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Day of protest

By Salama A Salama

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Last Sunday, 22 independent and party- affiliated newspapers declined to appear in protest against the sentencing of editors for publication offences. The day of protest did little to alleviate the crisis between the ruling party and the press. The National Democratic Party has its own views on the freedom of the press. It claims that certain reporting can jeopardise the stability and security of the nation and is therefore punishable by imprisonment. Under current laws, journalists can be imprisoned under 18 provisions of the penal code, something that doesn't exist in advanced countries where publication offences are punishable by fines.

In a democratic country, a protest staged by such a large number of newspapers would shock the entire political system. Not here. Not when the government owns more newspapers than all the independent publications combined. What happened, instead, was that the crisis escalated into a quarrel among journalists. Some wanted the Journalists' Syndicate to take action against the wrongdoers. Others called on the government to abolish imprisonment for publishing offences and pass a law ensuring the release of information vital to the public. Ordinary citizens found the whole thing too complex to merit their attention.

It is easy to forget that the public's interest in the printed press is not what it used to be. According to a recent study, over 55 per cent of Egyptians rely on television and electronic media for information. A large portion of Egyptian households who used to buy one or two papers a day is no longer buying any. This is why the independent media often resorts to sensationalism to court readership.

There is a media explosion going on. This explosion has confused everyone: the government, the public, and publishers. The confusion is so acutely felt because for decades the government had absolute control on the news and the media. The government can not keep the media on a tight leash, nor can it prevent news from being leaked to our news-hungry media. Consequently, a schism of credibility began taking shape, with the government and its papers operating on one side of the schism and the independent and private media operating on the other. The government is simply unused to the press exposing its failures or attacking it without mercy. So a strong lobby emerged in the corridors of power and the ruling party. This lobby wants all legal, security and political means to be used against the press.

It is hard to understand the current crisis without looking at the professional situation of journalists themselves. For years, the state has tried to tame them. Using a mixture of carrot-and-stick methods, the government bought loyalties and ultimately succeeded in weakening the independence of the press. No wonder journalists were so divided during the recent crisis.

What is the solution? Some may say that the answer is in doing things the old way, taming the media and keeping it on its toes. The government's stand on the media certainly reminds one of how it used to treat the public sector, before it opted for free economy. Recently, Safwat El-Sherif said the press was doing fine and freedom of expression is unassailable. His remarks make one doubt the possibility of change coming anytime soon. But change will have to happen. Sooner or later, everyone will have to change: the ruling party, journalists, and the syndicate.