CAIRO – In the first Ramadan since the revolution, the wages of TV presenters are still as huge as they were before the revolt. Some of them are actually earning more, although the guests on their programmes are being paid less. Lebanese presenter Touni Khalifa, whose programme Ashaab Yorid (The People Want) is aired on Al-Qahira Wal Nas TV channel, is the best paid of all. The programme's name was inspired by the recent revolutions in the Arab world. The budget for the programme is LE10 million, of which Touni takes LE3 million, while the other LE7 million goes on the décor, lightning, the cast and the guests' wages. Ashraf Abdel-Baqqi, a comic Egyptian actor, presents Geem Soal (Answers & Questions) on the satellite Dream TV channel, in which he interviews movie stars. He's getting paid LE400,000 for this. Some guests on the programme, like actor Ahmed el-Saqqa and actress Mona Zaki, have apparently declined to be paid, because they are friends of the presenter, according to Radio and Television magazine. Meanwhile, comic Egyptian actor Maged el-Kedwani is this Ramadan presenting his first programme, Halawet Shamsena on the State TV and the satellite TV Channel Annahar, in which he tackles the problems in Egyptian society and suggests ways to make it better. The budget for the programme is LE2.5 million, of which he takes LE300,000. The budget for Beni Adam Show, another programme presented by veteran comedian Ahmed Adam, is LE1.5 million. It's a 10-minute standup comedy broadcast from Turkey. The idea of the programme is to visit institutional, governmental, industrial, agricultural and civic institutions there and compare them with their equivalents in Egypt. Meanwhile, veteran journalist Ibrahim Eissa has a programme this Ramadan called The Dictator, on Al-Tahrir channel. He discusses various issues with his guests, while the camera focuses on their faces to catch their impressions and reactions. A psychiatrist then analyses the personality of the guests. The guests' wages are between LE20,000 and LE40,000. As for the actress Basma, she is presenting Who Are You?, which divulges secrets of the former regime, which most citizens know about. The budget is apparently LE6 million. The lion is the hero in actor Ramez Galal's programme Ramez Qalb el-Assad. The idea of the programme is to deceive the guests, mainly TV and movie stars, by making an appointment with them to meet a Lebanese presenter. Each guest arrives at the studio building and takes the lift. When it stops, the guest finds himself in front of a real lion, sitting on the floor and roaring. Ramez and the viewers enjoy witnessing the terror of the guests, filmed by cameras hidden in the lift. The programme costs LE3 million.
