Insults - Egyptian journalists said that the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled Al-Anani directed them to - deep and old wounds caused by the transcendent dealings with journalists - even their loyalists - with a lack of appreciation, and perhaps a kind of insult.

The recent incident between the minister and the journalists sparked widespread anger among journalists, who considered that the minister's insult to them was the fiercest and crudest of all previous times that colleagues of officials and ministers had received.

The crisis of the minister and the journalists erupted during an international press conference held a few days ago to announce archaeological discoveries in the Saqqara area, west of Giza, where the minister rebuked the journalists for objecting to the lack of seats for them in the conference.

Journalists said that the minister directed them to severe insults related to spending on them to take them to the discovery site, revealing that he preferred the foreign press to them.

On the other hand, journalists close to the authority defended the minister's position, and blamed the causes of the crisis on the journalists tasked with covering the activities of the Ministry of Antiquities, which sparked anger in the press.

Journalists viewed the recent crisis as repetitive and expected, especially in light of the authority's view of the local media and its inferiority to the Egyptian press, which was confirmed by journalists on social media.

A deeper crisis

The former head of the Syndicate of Journalists, Yahya Qalash, believes that the crisis is deeper than an accident, pointing out that the ceiling for freedom of the press has fallen to the point of collapse, but he demanded not to neglect the remaining values ​​and traditions.

Observers of the press affairs in Egypt and journalists considered that the current regime hates the media in general, and the feeling of contempt towards its media in particular increases it.

Journalists expressed many bitter experiences during official events, expressing their belief that the matter was deliberate and intended to disrupt their work and turn them into mere employees who convey official press statements.

A journalist working for a private newspaper for Al-Jazeera Net - who asked not to be named - spoke of that an important official in a bank told him not to insist on him to request statements and statements, as he received instructions not to authorize the press except in the narrowest range, with an emphasis not to provide any facilities for the work. Journalists.

It is rare for senior Egyptian regime officials to hold dialogues with the local media, contenting themselves with press conferences in which they deliver official statements, which is - in the opinion of observers - a kind of lack of appreciation for the role of the local press.

Regime officials - headed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi - used to direct harsh criticism of the local media, claiming that it was unable to highlight the government's achievements.

In a live broadcast session, Sisi mocked the heated discussions that took place between media professionals, considering that this contradicts the respect for the other opinion that the journalists demand all the time.

The minister closest to Sisi, Kamel al-Wazir (Minister of Transport), was excited about the broadcaster Wael Al-Ibrashi when he criticized the performance of the Ministry of Transport, during an intervention in his program on Channel One of Egyptian television, and he closed the phone in the face of the famous broadcaster.

Journalists saw that the regime officials daring to insult journalists is also related to the practices of their colleagues who have agreed to be at the bottom of power and act as their mouthpieces, whether as media advisors in ministries, or by accepting ministries' donations, which often include travel and transportation allowances.

Some talked about the ongoing crisis in the Egyptian press related to the work of journalists in bringing direct advertisements to their newspapers, from which they receive large commissions as representatives of newspapers in the ministries.

Others said that this is a natural result of the hypocrisy of the authority all the time, attacking the opposition and activists, and silence about grievances, which ultimately resulted in the power and security agencies' encroachment, while not respecting these journalists.

Information Minister Osama Haykal recently issued a scathing report to media professionals and journalists close to the authority who attacked his criticism of the deteriorating state of the media and the press in Egypt, describing them as speaking in the tongues of others, and he meant officers in the security services.

General behavior

In this context, the former Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of the Press, Qutb Al-Arabi, affirms that the Minister of Antiquities insulting journalists is "part of the regime’s general behavior by deliberately insulting the press and journalists in general."

Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Arabi clarified that the minister is part of this system and a blatant expression of his hatred of the press and considering it as mere propaganda trumpets for him and other officials, pointing out that journalists in the authority’s view are merely employees who abide by the instructions of officials, and are not independent as stipulated in the constitution and successive laws.

He explained that the attempt to sweeten the thoughts of journalists later does not change the reality of the regime as a whole towards the press, which has been tamed, suppressed, and nationalized, and the system no longer allows free votes.

Al-Arabi pointed out that there are more than 70 journalists and photographers currently behind bars, which has caused Egypt to be placed in the black zone on the indicators of press freedom worldwide, as the local media cannot regain its position under the existing system.

A journalist working for a news site close to the authority - who refused to be named - said that it has become usual for the editors to end up overheard the editors during the meeting with them, and they concluded from the repetition of such conversations that the speaker on the other side is a person with authority over The editor-in-chief, and it was said in the newsroom that he is an officer in a sovereign authority, while the editor-in-chief appears during the call in an unenviable position, expressing his apology and justification for failing to highlight a piece of news propaganda for the regime.

The spokesman stated to Al-Jazeera Net that the news defending the regime receives negative comments from readers at the bottom of the news, reaching the point of insulting the editors and the website.

The journalist expressed his regret, because between the authority that disdains its trumpets and views it as institutions affiliated with it but is incapable of polishing, and between people's contempt for hypocritical press and their distraction from it either to opposition abroad or social media sites, the Egyptian press deteriorates and loses its value in the eyes of both parties.

In the Egyptian press, it is known that there is a so-called "WhatsApp instructions" in which the officials of the newsrooms and follow-ups of the press institutions and satellite channels receive and what they have to say daily to the public.

A broadcaster made a mistake to mention on the air at the conclusion of news about the death of the late President Mohamed Morsi that he was "sent from a Samsung device," which affixed the name "Samsung media" to the local media of the authority.

Leaks revealed that an intelligence officer named Ashraf Al-Khouli taught the media what they had to say about the various issues.

Disagreements between pro-regime activists also revealed the control of an intelligence officer over the media, who is Ahmed Shaban, who is in charge of the office of the Director of General Intelligence, Major General Abbas Kamel.