Egyptian Government Interference in Media

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Literature Review
Methods
Works Cited

Introduction

For many years, Egypt used to be of the most politically, socially, and economically influential countries of the Arab world. However, after the revolutionary events on February, 2011, Egyptian authoritarianism crossed the boundaries of public imagination, turning into an instrument of pressure, censorship and discrimination in the media landscape. Recently, the international news media have exploded with the story of Bassem Youssef, whose comedian show was suspended after the rigid criticism of Egypt’s army (Kingsley). “Private channel CBC stopped the Friday night broadcast of Bassem Youssef’s show minutes before its 10pm airtime” (Kingsley). The move adds to the series of other social and political steps made by the Egyptian government in its striving to control the national media.

It should be noted, that the situation with the media in Egypt has never been easy. Despite the solid freedom and self-expression guarantees provided by the Egyptian Constitution, censorship has always been part of the media agenda. Yet, never before has the Egyptian government’s interference in media been as persistent and overwhelming as it is today. The national media are losing their freedom and popularity, turning into an instrument of public manipulations in the hands of the ruling party. The goal of this research is to review the topic of Egyptian government’s interference in media and analyze the impacts it has on the public perceptions of politics and freedom in the Egyptian state after 2011.

Literature Review

State interventionism remains a popular topic of scholarly analysis, especially when it comes to media. According to Hafez, state interventionism is the degree to which elected governments impact democratic media systems (3). State interventionism in the western media is quite rare and even inacceptable (Hafez 3). The lack of state interventionism in the western media is associated with the growing percentage of private markets, which cannot be controlled by states. Hafez suggests that the degree of state interventionism with media is growing in North and Central Europe, where large public broadcasting companies tend to dominate (4).

The strongest the patterns of state interventionism are found in the Mediterranean region, where prime ministers have the legitimate right to hire and fire managers of public broadcasting companies (Hafez 4). In other words, southern countries are more susceptible to the influences of state authoritarianism and interventionism than the countries located in the North. In Egypt, the problem of the government’s interference in media is further complicated by the long-standing historical traditions of political subordination, censorship, and control, which make such interference an accepted norm.

Ibrahim, Lachant and Nahas describe the media environment in Egypt and its political characteristics. According to Ibrahim, Lachant and Nahas, Egypt always enjoyed a prominent political standing in the Arab world (3).

“Egyptian press used to be one of the leading and most widely read in the region, providing citizens with quality opportunities to communicate their positions on a wide range of social and political issues.” (Ibrahim, Lachant & Nahas 3)

Nevertheless, self-censorship remains one of the biggest issues in Egyptian press, as journalists refrain from discussing the problems and expressing positions that criticize government policies and officials (Ibrahim, Lachant & Nahas 3). This censorship problem continues to persist, despite the fact that the Egyptian Constitution guarantees the right to freedom, self-expression, and free speech (Ibrahim, Lachant & Nahas 3).

“Indeed, the media in Egypt are strictly regulated by a combination of structural arrangements, whereby the government monopolized the press and broadcasting and legal controls prevent journalists from reporting freely on sensitive domestic issues or deviating from official foreign policy when reporting on international affairs.” (Ibrahim, Lachant & Nahas 3)

The history of Egyptian media tells a paradoxical story of freedom and censorship that have traditionally coexisted in the Egyptian media landscape. Khamis explores the historical development of Egyptian media since the middle of the 20^th century. The researcher writes that the Ottoman era before the 1952 revolution had been one of the most prosperous in terms of free speech; at that time, intellectual diversity and cultural wealth were encouraged by all possible means (Khamis 1159). Just before the 1952 revolution, new partisan press was born, including daily newspapers, radio, and cinema (Khamis 1160).

The 1952 revolution became a turning point in the evolution of the Egyptian media scene, creating a monopolistic, restrictive, and politicized environment (Khamis 1160). Khamis suggests that, after 1952, the media in Egypt fell under strict governmental control (1160). The autocratic leadership of President Gamal Abdel Nasser set the stage for the subsequent transformation of Egyptian media into government-controlled entities (Khamis 1160). Those media mobilized people to support the government’s ideologies and policies (Khamis 1160). The nationalization of press curbed the diversity of media approaches, models, and opinions, turning plurality in the media into a myth (Khamis 1160).

Although, during the era of President Hosni Mubarak, earlier restrictions on media freedoms were eased, few uncensored alternatives to government-regulated media were offered to the audience. Small opposition newspapers, satellite television, and the Internet created an atmosphere of pluralism and diversity, but the traces of the authoritarian media rules were difficult to eradicate (Khamis 1161). Still, the Egyptian media saw the emergence of smaller opposition forces that acted against the disturbing voice of the government. The Muslim Brotherhood later transformed into the major force of oppression against the Egyptian media (Khamis 1162). Here, researchers often try to distinguish between various aspects of the relationship of the media-politics relationship.

Krzysiek analyzes authoritarianism in Egypt from the standpoint of the relationship between media and political structures (71). In his view, Egypt has abandoned Western-biased normative approaches, while making a stronger focus on the relationship between power and media in the Arab region (Krzysiek 71). As a result, even in the presence of diverse media forms and the introduction of relative media freedoms, chances that Egypt would pursue the path towards democracy were particularly meager (Krzysiek 71).

After the introduction of satellite television, the initial excitement was that the regional picture of the media environment in Egypt would change; unfortunately, the realities of the government’s interference in media dispelled the myths of the coming revolution, turning democratic institutionalization into a dream that never came true (Krzysiek 72). At the media level, Egypt never managed to achieve the desired level of political liberalization, and new media opposition forces faced considerable oppression from the national government. In this sense, Egypt, as well as many other countries, presents a gruesome example of the ills, which can result from a dominant party that is overconfident and entrenched (Carothers & Brown 2).

An emerging consensus is that the growing power of the government’s interference in media in Egypt is likely to lead to the creation of alternative forms of self-expression (Rinke & Roder 1276). Rinke and Roder witnessed “in Egypt that culture-specific forms of media appropriation in autocratic environments can lead to the development of alternative forms of political activity where traditional forms of participation known from Western contexts would not be effective” (1276). Yet, with the emergence of alternative media forms, the government becomes even more oppressive. Researchers point to the difficulties facing the alternative media providers in their search of truth.

For example, Teague cites the words of Evgeny Morozov, who comes from Belarus and works for Al-Jazeera (3). Morozov says that, if Ben Ali’s regime did not fall, the police would be searching through the Facebook posts and tweets for everyone, who had been involved in the revolutionary media processes (Teague 3). Morozov is confident that, when the government controls the media in Egypt or any other country, massive opposition may lend itself to unrealistic expectations and hopes, thus making the media fraternity virtually unprepared to the risks of government backlash (Teague 3).

This view is further supported by Thomas, who says that, while the democratic potential of the new and emerging media is enormous, so is the oppressive potential of the autocratic government (295). Modern technologies empower citizens to struggle against the government’s oppression, but they also enable the government to monitor citizens’ activities and decisions in the media scene (Thomas 295). New technologies fortify and wire the barriers between citizens and the government (Thomas 295). New sophisticated information weaponries can suppress even the most advanced protest movement (Thomas 295). This is what is currently happening in the Egyptian media.

The news media are overfilled with the reports of oppression, discrimination, and violence against media professionals in Egypt. The story of Bassem Youssef is just one of the many stories that create a controversial political picture of Egypt. These tragic cases are further complicated by the fact that privatization trends have not touched the national media in Egypt, which remain state-owned and state-controlled (Carroll 320). The government-controlled distribution system impedes all attempts of the Egyptian media to become truly independent (Carroll 320).

Joshua Hersch of Huffington Post describes how the Egyptian government discriminates against foreign press, putting foreign journalists at risks of physical assault. The Muslim Brotherhood accuses foreign journalists of being biased in their coverage of the national political facts (Hersch). Many journalists have to give away their cell phones and laptop computers to the authorities, to avoid discrimination and legal persecution based on their professional status (Hersch). Lisa O’Carroll from The Guardian continues this theme and speaks about the Egyptian government jamming Al-Jazeera’s signal. Al-Jazeera accuses the Egyptian media of developing a big campaign against it (O’Carroll).

No less serious were the threats coming directly from President Morsi against the national and local media. Reporters without Borders devoted a special issue of their online journal to the problem of government interference in Egyptian media. In their view, the threats expressed by President Morsi against the freedom of self-expression violated the fundamental freedoms and rights of the Egyptian people (Reporters without Borders). Morsi’s words were almost immediately followed by a series of actions against the privately-owned television stations that expressed criticism of the existing political regime.

For instance, Investment minister Yahya Hamid withdrew the license of Al-Fa’aeen, a privately-owned television station that had been extremely critical of the Muslim Brotherhood (Reporters without Borders). Some independent Egyptian media express their disagreement with the growing pressure of the Muslim Brotherhood on Egyptian newspapers, radio, and television stations: in August 2012, three independent newspapers in Egypt replaced their editorials with blank spaces to express their protest with the growing government’s interference in media (Doha Centre for Media Freedom). In this situation, the impacts of the government’s interference in media on public should be explored and analyzed.

Methods

The research will utilize the benefits of the survey methodology. A survey is usually defined as the method to gather information from larger samples and audiences (Groves et al. 2). Surveys represent an effective instrument of gathering primary information. They include a set of standardized questions every respondent is asked to answer. The survey to be used in this research will include 15 questions.

Government interference is defined as the government’s active involvement with media freedoms. In this context, do you perceive the current Egyptian government as interfering with the media?
Do you perceive the government as being oppressive against private media?
Do you agree that the government discriminates against privately owned media companies that criticize its policies and decisions?
Do you think that the Egyptian media should be more tolerant, while expressing their views on government policies and decisions?
Do you believe that the actions of the Muslim Brotherhood against certain Egyptian media are justified?
Do you accept the presence of foreign journalists in Egypt?
Do you feel that foreign journalists present a biased picture of the events and problems in Egypt?
Do you think that the presence of foreign journalists in Egypt is a vital factor of democracy and free speech in the country?
Do you recognize the importance of discriminating against the foreign journalists, who are accused of bias?
Do foreign media help you better understand the political situation in Egypt?
With the government control of the media becoming tighter, do you still view Egyptian newspapers and television stations as valid providers of essential information about the political situation in Egypt?
Do you believe that, with the Muslim Brotherhood becoming more oppressive in its relations with the media, Egypt still has chances to become more democratic?
Do you see any chance for the Egyptian media to protect themselves the oppressive influence of the government?
What, in your view, should the Egyptian media do, in order to ease the power of the government interference?
Do you expect that the situation will change in the nearest future, or do you think that the government’s authoritarian interference in media will continue to persist?

The survey will be distributed anonymously among the members of various Egyptian communities, in order to create a complex picture of their perceptions of government’s interference with media in Egypt. The results of the survey will help to analyze the ways, in which Egyptian communities feel about the growing pressure of the Muslim Brotherhood and other authorities on the way the media content is delivered to the local audiences. Hopefully, it will set the stage for the development of more effective media policies in Egypt, based on the community’s perceptions and needs.

Works Cited

Carothers, Thomas and Nathan J. Brown. The Real Danger for Egyptian Democracy. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2012. Print.

Carroll, Craig. Corporate Reputation and the News Media: Agenda-Setting within Business News Coverage in Developed, Emerging, and Frontier Markets. London: Routledge, 2010. Print.

Doha Centre for Media Freedom. “Egyptian Newspapers Oppose State Interference in Media.” Doha Centre for Media Freedom, 2012. Web.

Groves, Robert M., Floyd J. Fowler, Mick P. Couper, James M. Lepkowski, Eleanor Singer & Roger Tourangeau. Survey Methodology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2013. Print.

Hafez, K. How Liberal is Soft Authoritarianism when Compared to Democracy? Arab and Western Media Systems Typologies. Paper Presented at the Arab Media Symposium, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University, 2010. Print.

Hersch, Joshua. “Egyptian Government Slams Foreign Press as Journalists Come under Assault.” Huffington Post, 2013. Web.

Ibrahim, Nada Mobarak, Aurelie Lachant and Lara Nahas. NGOs as Civil Society Actors on Media Policy Change in Egypt: Capacity Building within a Contextual Framework. Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research, 2003. Print.

Kingsley, Patrick. “Egyptian TV Station Suspends Satirist Bassem Youssef’s Show.” The Guardian, 2013. Web.

Khamis, Sahar. “The Transformative Egyptian Media Landscape: Changes, Challenges and Comparative Perspectives.” International Journal of Communication, 5 (2011): 1159-1177. Print.

Krzusiek, Pawel. “Testing Legal Boundaries within Arab Media Hubs: Reporting, Law and Politics in Three Media Cities.” Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 6.1 (2009): 69-91. Print.

O’Carroll, Lisa. “Egypt Accused of Jamming al-Jazeera.” The Guardian, 2013. Web.

Reporters without Borders. “Physical Attacks on Journalists, Government Interference in Media.” Reporters without Borders, 2013. Web.

Rinke, Eike M. and Maria Roder. “Media Ecologies, Communication Culture, and Temporal-Spatial Unfolding: Three Components in a Communication Model of the Egyptian Regime Change.” International Journal of Communication, 5 (2011): 1273-1285. Print.

Teague, Michael. “New Media and the Arab Spring.” Al Jadid Magazine, 2011. Print.

Thomas, Sabu. “Cyber Protests and Electronic Disobedience: Examining Non-Violence in Times of Cyber Politics.” Quarterly Journal of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, 34.4 (2012): 293-306. Print.

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Egyptian Government Interference in Media

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