Egypt’s media dilemma
Mohammed Nosseir
By : Mohammed Nosseir
:: Watching entertainment programs and news broadcasts on Egyptian television a few decades ago was not only a good option for millions of Arabs, it was the only available one. The Egyptian dialect, which many Arabs like and understand, and the good quality of Egyptian movies, soap operas and other programs at the time created a strong emotional attachment among Arab audiences to the content we used to produce and broadcast.
But as in many other fields, the true challenge often lies in our ability to sustain our competitive edge. As the only relevant media player in the Arab region, we felt no need to advance our media production, maintaining the same methods of operation for decades. So Arab audiences began to favor other regional channels, launched in more appealing styles and offering more engaging content.
Additionally, many of the most internationally renowned news channels, such as the BBC and France24, launched Arabic-language channels, broadening their reach. The low cost of satellite television, now affordable for most Arab households, backed up this development.
The Egyptian state is very much concerned with using the media to shape its citizens’ thinking and mobilize them whenever needed. It has thus been tempted to control the Egyptian media at the expense of producing quality programs and broadcasting credible news, two essential components of the industry.
All media channels, and the content they broadcast, are now completely controlled by the state. The fact that poor substance and the absence of credibility has led audiences to switch to other channels seems to have escaped the state’s attention.
Egyptian media was taken in by the delusion that talented presenters could make up for poor substance and lack of credibility. The emergence of popular presenters claiming to have their own audiences was reflected in several daily talk shows with higher viewership. But these shows lack substance and credibility; their audiences watch them for entertainment, then turn to other channels for alternative, more corroborated arguments.
The fact that poor substance and the absence of credibility has led audiences to switch to other channels seems to have escaped the state’s attention.
Mohammed Nosseir
Nowadays, technology provides audiences with a wide array of choices for the latest news or entertainment programs. We in Egypt have not made best use of new technologies to produce better content that can attract wider audiences. We think of technology as machines or equipment used only to replace old ones. Meanwhile, being controlled by the state and framed by its guidelines has limited our creativity and ability to produce pleasing programs.
Social media continues to be the biggest challenge to the state, a powerful medium completely out of its control. Social media enables all citizens to broadcast whatever they wish. Egyptians’ talent for coining short phrases that can be tweeted instantly and reach millions of citizens is more powerful than the entire expensive state media machine and its new “electronic committee,” which has failed to stop or control this phenomenon.
As the media world continues its immense progress, Egypt is still struggling, stuck with Maspero (the Federation of Egyptian Radio and Television), a huge entity administered by an obsolete management that employs some 50,000 people and constitutes a huge financial burden on the state budget. Maspero, whose mission is to win the world over to the state’s viewpoints, is not even followed by Egyptians.
Egypt still has an edge in this industry due to its large number of talented media cadres (currently forced to produce state-driven programs). While most of them are unhappy with the content they broadcast and how they are managed, they do not have the power to transform Egyptian media. Seen as a financial burden in Egypt’s media industry, they could present an opportunity to turn it around if it be distanced from state control.
Mohammed Nosseir, a liberal politician from Egypt, is a strong advocate of political participation and economic freedom. He can be reached on Twitter @MohammedNosseir.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in the Column section are their own and do not reflect RiyadhVision’s point-of-view.
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