Will Recycle Broadcasters save the Egyptian media from failure?

Abdullah Hamed - Cairo

The security forces controlling the Egyptian media file are moving to develop new plans to try to extract it from a series of successive failures that have been criticized by many even by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who has said publicly more than once that the media did not support the Egyptian state in the face of rumors, and he could not promote its achievements , As described.

The new plans depend on stopping the rotation of the setup teams between the programs, and replacing that by rotating the broadcasters themselves between satellite channels owned by security services or businessmen close to the system, who returned to own the channels with the aim of pumping cash and compensating for the financial losses involved in the security services, according to press reports.

Tok Show programs in the channels of the United Intelligence Services subsidiary relied on the central setup, which means the rotation of one set of equipment among several programs within its satellite channels, so that the program does not have a fixed team.

Numerous names included in the transfer exchange between channels, all of which are dominated by the same faces that were working on satellite channels previously, with the combination of two broadcasters in one program with one preparation team in order to save expenses.

The new plan was developed in a building in the Heliopolis district, east of Cairo, that includes the management of the United Media Services Company, but implementation is the responsibility of the company’s management inside its headquarters on “On TV” in Media Production City, according to media sources.

After the success of the contractor and actor Mohamed Ali's invitation to demonstrate against Sisi at the end of last September, the regime took a number of measures to change the media plans and the people responsible for them.

Regarding the personalities, the intelligence officer Ahmed Shaaban, who is known as the chief editor of the Egyptian media, was excluded from the tasks of managing the media file and directing broadcasters and editors-in-chief, who was entrusted with the direction of running satellite channels and their daily programs, and defining what will be discussed in each program.

Mada Masr also published a report revealing arrangements to remove Mahmoud the son of the president by sending him to work as a military attaché in Russia, because of his negative impact on the president's image, and his failure in several files, notably the media.

recycling

According to the announcement of the broadcaster close to the security services, Mustafa Bakri, the new changes include the move of the lawyer, broadcaster Khaled Abu Bakr, to participate with Basma Wehbe, presenting a program on "On TV", and Basma, wife of Alaa Abed, a former police officer and head of the Human Rights Committee in Parliament.

And the United Group for Media Services announced last Wednesday evening a new start for the Al-Hayat program today as "part of the methodology of the United Group for Media Services in escalating young media professionals to advance the ranks of media professionals on different screens."

Al-Hayat channel thanked the broadcaster Khaled Abu Bakr, who contributed to "the success of the program in its previous session and who moved to another role in one of the group's channels" without specifying the nature of his new role.

In an attempt to revive the role of Egyptian television, which was recently run over by the security services satellite channels, the journalist and journalist Wael Al-Ibrashi goes to his screen, “Today’s Egypt” program with Reham Al-Sahli. Here is the capital. "

On the Al-Hayat TV channel, the announcer, Hossam Haddad, appears with the broadcaster Lubna Assal, while Osama Kamal, the recently excluded broadcaster, returns to the channel "Cairo and the People", while Mohamed Ali Khair presents his program on the DMC channel with Rami Radwan and Iman Al-Hosari.

The broadcaster Amani Al-Khayat returns to the "Extra News" channel, and the broadcaster Nashat Al-Daihi is transferred to the "Al-Ghad Al-Arabi" channel after her sister, "Ten", was closed late this month.

Close to several of these broadcasters said that these transfers are not confirmed yet, but it is certain that it will inevitably take place between the satellite channels, and some of these broadcasters are promised to work after they were forcibly stopped by orders of the article.

A number of these broadcasters were overthrown after an unintentional violation of some of these orders, or because of the public failure of their programs.

According to media outlets, the suspicion of courtesies prevails over the return of unpopular broadcasters and others who lack professionalism, and these courtesies are based on their recent services to the authority in distorting opponents.

beginning and end

In this month of 2017, Eagle Capital, headed by former Minister Dalia Khorshid and wife of the Central Governor Tariq Amer, acquired the share of businessman Abu Hashima in the Egyptian Media Group.

Media reports confirmed that the new company is a direct investment fund for the General Intelligence Service.

The United Company owns DMC, ONTV, Al-Hayat channels, in addition to its holding a controlling stake in "CBC" channels in addition to Presentation advertising companies, "BOD" for public relations, next to "Al-Watan" newspapers, Day Seven, Voice of the Nation , Appointed, Al-Dustour and the "Beginner" website.

Kotb Al-Arabi, the former Secretary-General of the Supreme Media Council, said that these changes are "recycling of the current media arms."

Al-Arabi said - in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net - that this rotation will not add new to the scene other than formal changes in the transmission of this media or that to another channel within the media system, under the complete domination of intelligence and the Federal Palace, and will not stop the wheel of failure and the current collapse, but will increase it.

He pointed out that these changes are aimed at creating a state, even a formal one, that attracts people's attention and provides them with a substance to talk and debate for some time, but it will not make a real change in the media, and this real change will only come in light of complete freedom of the media, such as the one that he lived after the January 25 revolution. And during the rule of the late President Mohamed Morsi.

Acknowledgment of failure
In turn, the journalist and writer Syed Amin said that these trends are a clear admission of the failure of the advertising system managed by the intelligence services after the military coup in the summer of 2013.

He continued in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, "Perhaps the trick of rotating media professionals between channels would have been useful if the target viewer was steadfast in watching a particular channel, so that when he got tired of watching a particular media, and before he leaves the channel, we offer him another."

"But what happened is that the viewer also rotates the channels, and he saw this media here and that media out there, and when he decided to leave the spectator, he departed from all the intelligence channels, informing them completely and in detail."