Success in disaster
Fadia El-Ghazali Harb
The new year opened with a tragic plane crash in Sharm El-Sheikh. There is little that can be gained from the wreckage of that disaster in one of Egypt's most beautiful spots, though perhaps the comprehensive and sincere coverage it has received in the Egyptian media -- continual follow-up, factual accuracy and departure from sensationalism -- might furnish some hope.
It seems the Egyptian media have realised at long last that, in these times of instant access to information the only route to success is to communicate the facts accurately and comprehensively and to do so with sufficient confidence and speed. The success in doing so is reflected in the response of the French authorities, who appreciated the efforts of their Egyptian counterparts and their willingness to investigate the cause of the accident which an initial assessment reveals to be mechanical-rather than terrorist-related.
One direct effect of this approach is that tourism has suffered no setbacks as a result of the plane crash. No reservations were cancelled. A significant outcome of the accident is the lesson we should learn from it -- that the power of the media resides in its independence and objectivity, its capacity for interaction and its ability to keep up with developments.
This week's Soapbox speaker is the assistant manager of Middle East Radio.
