CAIRO - Last Sunday, the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy of the American University in Cairo held a seminar entitled, ‘Eight months since the revolution: have the Egyptian media become free and/or independent?'. The seminar was moderated by prominent media man Hafez el-Merazi, also the director of Adham Centre for Television and Digital Journalism in the AUC. It was attended by three media experts: Albert Shafeeq, the head of ONTV channel; Mohamed Hany, the head of CBC channel; and Yasser Abdel-Aziz, a writer. Merazi kicked off the two-hour seminar by asking the very question used as the title of the seminar: “Have the Egyptian media become free or/and independent since the January 25 revolution?” “The Egyptian media have passed through a big test ��" the days of the revolution ��" that really differentiated between the independent media and other kinds that have certain directions,” said Shafeeq. “While few channels aired what was happening in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the revolution, others merely screened a tranquil view of the River Nile, as if there were no-one being killed in Tahrir and other squares nationwide. They also described the revolutionaries as an external danger,” he added. Hany said that he sees things differently. “In my experience in this field since 1994, the Egyptian media have never been free and this is still the case, after the revolution. “The media were only free during the revolution days, but not before or since. The media have constantly been suffering many restrictions and directions from the regime since 1952,” he stressed. Hany believes the media now are facing challenges and pressure from some of the dominant political and religious streams, while the media themselves have certain vested interests, for instance commercial ones, which means they lack independence. “The media are passing through a very normal phase after the revolution ��" the transitional phase ��" just like the State itself. But all media men and experts must size this golden opportunity to hold a large conference to discuss the media's policies in the near future and how they can be both free and responsible," he said. Abdel-Aziz believes the Egyptian media are now enjoying their greatest freedom in what he called media practice, especially in talk shows, with presenters now hosting guests who were banned on TV before, as well as in the nature of the things discussed on these shows. "But still this freedom must be enshrined in law to guarantee it and prevent people from exploiting it in an unprofessional manner," he stressed. "The media must be totally independent of any administrative or security authority.”
