My Notes on Egyptian Media based onMass Media in the Middle East: A Comprehensive Handbook Book by Yahya R. Kamalipour
Mass Media in the Middle East: A Comprehensive Handbook Book by Yahya R. Kamalipour
Egyptian Media: The history of the Egyptian press is the history of Egypt. Every political event and reform had its influence on the press. The press was first introduced in Egypt in 1798 and Mohammed Ali, the Egyptian military leader often credited to being the founder of Egypt, issued the first Egyptian newspaper –Waqi el Masriya.
Beginning in 1881, the first law to govern Egyptian press stated that the government had the authority to shut down any publication. When the British came and occupied the country in 1882, the Egyptian press flourished as a response to the occupiers and a growing nationalism. This lasted until World War I in 1914, when martial laws limited freedom of the press, leading to some publications to close. This trend of relaxing press control and imposing restrictions continued on in world war II and the Palestinian-Israeli war until 1950 – the lifting of censorship let to a rapid growth of the radical national press where daring attacks against the government became imminent. In response, the political leadership imposed (and later lifted) censorship several times until in 1960, the government decided to integrate the press into the regime. With the establishment of a new constitution, the role of the media was to fully support the ideology of the state.
After 1976, however, under president Anwar Sadat, in response to an opposition press, Sadat closed down all the opposition papers and several opposition leaders were imprisoned. President Husni Mubarak reversed the law and allowed the opposition to operate in the press again. In addition to the three official newspapers Al Akbhar, Akhbar al Youm and Al-Ahram, there are five major opposition groups, and each one has its own newspaper: Al-Ahrar, Al-Wafd, Al Tagamo, Al-Watani, and Al-Shabab. As of 1993, there are 263 license newspapers.
In Egypt, radio broadcasting can be traced back to 1920. These stations were not very developed and were owned by groups of businessmen. The government began broadcasting in 1934. Group listening to radio was great during the 1950’s especially among the lower class because of the low cost in battery that operated radios. In 1984, a new revolution of radio emerged with the Nile valley Program with an average of 235 hours including a comprehensive program including news, youth programs, Quran recitation and theology, European news, Middle East politics, and Palestine issues.
By accepting an offer by the Radio Corporation of America, the very first television channel broadcasted in Egypt was on July 21, 1960 beginning with Quranic recitation followed by a speech by President Gamal Abdel Nasser. A second channel was introduced in 1961 and color TV in 1976. By 1980, most Egyptians received both first and second channels and in 1983, there were over four million television sets in the country. The fifth channel was added in 1990 and a total time of TV broadcasting reached over 44 hours a day.
While the existing rules give relatively freedom to political and religious parties the right to publish newspapers in Egypt, the press still faces major problems such as state ownership and a large number of national newspapers as well as all of broadcast media is owned by the government.
The Middle East News Agency (MENA) is the predominant news provider in Egypt and is responsible for the dissemination and control of nation news and not surprisingly owned by the government. MENA offers journalism-training courses and maintains contracts with global agencies like Reuters and Agence France-Press.
The stage of the evolution of press-media in Egypt reflects the turbulence and the various landmarks the rulers (and colonizers) of Egypt left behind. Under President Mubarak, the opposition press has witnessed the highest level of freedom since the fall of the monarchy in 1953. This moderate code of liberation can be seen as a starting point for a longer-term perspective on media development in Egypt.
Beginning in 1881, the first law to govern Egyptian press stated that the government had the authority to shut down any publication. When the British came and occupied the country in 1882, the Egyptian press flourished as a response to the occupiers and a growing nationalism. This lasted until World War I in 1914, when martial laws limited freedom of the press, leading to some publications to close. This trend of relaxing press control and imposing restrictions continued on in world war II and the Palestinian-Israeli war until 1950 – the lifting of censorship let to a rapid growth of the radical national press where daring attacks against the government became imminent. In response, the political leadership imposed (and later lifted) censorship several times until in 1960, the government decided to integrate the press into the regime. With the establishment of a new constitution, the role of the media was to fully support the ideology of the state.
After 1976, however, under president Anwar Sadat, in response to an opposition press, Sadat closed down all the opposition papers and several opposition leaders were imprisoned. President Husni Mubarak reversed the law and allowed the opposition to operate in the press again. In addition to the three official newspapers Al Akbhar, Akhbar al Youm and Al-Ahram, there are five major opposition groups, and each one has its own newspaper: Al-Ahrar, Al-Wafd, Al Tagamo, Al-Watani, and Al-Shabab. As of 1993, there are 263 license newspapers.
In Egypt, radio broadcasting can be traced back to 1920. These stations were not very developed and were owned by groups of businessmen. The government began broadcasting in 1934. Group listening to radio was great during the 1950’s especially among the lower class because of the low cost in battery that operated radios. In 1984, a new revolution of radio emerged with the Nile valley Program with an average of 235 hours including a comprehensive program including news, youth programs, Quran recitation and theology, European news, Middle East politics, and Palestine issues.
By accepting an offer by the Radio Corporation of America, the very first television channel broadcasted in Egypt was on July 21, 1960 beginning with Quranic recitation followed by a speech by President Gamal Abdel Nasser. A second channel was introduced in 1961 and color TV in 1976. By 1980, most Egyptians received both first and second channels and in 1983, there were over four million television sets in the country. The fifth channel was added in 1990 and a total time of TV broadcasting reached over 44 hours a day.
While the existing rules give relatively freedom to political and religious parties the right to publish newspapers in Egypt, the press still faces major problems such as state ownership and a large number of national newspapers as well as all of broadcast media is owned by the government.
The Middle East News Agency (MENA) is the predominant news provider in Egypt and is responsible for the dissemination and control of nation news and not surprisingly owned by the government. MENA offers journalism-training courses and maintains contracts with global agencies like Reuters and Agence France-Press.
The stage of the evolution of press-media in Egypt reflects the turbulence and the various landmarks the rulers (and colonizers) of Egypt left behind. Under President Mubarak, the opposition press has witnessed the highest level of freedom since the fall of the monarchy in 1953. This moderate code of liberation can be seen as a starting point for a longer-term perspective on media development in Egypt.
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