its big leap -- from the plodding style of the old school to the flexible one of today. The language developed while we and other Arabs listened in. Even today, with televised news and entertainment a press of a button away, people still tune in to radio. The subtle intimacy of the radio and its utter lack of intrusion make it an unparallel means of communication. Televisions may target their audiences. But radios speak to all of us. President Hosni Mubarak sent his New Year wishes to the nation by radio. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif's speech to parliament, full of promising facts and figures, was also on the radio. I remember when the General Programme, the main official radio channel, used to air a speech by the prime minister to the nation every first Thursday of the month. So let me suggest a new programme to you. How about an intellectual forum, let's call it the Cultural Salon, bringing together members of civil society organisations to discuss current affairs. We need to listen more carefully to civil society members, for their efforts are reshaping modern Egypt. This week's Soapbox speaker is deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram .
