CAIRO - Hajj Ibrahim Fatouh is one of those who were hurt by the Egyptian revolution that toppled Mubarak's regime last month, albeit it isn't the recession or 'waqf el hal' as Egyptians put it that bothered him; deception did the job. The 18-day revolution revealed to this taxi driver who is in his sixties that he was totally misled for almost half if not all his life by the state-owned and run media. "I believed them when they said that the majority of Egyptians supported ex-president Mubarak," Hajj Ibrahim told the Egyptian Mail, feeling very strange about this ‘ex' thing. "I even believed that those in Al Tahrir Square were the 'enemies of the nation' as they were described." Hajj Ibrahim had no political affiliations and never went to the ballots in his long life. He is a faithful reader of a popular State-owned daily and watches the Egyptian terrestrial TV channels on a daily basis. Hence his immense shock when the same media channels that declared ‘everything was under control and Al Tahrir Square almost empty' changed their tune overnight and stated that ‘millions of Egyptians wanted to topple the regime'. He felt confused when the headline of his regime-serving newspaper read ‘People Ousted the Regime', but was even more shocked when he saw live footage of the mass protests on State TV. "It's totally perplexing how they turned 180 degrees. It's obvious they lied to us," he said angrily, adding: "I wonder what else they have lied about." This old man's bitterness was mainly directed towards a couple of newspapers and TV channels, because he simply didn't know that these outlets were only following the instructions of a ruling entity: the Ministry of Information, finally abolished in Egypt's latest Cabinet revamping. The abolishment of the Ministry, that was first formed in 1952 under the title of Ministry of National Guidance, was hugely celebrated by media people, intellectuals and professors ��" because its role was always marred by ‘disinformation, propaganda and lies'. “When top posts are only granted to those the regime wants, corruption is inevitable,” Amal el-Sayyed, a professor of journalism at the Faculty of Mass Communication, told this newspaper, adding that a new ownership scheme had to be created for the country's media outlets. “Different media institutions must be given the floor to contribute to the creation of strategies and guidelines that will help our media to get over this critical time.” For this professor, the whole media system needs to be reviewed and based on new, objective and transparent guidelines. Agreeing, veteran journalist and columnist Amina el-Naqqash said that the reason for the crisis in Egyptian state-owned journalism was its very nature: to influence public opinion and direct it in a way that served only the regime. “When the Shura Council (Higher House of the Parliament) assigns all editors-in-chief of State-owned newspapers, it is obvious that they serve only the regime, since it puts them in their jobs or throws them away,” el-Naqqash wrote in her column in el-Wafd newspaper. A couple of days before the new cabinet announced the abolishment of the Information Ministry, el-Naqqash called for this very act. “It's essential now that we abolish the Ministry of Information. It has become the mouthpiece and symbol of an authoritative regime. In this revolutionary era of communication technology, it's illogical to have such a ministry even leaving aside that it contradicts the freedom of media practice.” What el-Naqqash said is, to a great extent, true and based on the situation on the ground. However, reading the reasons behind the creation of this ministry suggests different views. Among other things, this ministry was concerned with “suggesting politics that guarantee the Egyptian media presence internally and externally, serving the country's social and developmental goals and stressing democracy”, according to Presidential Decree No. 310 for 1986. The decree also mentioned that the minister was in charge of the Radio and TV Union. That's why people working in Egyptian Radio and TV were so thoroughly overwhelmed when the new cabinet list was announced. "Corruption is deeply entrenched in this place (the TV building) and so much money has been squandered," claimed Shahira Amin, former deputy head of the State-run Nile TV news channel, who resigned when the demonstrations started. "I compare it to a carpet that needs to be thoroughly beaten, not just lightly swept, and unless that happens, nothing will really change." Amin is planning to deliver a list of proposed media reforms to the military representatives in Maspero, the State broadcasting headquarters. They include changes in journalism training programmes and recruitment policies. "On my watch I saw many excellent people dismissed because they were too good. They would have embarrassed under-qualified employees, who only got their jobs through family connections," she said. Comparing the views of people in the street to those of professionals, you can simply feel that they have a common denominator: that Egyptian media need to be turned upside down. Though, while the opinions of average people stop here, experts have suggestions to contain the situation. The suggestions include the creation of an independent entity to run and monitor state-owned media, changing the schemes of ownership and separate between ownership and management. “The January 25 revolution came to sweep corruption away, and there is a huge impact on the freedom of expression and journalism,” said Egyptian journalist Yehia Qallash, adding: “A corrupt system will not produce anything but corruption. Now, after the fall of the regime, all sectors are getting their integrity and real image back.”
