Media and Society in Egypt - Coursework Example

Media and Society [Sarah Ahmad Udayni] Media and Society in Egypt Sarah Ahmad Udayni 25978 Tina Richardson March 18, 2010 Media and Society in Egypt Introduction These days Media has an effect on every society, the number of media channels which are present tend to affect the way of life and society of Egypt also. Although Egypt’s media has been under tight government control since 1952, the technological and social changes of the past decade or so, in addition to a growing need for democratic reform in the country, have led the media to test the limits of state control (The Doha network 2009). Consequently, in demanding that they report only such news as would benefit the general public and, report it objectively, one finds two specific obstacles. Firstly, who distinguishes news items which the public deserves to know about, from those of no public interest? Insofar as it is the journalists, the political party or government, then subjectivity has already entered the equation. Historical development Egyptian media are extremely dominant both in Egypt as well as the Arab World, as they are recognized by a lot of audiences and are slowing gaining their freedom from government control. The freedom of the media in Egypt is assured by the constitution; nevertheless, at present, the Egyptian media has gained a lot more freedom then it did in the past. Numerous Egyptian Talk shows, which control the private channels, as well as the state television programs have started to pass judgment on the Government; this was prohibited before as the Government was controlling each and every one of the television programs, although now the public has realized that the government has given them their long waited freedom of media. Previously the decision to start television service was discussed by the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, but due to their bad luck the British-French-Israeli Suez invasion caused a delay to implement the decision till 1959. After entering Egypt the agreement with Radio Corporation of America to set up a television network for Egypt and all help Egypt to produce sets. Egypt also constructed a radio and television centre which was completed by 1960, and by 21 July the first broadcast started. However, it took time for them to come in colour until1970 and throughout this time it was under government control Cooperate Influence and Ethics Egypt tends to influence and control their media significantly along with the government even powerful corporations have a lot of authority on the majority of media. In Egypt a lot of corporations own media stations, and thus they are privately owned. The ownership interests might have an effect on their selection of coverage. News can end up being partial or misplaced so as not to upset the government or owners. The aptitude for people to make up to date decisions is essential for a free democracy; however, now becomes endangered by such interference of the ownership. The concept of corporate media itself might not be something terrible; it can promote healthy competition and even oppose governments. Nevertheless, if a concentration of ownership takes place then there is something to worry as it may result in an increased economic and political influence which may eventfully result in unethical practices. Egypt has even faced a social loss due this change in media , it is not only an unjust advantage in profits and influence; this is real and cruel; however, the most loss which Egypt’s media has faced is in the expedient control of political as well as social information, in news, magazine editorial, books, broadcasting, and films. A little involvement by owners is direct and honest; however, nearly everyone of the information is censored, a few not even shown or published at a conscious level because the newspapers and television channels in Egypt have learned to only give information which their owners find important. These results are giving the public wrong and distorted information regarding a lot of things. “Dream TV” is an example of this. Ever since it started broadcasting even though it is privately owned Egyptian television has constantly been considered as something only for the publicity of Egyptian government. Even it’s a corporate channel The ERTU and the Television sector chairmen were selected via the Minister of Information. Private channels have a significant liberty; however, to some limitations only. Throughout presidential elections all media government owned or cooperate all only focused on Mubarak's campaign candidates. This is an extremely ethical issue as the media is supposed to focus on all the campaign candidates of every political party participating in the lections. Selected coverage of candidates is something which the media should not do as the public expect the media to cover the entire elections without prejudice. The function of media is to provide the public with accurate and complete information about an event. Thus by only giving coverage of Mubarak's campaign candidates it is doing something highly unethical. One more example for government interference in cooperate channels was prohibition the Egyptian renowned reporter Mohamed Hassanein Heikal fter broadcasting from Dream TV. He gave his assumptions regarding surrounding the horrible system of presidency in Egypt. Thus, even channels which have cooperate influence are overshadowed by government influence as well .They can only follow what their owners want and that is usually what the government wants too. The reason why the owners follow the instructions of the government is that they at times get a lot of investments for their channels, Print media and ethics Al Ahram Al Ahram is a daily Egyptian newspaper; it is also the most circulated new paper in Egypt. Al Ahram does not report news objectively and does mislead the public regarding the role played by Egypt and President Hosni Mubarak in Arab and World affairs, further misleading them about the state of Egyptian economy. A good example of how it is under the control of opposing political parties is given below.         In analyzing whether or not Al Ahram practiced ethical journalism here, we find that it did not. This is due to the fact that the choice of the news to report was very subjective and the contents of the articles were also extremely subjective as they placed Mubarak in the centre-stage of Arab affairs despite the increasingly smaller role Egypt is playing. Additionally, it broke that code which states Act Independently. At the same time, we cannot accuse Al Ahram of breaking the other important code: Seek the truth and report it, because it was reporting factual events but in a way that pushed the reader towards an exaggerated interpretation. Al Ahram itself did not exaggerate or lie, but caused us as readers to exaggerate the importance of President Mubaraka’s role in Arab affairs. Certainly, Al Ahram does not act independently and is not objective but is this really enough to say that it practices unethical journalism? The code itself is being very unrealistic in expecting journalists or press publications to be objective and independent. In the end, the journalist does have a point of view and the publication house itself has a view, which immediately makes objectivity impossible. Furthermore, it is similarly impossible to expect journalists and press houses to act independently since they do have an affiliation to a government, a political party or even to a person who may own the publication. Logically speaking, they have a loyalty and will, at least, not attack that organization or political party or government that owns them. Thus, it can be said that this loyalty towards the organization or political party or government that owns them makes them forget their true ethics regarding journalism. It is only fair to say that ethics and loyalty both are important, but Egyptian journalists of Al Ahram forget this fact. We do find Al Ahram to be an ethical press publication, regardless of how we may personally feel about its extremely subjective attitude towards the government. Opposition Press: Al Wafd Al Wafd Is daily newspaper owned by neo-Wafd party, it is known as an opposition press. Al Wafd does sensationalize news . It uses sensational language such as massacre complete destruction, and even refers to the fear the Lebanese politicians have over their own safety considering that Israel has now paid a complete and destructive war on the Arabs. Nonetheless, it is very important to know that while this may be against what the government says to do such sensationalization is exactly what attracts us, as readers, to a particular press publication or article. Accordingly, it could be said that Al Wafd follows good news reporting principles but does not support the government. Should we discuss Al Wafd from the perspective of journalistic ethics, we find that it is not at all objective, does sensationalize news, and is not independent. If Al Al Wafd ‘s ethics regarding coverage of elections like other Party-owned media, their leaders also enjoy limited censorship and thus they can tarnish any political party’s reputation during the elections . Thus they have state domination and thus they make their party’s presence well known. Like other party owned newspaper, in days of election it too highlights the activities of it’s party Ethics The SPJ code of ethics clearly explains that journalists should not have such loyalties and this is completely impossible and unrealistic. SPJ is the society of professional journalists; it has drawn up a code of ethics which is used almost throughout the world. In other words, if we apply the “SPJ Code of Ethics” to the journalism of Al Ahram, then it is a newspaper which does not respect journalistic codes of ethics and therefore is unethical. Although the Egyptian press is recognized as the first necessary professional ethics law in 1946 some years after the declaration of the Law on the establishment of the Journalists’ organization, and after that it also had five more professional codes of honor implemented, the last one was implemented in the year 1996 and is still followed. Nevertheless, these set of laws are based on general ethical standards, but were not well designed and thus were not capable enough to exclude thematic codes which are required for ethics of publication which are required for any specialization, like the ethics of publication of news, or laws about how informants , advertisements, trials, and last but not least coverage of election campaigns. Thus they tend to neglect the professional tradition; there are a number of kinds of practice, like government-controlled newspapers persistently pay no attention to the provision of Article (55) of the Law No 96 of 1966 which is based on the organization of the press. It highlights that they are free from the executive power as well as from any political party, and that thus they become a medium of discussions regarding every political opinion and development, and lively forces in society. Keeping the above paragraph in mind, basically the Egyptian press has become so greedy for funds that it has stopped trying to find way out of the huge man hole of politics. If it was not greedy it would take full davtage of the of Article (55) of the Law No 96 of 1966 and fight for it’s right to cover every candidate taking part in the election. The entire election can still be covered with out any prejudice if the press follows the above mentioned law. The editing policies of Egyptian newspapers are also unethical they are based on the fact that they are spokesperson of the popular party, which advise them not just to be partial in support of government nominee, but also at times to start campaigns in opposition to their competitors. Without a doubt Egypt’s media is the cultural as well as political centre of the Arab-speaking Middle East; and the politicians of Egypt use this as a platform to promote themselves. Egypt's media system is in a transitional stage. Strong media challenge in the Middle East which took place in 1990 was due to the vigilant liberalization which was intended for government publicity. The channel which gave more coverage of political leaders and the government that channel had the most support (Khamis 2007). Cairo‘s media cheaper to operate in, with extensive production facilities, a satellite system (Nilesat) and a long history of programming and film production. It is controlled and based on government publicity. Ethics As for the ethical codes of electronic media in Egypt, there is a continuous issue regarding the media not following ethical values. A controversial issue in present reporting is media bias, particularly regarding current political issue. Small mistakes regarding facts are also very common in Egypt, as a person who is familiar with the issue of a particular report will instantly realize the mistakes. If it is inevitable to acknowledge that the Egyptian electronic media’s obligation in which the ethics of the profession completely needs all legal and customary barriers (influence of political parties) to be removed. As Egyptian electronic media does not pay attention to the ethics ethical laws the entire honesty of the electoral process is affected. However, the political influence should not be an excuse for the media to avoid the obligation with society and ethics of their line of work, and their removal is not a requirement for their dedication; and due to this Egypt had to plan a thematic professional set of laws of ethics on the ethical principles of media coverage of general elections. A number of unethical practices are that television channels along with broadcast stations which are under the TV and Broadcast Union; are just as biased in support of ruling party nominee, at times they do this openly. Effect on youth Like any country even the youth of Egypt are effected by the broadcasts and print media. Since media telecasts a lot of political agendas the youth tend to take interest in politics at a young age. Their electronic press has also started to telecast western programs which have started to have a negative effect on their culture. In their youth smoking has also increased due to such shows. The mass media’s representation of youth is largely focused on deviance and rebellion, traits that are most commonly associated with young people. But the media provides little or no empirical evidence to suggest that the young are more predisposed to anti-social behaviour as opposed to any other existing demographic. (Wayne et al, 2008). The media should start telecasting more programes about Egyptian culture and the latest Egyptian fashions and how the Egyptian fashion has become apart on the international market. Apart from this they should make strict censorship laws to prevent vulgar and violent programmes. Conclusion Egypt’s media has always been under control of the government. Weather it be electronic or press it has been a platform for government publicity. Even their youth has been effected highly by their government dependant media. However the government is now realizing that the media need’s its freedom, thus since 1992 they have made a constitution for the freedom of the press. Thus it is only fair to say that the Egyptian media only works for the government and political parties, they don’t work for the betterment of society or for educational needs. If they want their media to be telecasted globally they have to improve their quality by gaining complete freedom form the press. References 1-Adel Iskandar (2006), "Egypt's Media Deficit," Georgetown Journal of International Affairs pp. 17-23 2-Brigitte Dumortier 92004); Arab Some Aspects of the Arab Human Development Report 2003 Studies Quarterly (ASQ), Vol. 26, 2004. 3- El-Nawawy, Mohammed; Kelly, James D (2001); Between the Government and the Press: The Role of Western Correspondents and Government Public Relations in Middle East Coverage Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Vol. 6 Issue 3, p90, 4-Khamis is the Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Maryland, College Park, she has done numerous researches on Arab and Middle Eastern media. 5-Lila Abu-Lughod (2004); Dramas of Nationhood: The Politics of Television in Egypt University of Chicago Press; 1 edition. 6-William A. Rugh (2004); Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics Praeger . Read More

In Egypt a lot of corporations own media stations, and thus they are privately owned. The ownership interests might have an effect on their selection of coverage. News can end up being partial or misplaced so as not to upset the government or owners. The aptitude for people to make up to date decisions is essential for a free democracy; however, now becomes endangered by such interference of the ownership. The concept of corporate media itself might not be something terrible; it can promote healthy competition and even oppose governments.

Nevertheless, if a concentration of ownership takes place then there is something to worry as it may result in an increased economic and political influence which may eventfully result in unethical practices. Egypt has even faced a social loss due this change in media , it is not only an unjust advantage in profits and influence; this is real and cruel; however, the most loss which Egypt’s media has faced is in the expedient control of political as well as social information, in news, magazine editorial, books, broadcasting, and films.

A little involvement by owners is direct and honest; however, nearly everyone of the information is censored, a few not even shown or published at a conscious level because the newspapers and television channels in Egypt have learned to only give information which their owners find important. These results are giving the public wrong and distorted information regarding a lot of things. “Dream TV” is an example of this. Ever since it started broadcasting even though it is privately owned Egyptian television has constantly been considered as something only for the publicity of Egyptian government.

Even it’s a corporate channel The ERTU and the Television sector chairmen were selected via the Minister of Information. Private channels have a significant liberty; however, to some limitations only. Throughout presidential elections all media government owned or cooperate all only focused on Mubarak's campaign candidates. This is an extremely ethical issue as the media is supposed to focus on all the campaign candidates of every political party participating in the lections. Selected coverage of candidates is something which the media should not do as the public expect the media to cover the entire elections without prejudice.

The function of media is to provide the public with accurate and complete information about an event. Thus by only giving coverage of Mubarak's campaign candidates it is doing something highly unethical. One more example for government interference in cooperate channels was prohibition the Egyptian renowned reporter Mohamed Hassanein Heikal fter broadcasting from Dream TV. He gave his assumptions regarding surrounding the horrible system of presidency in Egypt. Thus, even channels which have cooperate influence are overshadowed by government influence as well .

They can only follow what their owners want and that is usually what the government wants too. The reason why the owners follow the instructions of the government is that they at times get a lot of investments for their channels, Print media and ethics Al Ahram Al Ahram is a daily Egyptian newspaper; it is also the most circulated new paper in Egypt. Al Ahram does not report news objectively and does mislead the public regarding the role played by Egypt and President Hosni Mubarak in Arab and World affairs, further misleading them about the state of Egyptian economy.

A good example of how it is under the control of opposing political parties is given below.         In analyzing whether or not Al Ahram practiced ethical journalism here, we find that it did not. This is due to the fact that the choice of the news to report was very subjective and the contents of the articles were also extremely subjective as they placed Mubarak in the centre-stage of Arab affairs despite the increasingly smaller role Egypt is playing. Additionally, it broke that code which states Act Independently.

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