CAIRO: In what many see as a growing wave of independent journalism in Egypt, the Higher Press Council gave licenses to five privately-owned newspapers on Sunday. Media analysts say the move will help tip the scales of the market in favor of the independent press and will raise the standard of journalism in Egypt, to the detriment of the state-owned press, which may be on the wane. The new newspapers include El-Shorouk daily, which is affiliated with Dar El-Shorouk publishing house and owned by Ibrahim El-Moalem. Al-Ahram's prominent columnist Salama Ahmad Salama will be honorary editor-in-chief, while Abdel Azim Hamad has been appointed editor-in-chief. At Al-Youm Al-Sabee daily, liberal journalist Khaled Salah will be in the editor-in-chief's chair. Amr El-Shobaki, managing editor of El-Shorouk newspaper, told Daily News Egypt that his new publication will be an independent newspaper that focuses on Egyptian news but with a broad regional horizon. "We follow the modern school of Egyptian journalism, which is independent journalism, loyal both to professional standards and to the interests of readers, he said. He affirmed that the paper, which aims to be on newsstands by October 1, will be independent of links to any political party or ideology. El-Shobaki added that El-Shorouk aims to incorporate other developments in the press that began several years ago. "The future will be for the independent press, he said. "The time of the governmental and political parties' newspapers has ended. "Expanding into the new private journalism market will create more competition, and this is going to reflect on the development of the standards of the press, said Hisham Kassem, former publisher of the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. Kassem, who is planning to launch his own independent newspaper, said, "There is no doubt that the decision by the Higher Press Council makes us happy and gives us hope that the government may continue... freeing up the press. Kassem pointed out that 75 percent of the press market remains with the governmental newspapers, but this percentage is set to fall. "The strengthening of the privately-owned press is a matter of national security because government newspapers seem to be on their way to extinction under the current regime. Because of the financial and credibility problems of the state-owned press, thousands of journalists in those organizations will lose their jobs. So securing alternative jobs for them in the privately-owned press will mitigate the consequences, he said. Gamal Fahmy, a member of the Journalists' Syndicate, estimates that government newspapers are in debt to the tune of LE 5-6 billion. He said that the majority of these debts are a result of corruption inside the companies. He agreed that the newspaper market will not support the continued existence of a state-owned press. "This kind of press has been disappearing all around the world, but it is still resisting in our part of the world because of the protection it receives from autocratic regimes, he said. However, he was skeptical about the likelihood of improvements in press freedom as a result of these developments. "Giving a license to some new private publications means nothing in the context of obstacles to freedom of expression resulting from a lack of democracy. "A new publication is being licensed, but meanwhile journalists are put on trial in criminal courts, which means that every new newspaper may be just a new trap for journalists, he said.
