Media Monitor Egypt - 05

Bi-monthly report on the media situation (mid January- mid March 2013)

Al Sawt Al Hurr Arab Network for Media Support www.asahnetwork.org

Media Monitor 05
(mid January- mid March 2013)
Preface The Research Section of al Sawt al Hurr, the Arab network for media support, is producing bi-monthly Media Monitors. These reports describe developments in the Egyptian media, e.g. the emergence or disappearance of media outlets, e.g. satellite channels, newspapers, news websites and other initiatives. Each edition also covers information on the environment in which media in Egypt operate, e.g. the legal, financial, social and political developments that affect dynamism, quality and diversity of the media landscape. With these reports al Sawt al Hurr aims to provide media workers, researchers, academics and whoever else is interested in the field of media, with a systematic description and analysis of the rapid developments that take place in of the Egyptian media scene.

Each Monitor consists of the following two parts.

Part 1 General Developments

The first part provides the monitoring results on the latest developments, presented to readers with an interest in and some minimal knowledge of the Egyptian media landscape.

Part 2 Research Results

The second part zooms in on one particular issue or subject relevant to media and development and presents a summary of an analytical study conducted during the same period. For this copy research was conducted on Coverage of Economic news of Newspapers and Websites in Egypt

Research team Eman Kheir Al Shaimaa Alazab Yasr abdelAziz Petrus Schothorst Media developments Operational Research Arabic Editor English Editor

Kindly send your reactions, suggestions, etc. to info@asahnetwork.org

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General developments in the media in Egypt

Part I

1. Developments in the media sector in general

The period documented by this report saw a steady but prominent increase in the number of legal charges that have been brought against journalists to a variety of courts in the country. These legal cases differ in nature, but one type of cases stuck out. According to a study of the The Arabic Network for Human Rights, 24 cases were brought against journalists and other media workers for insulting the President during the first 200 days since his appointment as against 23 cases during the past 126 years. The serious financial problems facing the media and its consequences were already noticed during the previous report. This trend continued during the present period and after state and party affiliated media, more privately owned media are now also affected. The period under study saw a strong increase in violence against media workers during the execution of their work. This development is clearly linked to the strong political polarization that is taking place. This polarization also has its consequences for the news reporting itself. Many items of domestic news were covered in opposing ways by different media, making it more difficult for the researchers to do their work properly. If a conflicting news report could not be verified by a third independent source, it was decided included in this Monitor.

2. Newspapers
During the period covered by this report, there were a total of 23 national daily newspapers published; of which state owned ; party affiliated and privately owned. There were also 19 weeklies. New newspapers - al Ethnayen (Monday), a weekly newspaper was launched, with journalist Abu Abbas Mohammed as editor in chief and Taher Al Hazeen as chairman. - Rasd, a weekly newspaper has started, with journalist, Mohammed El Manadeely as its editor in chief and Al Ameer Mamdouh Hassan as chairman. - al Mussawar magazine stopped publishing for the first time since its start in 1924, due to a financial crisis. This magazine is issued by Dar al Hilal publishing house, a state owned foundation, established in 1822, considered the oldest cultural institution in the Arab world. - al Sabah newspaper, privately owned by businessman Ahmed Bahgat, was closed because of financial problems. Its chairman, Osama Ezz Eldeen, announced that al Sabah would re-open as a weekly newspaper as of February 2013.

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Other developments Journalists working for al Sabah held a sit-in at the office of the newspaper and some of them declared a hunger strike to force the administration to accept their demands and pay them their financial dues. The businessman Ahmad Abu Hashima joined the Youm 7 foundation, which issues the newspaper and news website, as a new shareholder. Legal battles Yousry al Badri, head of the crime reporting section of Masry el Youm, was interrogated for charges brought against him by the presidency for spreading false news about the presidency, which would disturb the public order, brought against him for articles, published on the newspapers website on January 19, 2013 about a visit of President Mohamed Morsi to Maadi military hospital. A legal case was initiated against al Watan newspaper and its editor in chief, Magdi al Galad, and the chairman Mohammed Amin by lawyer Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Abdul Jalil demanding the closure of the newspaper for the newspaper having caused the collapse of the economy by publishing false news and for harming president Mohamed Morsi by publishing photographs lampooning him and making fun of him.. al Masryoun privately owned newspaper has lodged a complaint with the Attorney General because its journalist Mohammed Al Meshtawi was assaulted with sharp weapons by five unidentified gunmen, which resulted in cutting off the arteries in both his hands, his personal belongings were also seized. The Prosecution Office of the Supreme State Security Service started investigations on private ly owned newspaper al Watan; its editor in chief Magdi Al Galad and its news editor Ahmed al Khatib, for publishing a list of assassination candidates of a group known in the media as the criminal cell of Nasr City. Waleed Ismail, journalist of al Tahrir privately owned newspaper, was sentenced in absentia to a year in prison, because of clashes that erupted between journalists and security forces in the hall of the police academy on the eve of the verdict of the former President Hosni Mubarak and his sons, as well as the Minister of Interior, Habib al-Adli and his aides, who were found innocent, except for Mubarak and Al-Adli. Acts of violence against media and media workers Un-identified assailants attacked the office of al Watan newspaper and set the ground floor of the newspaper on fire. Unidentified groups threatened with the invasion of media city in madinat 6th October city, to silence TV channel broadcasts whose political views they are opposed to. Ashraf Mounir, journalist of al Masaa newspaper of the Akhbar Al-Youm group was attacked by Central Security Forces, while covering the events of the Peoples Assembly in Alexandria. Five photojournalists were assaulted and their cameras smashed, while covering events in Port Said, following the decision of the Criminal Court to refer the papers of 20 defendants of Port Said carnage to His Eminence the Mufti of the Republic.
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3. Multimedia trends of newspapers

Google, ranked the most visited newspaper websites as follows: Youm 7, Masry el Youm, al Ahram, al Shuruq, al Gomhuriya, al Watan and al Wafd. -Youm 7 newspaper launched Cairo Dar website www.cairodar.blogspot.com which is an educational site dedicated to high school level students, and depends on the interaction between teachers and students through the interactive exams on the website. -al Watan, privately owned daily newspaper has set up a new educational portal, and asked teachers to join them in order to benefit from its special features. -Vito newspaper launched a new web portal, with a section called Sakhron (sarcasm), where the readers can put their views and comments about current events in a cynical way. -al Watan, the privately owned newspaper, has developed a screen of the Egyptian Stock Market on its website for the first time, to follow the stock indicators, minute by minute. -Youm 7s website has launched a new web-streaming channel called Youm 7 video channel, to view all the videos. -al Gomhuriya the state owned newspaper has launched a new portal on the Internet.

4. Interactions with readers, viewers and users

More and more Egyptian media make use of social media to communicate with their readers. According to the National Telecommunications Organization: 22 million Egyptians use the social website YouTube, and five thousand people each day joined the social networking site Facebook since the revolution of January 25, 2011. -Nureed website launched a news story contest for visitors to become reporters, so they are able to write news and publish pieces using their names on the website. - Mandara media portal communicates with its visitors through the ability to send an idea or story, and then to publish it on the website, in order to activate the idea of the local press in Upper Egypt. - al Hurraya wal Adala, party affiliated newspaper launched an interactive service for its readers, handling problems, suggestions or questions for officials or governors, by sending a short SMS from a mobile phone to a specific telephone number for that purpose at the newspaper. - al Watan website launched a so-called Interactive Facility where a subject is placed on the site, and the journalist solicits visitors opinion concerning that subject.

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5. Independent new websites

Techno Wireless estimates that the number of internet users has risen from 21.2 million before January 25 2011 to 31.52 million users, two years later. - Di Salata www.disalata.com is the first Egyptian electronic magazine founded by a team of amateurs who love the media field, and they linked the website to social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. -Klmty, www.klmty.com is a news website and has pages on the social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter. -al Mogaz www.almogaz.com news website is now having a new page on Google+. -al Wadi www.elwadynews.com A news website, with editor-in-chief Emad El Sayed, gives the possibility of follow-up on social networking sites Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+. -al Mandara www.mandaraonline.com is a portal for local media news from the 11 governorates of Upper Egypt, with the aim to develop these local media. Mandara has pages on social networking websites, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube, and it has its own TV channel on the website. -Karmoz www.karmoz.com, A news website, with a focus on news of Alexandria governorate by citizen journalists. It is run by a team of students, fresh graduates and young journalists. -Mansoura Online www.mansouraonline.com, A news website, with a focus on news of al Mansoura city in Daqahlia Governorate. The site is managed by a group of journalists originally from this city who are feeding the website with news and information, and its pages on social networking sites Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. -Ehna Keda www.e7nkeda.com Electronic magazine with a youthful spirit with pages on social networking sites Facebook, Twitter; it also has a channel on YouTube. -al Badeel www.elbadil.com electronic newspaper launched Al Badeel TV on YouTube. The Egyptian company Techno Wireless, specialized in e-marketing and mobile phone networks, estimates that the number of internet users has risen from 21.2 million before January 25 2011 to 31.52 million users, two years later. Users in Egypt now spent 1,800 minutes per month on internet, compared to 900 minutes before the revolution. The number of users of the social networking website Facebook before January 25, 2011 was 4.2 million people, but after the revolution it climbed up to 12 million users, while the number
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of users on the social networking site, Twitter was about 26,800 users before the revolution, and then increased to 44,200 users after. Techno Wireless also found that the behavior of Egyptian internet users changed after the revolution of January 25, 2011, whereas they were more interested in entertainment before this date, after the revolution they became more interested in using online tools and the use of intermediate websites. Users now also search for credible news and live streaming of information. Google search engine mentioned that the most visited independent new website during this period was Masrawy.

6. Egyptian Radio and Television Union

During the period of this study, the debts of the Radio and Television Union have reached a total of 20 billion Egyptian pounds. According to the report issued by the Content Quality and Professionalism Commission of the Egyptian Radio and TV Union and all its divisions and sectors of it (radio and television), tend to get confused every time when an emergency situation in the country occurs, with the consequence that the public opinion is fully controlled by the private media, which are also ahead in bringing scoops and live coverage of events. The number of program presenters at the Egyptian television has been reduced from 10 to only 4 per program. According Shukri Abu Omaira, general director of the TV Sector, some programs with up to 14 (rotating) presenters were canceled. Other programs, e.g. Daftar Ahwal Masr,Studio 27 and Mobasher Min Masr, were terminated because they did not generate enough advertisements and formed a burden on the overstretched budget of the television sector. Ibrahim El Sayyad, head of the news sector, stated that his sector will start a series of new programs, including the program 45 minutes, a talk show on Nile News Channel replacing the old program Kalam El Youm. Short breaking news flashes will be aired every hour. A daily news report for Egyptians living abroad will be broadcast on the Nile News and Sawt El Shab channels. There would also will be a new monthly program called Wageh al Shab hosting the Prime Minister, broadcasted on the channels, Nile Life, Nile News and Sawt al Shaab. Four educational channels on Nilesat, belonging to Nile Specialized Sectors, were closed down at the request of the Ministry of Education. Nizar Maghawri, director of these channels, said that government officials were disappointed with the low viewing rates. According to the employees of the educational channels, the ministries of Information and Education agreed to launch two new educational channels at a reduced cost (10 million EPS instead of 22 million pounds), and that workers from the two ministries would work on it together. According to the National Commission for Radio and Television the Egyptian government pays 985 million pounds a year for infomercials and ads on Egyptian television. These are commissioned by various ministries for awareness raising and for commercial purposes.
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Magda Al Qadi, the presenter of Nile Cinema channel, had to defend herself at ERTUs disciplinary committee because of an episode of her program Studio Masr that was broadcasted live during which the artist Mahmoud Kabil opined that President Mohamed Morsi does not have charisma and I didnt vote for him. Ryada Samir, anchorwoman of Youth and Sports radio station was punished by the same committee for a radio program in February, during which a caller criticized the president of the Republic. She thanked the caller for his comments and refrained from criticizing him. Her monthly incentives were withheld and she was not allowed to host any radio programs According to editor in chief of Akhbar Masr website of the News Sector of the ERTU , he and another editor were suspended pending investigation for publishing news about the crisis in Port Said city and the declaration of civil disobedience. Nogoum FM, and Nile FM state radio stations, owned by Nile Radio Production Company have obtained the 2012 international Super brands award for their success in reaching a wide audience.

7. Commercial Satellite TV
Satellite TV companies and channels came under fire during this period. Many legal cases were brought against them and many workers, managers and even work locations were subjects of violence. - al Magd , a new TV channel with an Islamic orientation was launched, owned by businessman Mohammed Saber. - CRT TV channel started, owned by a group of Egyptian shareholders, and the director of the channel is Hani Ahmed. - Al Faraeen private channel owned by Tawfiq Okasha, returned on air, after the payment of channel debts, which reached $ 207 thousand US dollars. - Mona Shazly, the Egyptian presenter received the 2012 Award of most prominent female media personality in the Arab world, during the Arab Youth Media Forum in Jordan. Legal battles Mahmoud Hassan Abul Eynen has filed a lawsuit against the CBC channel to suspend its license, because of trespasses committed during its al Barnameg program, presented by Basem Youssef, who taunted and ridiculed the president and some of the state symbols, as well as the spiritual guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, during the previous three months, which is an infringement of article 81 of the new Constitution of 2012, which states that exercising the rights and freedoms of citizens are limited by integrity of the state and society. Article 31, states that dignity is a right of every person and community and must be respected and protected no person may be insulted or held in contempt. Another investigation of Bassem Youssef started as part of a lawsuit brought against him by lawyer Ramadan Abdel Hamid, the general coordinator of Gabhet al Enkaz al Masry (the Islamic Rescue Front of Egypt), accusing him of insulting President Mohammed Morsi.
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A number of lawyers filed a lawsuit to stop the program Hona Al Qahira presented by Ibrahim Eissa on the al Qahira Wal Nas satellite channel, accusing its presenter of defamation of religions. The Administrative Court ruled the restart of broadcasting the Dream channels, from its studios in Dreamland. The Administrative Court halted broadcasting of al Hafez the Islamic channel for a period of 30 days and prevented Atef Abdul Rashid and Abdullah Badr from appearing in any other media for the same period, following a lawsuit, filed by the artist Elham Shahin, against them for insulting her on the channel programs. The Attorney General released media host Mahmoud Saad, stating his innocence in a lawsuit submitted by the presidency against him, on charges of insulting the president through ridicule and incitement during the Akher Al Nahar program on Al-Nahar satellite channel . Dina Abdel Fattah, the presenter of the program Al Shaab Yoreed on al Tahrir channel, and producer Khairy Hussein, the journalist in the Al Akhbar- were released after paying a bail of 5,000 pounds, in the lawsuit against them by the State Security Agency and the Shura Council, on charges of supporting terrorism and hosting representatives of the Black Block group, during one of the episodes of the program. This group was accused of being a terrorist group that wants to disturb public security, and encourage others to carry out acts of sabotage against state enterprises. The media coordinator of the Freedom and Justice Party, broadcaster of 25 January TV channel was released without bail after he was charged with insulting the judiciary in his program al Sharee al Syasi. Violence against satellite media workers A crew of Masr 25 TV channel was attacked by unknown assailants while covering demonstrations on Friday of Dignity on February 8, 2013 at Tahrir Square. They were detained and prevented from completing broadcasts from the square and their equipment confiscated, which was later recuperated upon paying 3,500 pounds. Aya Radi, correspondent of Sky News Arabia was assaulted by unknown assailants who tried to molest her, while she was covering the events of the second anniversary of the January 25 revolution in Alexandria. The rest of the team also got assaulted while trying to save her. A registration van of On TV channel was set on fire while covering events in Port Said; the correspondent of CBC channel was beaten. Nasreen Fouad, correspondent of al Nahar satellite channel, was shot in her foot with a rubber bullet, while covering the clashes between protesters and police, at the main railway station Com El-Dekka in Alexandria. The correspondent of Nile News of the Egyptian state television was attacked while covering the clashes in Sharqiya governorate and her laptop confiscated.

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8. Freedom of expression
According to Reporters Without Borders, Egypt last year went up from position 166 to position 158 on a scale rating press freedom in 179 countries. According to Reporters Without Borders, Egypt has last year gone up from 166 to158 on a list of 179 countries in terms of press freedom. - Amnesty International condemned the imposition of a temporary ban on YouTube in Egypt, for refusing to ban a film considered offensive to Islam and felt that it was a setback for freedom of expression. An Egyptian court sentenced a ban on YouTube for a period of 30 days. - A new law on the regulation the organization of demonstrations was approved by the Egyptian government, but organizations that defend human rights considered it a violation of the freedom of expression. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information issued a study entitled material restricting freedom of expression in Egyptian laws - proposed amendments. The study includes 71 different articles from seven basic laws, related to freedom of opinion and expression, the press and publishing, namely: the Penal Code, and the law of establishing the journalism syndicate, and regulation of the press law, and the law of statistics and recall, and the law of official documents and organized publishing, and the Telecommunications Regulatory Act, and the law of artistic censorship. The same network also issued a report, entitled the crime of insulting the president dealing with more violations against the media and the press during the first 200 days of President Mohamed Morsi tenure, reaching in half a year, four times that experienced in the past 30 years of the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak.

9. Infringements o n the Freedom of Expression

Huqooq.com published a list of the names of persons which the Minister of Information, a leading member of Muslim Brotherhood, decided to ban from access to the Maspero building, premises of the state radio and television union. The list includes many journalists, media professionals and politicians; Gamal Zahran, former member of parliament; Gamal Fahmy, deputy chairman of the Journalism Syndicate; Khaled al Balshi editor-in-chief of Al-Bedaya website, Abdul Jalil Al-Sharnoubi member of Gabhet al Ebdaa, Abdel Halim Qandil, editor-in-chief of Sawt al Umma , the researcher Prof. Ammar Ali Hassan, and the journalists Said Shoaib and Sakina Fouad. The journalist Ahmed Abu al Qasim, member of the Journalists Syndicate and secretary of Electronic Journalists Syndicate, was arrested on charges of belonging to the Black Block group and handed over to the prosecution office, which released him the next day. The headquarters of Brothers Online, the website of the Muslim Brotherhood was burned by vandals against the backdrop of clashes between security forces and demonstrators during the celebrations of the January 25 revolution.
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10. Access to information

In reaction to the two laws on freedom of Information that were initiated by civil organizations, the Egyptian state presented its own proposal which was debated in the Shura Council during the period of this report. The first proposal was submitted by a coalition of human rights organizations and journalists, led by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). The second proposal was submitted by United Group a legal firm. The legal department of the Ministry of Justice presented a third proposal concerning the Freedom of Access to Information and Documents, which includes the creation of a Supreme Council for Data and Information. The proposal stipulated that access to information is guaranteed for all, with the exception of confidential information and classified information, which are protected for periods of respectively 5 or 30 years. - The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights objected to the draft law, which the Ministry of Justice brought to the Shura Council. The organization stated that the proposal is incompatible with the international covenants on human rights, which guarantee freedoms of opinion and expression and the right to access information. It also claimed that the proposal is incompatible with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights issued in 1966, which was ratified by the Egyptian government in 1981

11. State and government institutions dealing with the media

The Minister of Information, Salah Abdel-Maksoud has ordered the establishment of correspondents corners at media centers in all governorates, where they can produce external reports and interviews with governors and heads of local councils and broadcast these live on state owned Sawt Al-Shab TV channel as a means to improve communication with citizens in all governorates. The Ministry of Information appointed Abdel Fattah Hassan, as head of the Nile TV Specialized Channels Sector. The Ministry of Information managed to economize 140 million pounds on expenditure of the ERTU over a period of six months. It donated 61 million pounds to news agencies, production companies, and photo agencies. Ahmed Fahmy, Head of Shura Council has ordered the reactivation al Ray newspaper of the Dar al Tahrir foundation and give it rights to publish on activities of the Shura Council, to help save the newspaper from financial crumbling. al Ray will dedicate special pages to the Shura Council of the parliament and the achievements of its members.

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The Supreme Council of the Press - A commission of the Supreme Council of the Press, charged with the Evaluation of the Journalistic Performance presented a draft Charter of Press and Media Code of Conduct, to the Culture, Tourism and Information Committee of the Shura Council, in order to promote a dialogue with experts and professors of journalism and obtain their opinion on the law draft. - The proposed charter includes the basic principles of a Code of Conduct for professional and ethical journalism and suggest establishment of a committee under the name of selfjudgment, to monitor, analyze and evaluate the performance of the press and the media and to proceed to mediate disputes between the media and the public. The charter consists of 57 articles. - The Supreme Council of the Press formed three separate committees to evaluate publications of two state owned publishing houses: Dar al Tahrir and Dar al Hilal The publications concerned, Horiaty, Samir, and Shashty, ran into deep financial problems. - The Supreme Press Council will grant al Ray 300,000 pounds for its reporting work on the Shura Council and for training its journalists on parliamentary reporting skills.

12. Journalism Syndicates

The Egyptian Journalism Syndicate and a number of newspapers managers and representatives of satellite channels paid visits to al Wafd and al Fagr to discuss the consequences of the fierce attacks that took place at the offices of these two newspapers. - The Supreme Council of the Press fixed the date for mid-term elections of the Board of the syndicate on the first of March 2013. - The Registration Committee of the Egyptian Journalism Syndicate admitted a new batch of 478 journalists as provisional members, and promoted a batch of 111 journalists to full membership. - The administrative Court has set the first of March as the date for the midterm elections of the Journalism Syndicate to choose the chairman and 6 members of the council. The syndicate had challenged the judgment of the administrative court to halt the implementation of the Supreme Council of the Presss resolution to hold elections for the Council as of the first of March, on the backdrop of the lawsuit filed by the journalist, Tariq Darwish. - Said Shoaib, the columnist, has lodged a complaint with the Journalism Syndicate against the Minister of Information and member of the syndicate, demanding to open an investigation if and why he and a number of colleagues are prevented from entering the Maspero building and in doing so.. preventing them from appearing on state owned television channels.

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13. Activities of civil society organizations related to the media

- The Committee for the Defense of the independence of the press, will form a small committee to evaluate the performance of newspapers in accordance with the rules of the profession, and the press charter, in a number of state owned newspapers, independent, as well as party affiliated newspapers and websites. A report will be issued on the first Monday of every month. The newspapers that will be subject to evaluation are al Ahram, and al Akhbar state owned and privately owned newspapers Masry al Youm, al Watan, in addition to al Sabah, and the party affiliated newspapers al Hureya wal Adala, and al Wafd, and the websites of al Ahram and Youm 7. - Political activist Sayed Fathi, manager of al Hilali Foundation for Freedoms announced the decisions that were made after the meeting of editors of privately owned and party affiliated newspapers, which was held in order to discuss the political confrontation and legal assaults on the freedom of opinion and expression, and the decisions were: abstention of journalists and writers from appearing before the Public Prosecutor, due to the illegitimate status of the Attorney General, as well as boycotting a number of prominent symbols of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists, thereby not publishing their photos in newspapers, in addition to publishing a report of all violations and attacks on freedom of the media at the local and international levels.

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Part II
Coverage of Economic news of Newspapers and Websites in Egypt An analysis

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Introduction
Egypts current economy is going through a serious crisis. However, the views of the government, the opposition and economic experts differ on the nature and causes of the predicament. Moreover, thorny and critical economic issues have appeared on the scene, such as the IMF loan, the draft legislation on Islamic bonds (the Sukuk law), labor strikes and the demonstrations and sit-ins that hit Egypt from North to South. There are also the steep fluctuations in the Egyptian stock market, influenced by the continuing political turmoil. Facing this wave of crises, e.g. the Egyptian pounds decline against the US dollar, the consequent price increases, fuel shortages, the problems between bakery owners and the Minister of Supplies, one would hope the Egyptian press would thoroughly and transparently cover these issues and provide the readers with clear explanations on how these events and economic decisions directly affect the lives of the citizens of this country. Being aware of the significance of economic reporting, especially during the present situation, al Sawt Al Hurr, Arab Network for Media Support has conducted a study on a selection of national newspapers and news websites that provide economic news to their readers. This study aims to monitor and analyze the coverage of the economic issues and problems and to assess to what extent the selected media present and interpret economic news and explain its ramifications to the average layman reader. Bearing in mind the aim of this study, it must be emphasized that there are a few good daily newspapers, specialized in economic reporting, e.g. al Boursa (the Stockmarket) and al Mal (Finance), targeting a specific market. This study however is concerned with general daily newspapers and their ambition to reach a much wider group of readers with less knowledge and insight of the issues at stake. The study has reached its finding, based on the analysis of 484 news items, published in three national news outlets: state-owned daily newspaper al Akhbar, privately-owned al Watan daily, party affiliated newspaper al Hurriya wal Adala and three news websites, namely, AkhbarMasr (Egypt news) (state-owned), Masrawy (privately-owned), Ikhwan Online (affiliated to Muslim Brotherhood). A media scanning method with content analysis tools was used for press items of economic news in the aforementioned newspapers and news websites, between the periods from 25th January to 14th March, 2013.

Main findings:
The most important findings of the study include: 1. The coverage of economic content in newspapers and websites is not proportionate to the impact of the economic situation on the Egyptian society, as is evidenced by the relative absence of economic information on the front pages of newspapers and the home pages of news websites. Results of the study revealed that 98% of the economic news items of study sample found, was placed in the inner pages, while a mere 1% of the economic news was placed at either the front or the back page. The study did not find a specific reason for the lack of importance given to economic news and the reasons for not given it the prominence commensurate with its impact on Egyptian society.

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This could be due to the poor journalistic experience of those handling economic affairs, consequently leading to the disinterest of readers in economic news in general, or it may be that the reader does not possess the minimum of economic knowledge which enables him/her to sufficiently grasp the economic information offered by in the Egyptian media studied. Other reasons may be related to the small number of editors specialized in economic affairs, whether in newspapers or in news websites, or perhaps it is the prevailing culture of the Egyptian media, with its traditional and persistent interest in presidential and political news, giving it priority and precedence over all other kinds of news. 2. When comparing the scope of economic news in newspapers and news websites of the study sample, findings show that news websites left newspapers far behind in the number of economic news items covered, especially Masrawy website which kept following and updating economic news around the clock, benefiting from the flexibility that online journalism offers in comparison to the printed press. 3. The coverage of economic news has a superficial character and the study did not find a single example of economic analysis, with the exception of a report on the present state of the economic crisis in Egypt of Reuters news agency which translated and republished by Masrawy website it on its economic page. 4. At the start of this study a prediction was made on the topics of economic news that would be covered in the media during the period of the study, including the following ones: the economic performance of the current government, which came in first place with 12.8%, followed by the diesel fuel crisis with 7.6%, and the news on the stock exchange with 5.8%. Yet 54, 8% of all the economic news covered was on topics not foreseen or predicted by this study. The confrontation between the owners of bakeries and the Minister of Supply, the crisis between Orascom Construction Industries and the Egyptian Taxation Authority and the approval of the Sukuk law were all given much attention. 5. The study showed that the economic press is deficient in its role and task of explaining, interpreting, analyzing or simplifying economic information to its readers. Therefore, the Egyptian public is deprived of their right to be informed in a way it can grasp the implications of economic events (whether it is positive or negative) on their lives and future. 85, 5% of all news items reviewed did not offer any explanation compared to 14.5% of the news items where some explanation was given. The study also found the news items of both newspapers and websites reviewed lacking in defining or explaining economic terms and concepts and in providing context, e.g. the legal and or political framework or basis for economic decision making. In most cases, newspapers and websites included in the study simply published economic news in its bare form, i.e. without any context or the historical background of the event, without alluding to the repercussions and implications of the news story on the future of the Egyptian society. 6. Newspapers and websites within this study referred to well- known sources in 87% of the items studied, with only 15.7% of items with no sources given. News in al Watan newspaper had the highest percentage of anonymous information among outlets reviewed. al Hurria wal Adala (Freedom & Justice) daily was most consistent in
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including their sources information in the news. Both newspapers and websites mainly depended on government sources for their coverage of economic news, especially al Hurriya wal Adala and Ikhwan Online website. 7. The coverage of news with an economic content reviewed in this study is characterized as mostly imbalanced, i.e. not presenting a news item from various perspectives. 25, 4% of the news items reviewed was categorized as unbalanced and 11% as balanced news, while the remaining items did not fit in either category. 8. In news items with an economic content, the following patterns of bias were found: bias by omission and bias by selection of sources which were evident most often in al Watan and al Hurriya wal Adala newspapers. 9. The editorial policy of each newspaper did indeed affect the coverage of the economic news. Findings revealed that newspapers resorted to giving perspective or coloring their economic news items according to the editorial policies. The economic news coverage of newspapers and websites affiliated to the ruling party was almost always positive, whereas a negative trend was present in most news items covered by the privately owned newspapers; illustrating the strong polarization that Egypt is experiencing. 10. Layout and graphic design were strongly used by newspapers to underline their editorial policy. News websites, on the other hand, did not make use of use interactivity and multimedia tools to make their news more appealing, neither did they make use of info-graphics to simplify or explain their economic news. Both newspapers and websites did not use any charts at all.

Research problem:
Economic events were the main impetus behind most of the political decisions taken, including laws, and the consequent responses by the various sectors of Egyptian society. Within this context, the role of the press becomes more profound in the need to direct more focused attention to: economic affairs, economic follow-up and coverage. Establishing economic sections, creating specialized economic pages and the publication of daily and weekly supplements on important events experienced by the Egyptian economy would be a much needed improvement. Hence, the problem of the study was to identify how economic content is presented in Egyptian press.

Research Questions:
The key objective envisioned is identifying how Egyptian newspapers and news websites cover economic issues, as well as the role of economic press (newspapers - websites) to provide explanation, interpretation and analysis of economic content. To achieve this objective the study posed a number of hypothetical questions: 1. Are there any differences between newspapers and news websites with respect to choice of and attention for economic news? 2. Does the editorial policy of a newspaper affect the way it addresses its economic news?
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3. What are the sources of news upon which both newspapers and news websites -under study- depend for their coverage of economic affairs? 4. To what extent are elements of balance and depth present in economic news in newspapers and news websites under study? 5. To what extent and effect are layout, graphic design and online media tools being used by newspapers and news websites?

Study Methodological Procedures:

This study is descriptive in nature and attempts to describe how economic issues and affairs are covered in the Egyptian press, using the survey method. The scope of the study is determined by news that deals with economic issues in Egyptian newspapers and websites. The study sample consists of 3 newspapers, namely,: al Akbar, al Watan, al Hurriya wal Adala, as well as the following news websites: Akhbar Masr, Masrawy, Ikhwan Online. Regular samples were taken from newspapers and news websites in the industrial week manner, including 7 days for each newspaper during the period from 25th January to 14th March, 2013. The study was based on survey content analysis as a tool for data collection, which included basic categories as well as subdivisions. The findings of this study were confirmed during interviews with economic expert Mr. Mohsen Adel, director of Pioneers Funds and Wael Gamal, economic journalist at al Shuruq newspaper.

Study Results:
1. The nature of economic issues that were covered; trends and sources The study predicted a number of economic issues that would be covered by the media. The list included topics, e.g. governments economic performance which came up with 12.8%, and fuel and diesel crisis which came up with 7.6%, and stock market (5.8%), strikes sit-ins with the economic aspect (3.5%), and currency (3.5%), endowments and borrowing from abroad (3.1%), however, the surprising result was that (another class) came up with a whopping 54.8%,while most recurrent topics were: 1. The confrontation between Bakery owners and the Minister of Supplies over a new flour price system. 2. Sawiris family-owned Orascom Construction Industries crisis, with the Taxation Authority 3. Islamic bond (Sukuk) law approval. 4. The deterioration in Egypts tourism industry and its impact on the economy. 5. The Suez Canal zone development.

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Chart No. (1)

Economic Subjects
Prices Economic Performance Investments Fuel Crisis Other Fund Recovery Endowments Fund Resreve and Lonas Currency Strikes& SitStock Market exchange ins
This table shows that only 1% of all the economic news items reviewed appeared on the front or back pages of the newspapers, whereas the other 98% was published on one of the inner pages.

Table No. (1)

NO 1 2 3 Content location Newspaper al Akhbar al Watan Hurriya wal Adala Total Front Page 1.3% 1.9% 100% Internal Page 96.1% 98.1% 100% 100% Last Page 2.6% 100%

It is noteworthy that Hurriya wal Adala newspapers often published news headlines on the front page, with the actual new on the inner pages. When it comes to journalistic genres, news items were used in the vast majority of cases (99, 9%) followed by news reports, news stories, features, and finally interviews.

Table No. (2)

NO Content location Newspaper News News Report News Story Other

1 2 3 4 5 6

al Akhbar al Watan Hurriya wal Adala Akhbar Masr Masrawy Ikhwan Online Total

88.2% 87% 87.7% 94.9% 90.8% 95.6% 90.9%

5.3% 9.3% 5.5% 1.7% 2.5% 4.4% 4.1%

3.9% 1.9% 1.4% 3.4% 3.4% 2.7%

2.6% 1.9% 5.5% 3.4% 2.3%

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2. Newspapers and news websites and their use of sources

With regard to journalistic and information sources, the study results revealed that, in general, the newspapers and news websites under study adopted disclosed information sources known to the reader 87% versus 15.7% for undisclosed sources. (Note: sometimes the source of the same piece of news could be categorized as known and as unknown at the same time).

Chart No. (2)

Information Sources Presence

100. 00% 90.00% 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% al Akhbar know sources anonynmous 88.20% 11.80% al Watan 85.20% 31.50%

Hurriya wal Adala 93.20% 6.80%

Akhbar Masr 87.20% 13.70%

Masraw y 84% 18.50%

Ikhwan Online 84% 15.60%

This table shows that al Watan newspaper used undisclosed sources of information most frequently and that Hurriya wal Adala named their sources of information most often.

Chart No. (3)

Types of Information Sources

government officials experts partisan officials Other

34%

56% 2% 8%

The latter conclusion is derived from results showed in the present chart. It shows that government officials are the most popular source of information in economic news (55.2%) with experts (7.6%), party representatives (2.1%), with other sources including civil society groups, independent organizations and individual citizens (33%).
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Since most of the economic news of this sample came from government sources, the news appeared to be favoring government policies and decisions and out of touch with Egyptian citizens and street concerns. For example, the analysis of the crisis with fuel and bakery owners shows that statements made by the ministers of Petroleum and Supplies were always positive and reassuring. They were often quoted as saying these crises would soon be resolved, which was not the case. As a consequence, this swayed economic reporting away from its role of informing readers and of helping the public find solutions for their problems. Chart No. (4)

Economist Mohsen Adel notes that expert do not generally like to have their comments and analysis on economic issues and reports published in party-affiliated newspapers, out of fear of compromising their impartiality and of appearing in support of certain ideological or political movements. Regarding journalism sources as shown in the following table newspapers have primarily depended on their editors to get news, while websites depended largely on news agencies, particularly the official MENA news agency. Table No. (3)
NO Content location Newspaper
Reporter Editor Local news agency Foreign News Agency Multisourced Without sources

1 2 3 4 5 6

al Akhbar al Watan Hurriya wal Adala Akhbar Masr Masrawy Ikhwan Online Total

10.5% .9% 7.6% 11.1% 4.8%

55.3% 83.3% 67.1% 34.2% 64.7% 26.7% 54.8%

1.9% 59.8% 17.6% 57.8% 24.4%

3.4% 9.2% 3.1%

2.6% 3.7% 1.4% .9% 1.2%

31.6% 11.1% 31.5% .9% 8% 4.4% 11.8%

It is important to note that websites often copy the full piece of news from a news agency, without referring to the source, and sometimes it gets published under the editors name.
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Approach of Economic Information Hurriya wal Adala (Freedom & Justice) came first among newspapers and websites included in the study, in covering news, reflecting positive economic performance (63%) versus negative economic news (19.2%). Ikhwan Online came second (57%) followed by al Akhbar (56.6%). al Watan appeared to be focusing more on negative news on the economic situation in Egypt (53%) compared with positive news (16.7%). Meanwhile, no single negative news item on the Egyptian economy appeared on Ikhwan Online. Depth and Explanation in Economic Reporting 1. Depth was not evident in economic reporting in both newspapers and websites. A piece of news would be introduced in its rudimentary nature without explanation, elaboration of economic terms, or reference to the appropriate background or historical context. This kind of news would also fail to mention the ramifications or consequences of an economic event for the society as a whole. According to this approach, reporters covered by this study would use reports from news agencies or press statements sent by ministries, state-run or private companies, without adding any explanation, contacting specialized persons such as experts or economic analysts to elaborate on the news item. Chart No. (5)

This table shows the difference between newspapers and websites in terms of explanation of news coverage. 2. It was also evident from the analysis of economic content in newspapers and websites covered by this study- that it lacked both supportive arguments and supporting evidence, whereby 85.5% of reports were lacking these arguments and supporting evidence, compared with only 14.5% well-sourced reports, which increases the shallowness of reporting on economic affairs.

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Chart No. (6)

The extent to which arguments and evidence are available in reports

Balance and impartiality in covering economic news: Study results show that news websites are more impartial than newspapers; patterns of party affiliation were most pronounced in the case of al Watan and Hurriya wal Adala newspapers. This included bias by omission, bias through mixing news and opinion, opinion disguised by news and bias by selection of sources. For instance, results of the analysis of economic reporting by the Hurriya wal Adala newspaper and Ikhwan Online website show that all sources used are related to the Muslim Brotherhood and/or their political or ideological supporters. As a result, reporting takes a regime-backing character. This is why Hurriya wal Adala and Ikhwan Online present economic news mostly in a positive light. Table No. (4)
NO News outlet Element of Balance al Akhbar al Watan Hurriya wal Adala Akhbar Masry Masrawy Ikhwan Online

1 2 3

Balanced Unidentified Unbalanced

17% 50% 32.9%

16.7% 57.4% 25.9%

13.7% 49.3% 37%

5.1% 70.9% 23.9%

11.8% 70.6% 17.6%

2.2% 80% 17.8%

This table shows to what extent newspapers and websites are committed to impartiality in the presentation of their economic news. Regarding the element of balance in the economic reporting of newspapers and websites, al Akhbar came out strongest in maintaining impartiality (17.1%), followed by al Watan (16.7) and Hurriya wal Adala (13.7%). With the news websites, Masrawy came first (11.8%), followed by Akhbar Masr(5.1%) and Ikhwan Online (2.2%). For this study, news was defined as Balanced if it reflected all points of view and as. Unidentified in case the context had no conflict of interest
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Hurriya wal Adalas reporting on the Orascoms conflict with the Taxation Authority was an example of partial and unbalanced coverage, mixing news with political opinions. This included the decision to assign half of its front page and a full page inside to this conflict; the choice of headlines and photos and the biased and partial presentation of the case. It also quoted workers comments out of context, distorted facts and spread false allegations about the Sawiris brothers and their relationships with workers.

The Front Page of al Watan

Hurriya wal Adala

al Akhbar

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The use of layout and graphic design: 1. Photos were not put to good use in websites in comparison with the importance of press photos in newspaper journalism. Most of the photos used were from news archive or images (examples: a companys logo, image of a bank or bourse headquarters). Moreover, the used photos were not updated and the same photos may be used more than once during the period of analysis. 2. Charts or figures were not used in all economic news content included in this study, either by newspapers or websites. 3. Typographic elements (frames, backgrounds and photos) were used in a starkly politicized way. For instance, al Watan (which published negative news more than positive ones) resorted to present news with colored frames, backgrounds and images or all these elements together. The same was done by Hurriya wal Adala newspaper, but only to highlight positive news.
Chart No. (7)

Colors Pictures, Frames, grounds

The use of interactivity and online media tools: 1. Interactive elements were not used in a way that made the best use of new technologies, associated with the new media. 2. From among the news websites included in the analysis, Akhbar Masr organized the best interactivity with its readers on its economic content.

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Chart No. (8)

1- Masrawy was remarkable with the continuous and systematic use of hyperlinks. However, some links were irrelevant to the original piece of news. For instance, the website published a piece of news entitled calls for cancellation of protection fees on imported cotton textiles, quoting Minister Hatem Saleh, then the link at the bottom of the main report was about a statement by Minister Saleh. But the link was irrelevant to the content of the new report. The only thing in common between the two reports was Minister Saleh as a source.
Chart No. (9)

Masrawy was remarkable in that there is a special archive for each report on a daily basis, through a link to Todays news category. Akhbar Masr makes it possible to get back to reports throughout former pages. Older reports can be reached through their date of publishing. Ikhwan Online do not provide an archive for older reports or a way to search for a report on economic affairs that was previously published.
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The Opinion of Experts:

The following are the most notable expert opinions on the coverage of economic news in the Egyptian press and websites; they reaffirm the findings in this research study: Media coverage of economic news is generally focusing on news items and not on other genres of journalism. Coverage is shallow and lacks the explanation and analysis needed to assist the average reader understand economic news and its ramifications and the way in which it affects his/her life and welfare. The way economic news is covered also lacks the explanation of economic terms and concepts; any historical and or contextual background of events. In an in-depth interview with Mohsen Adel, the economic expert added that there is confusion in economic terms used. Mohsen Adel and well-known economic journalist Wael Gamal both pointed out that reporters often repeat the same serious mistake in their coverage on the stock market: expressions like the stock market loses, or the bourse gains, are commonly used in news reports. The experts explained that the stock market does not lose or gain; what happens at the stock market is nothing more than a change in the market capital and figures traded all over the day are nothing other than paper values that do not reflect losses or gains. If some mistakes in reporting on economic news may be acceptable due to the lack of specialization - the stock market is sensitive and perilous, so such mistakes should not be made. Moreover, reports often depend on the wrong source of information, explained Wael Gamal. An economic reporter, he adds, does not resort to the concerned person or official, but instead turns to another source which is not authorized to speak on the issue, given the critical and sensitive nature of economic issues. Both economists also agreed that economic reporting is marred by inaccuracies in information and sources. Mohsen Adel added that this was because the Access to Information Law is yet to be implemented. This denies reporters the chance to get a clear historical background on a large number of economic issues, Adel said. Furthermore Mohsen Adel suggested that there should be more attention for Arab and international economic news, to reciprocate the attention that other Arab countries give to news about economic developments in Egypt,

Recommendations:
Economic reporting should pay more attention to the needs and interests of their readers and assist them in explaining economic issues and form opinions on importance of the news and the possible impact on Egyptian society and daily life of Egyptians. Newspapers could maybe create a daily page on economic news and make efforts to make this news more interesting and relevant to their readers. This will likely change the prevailing culture of newspapers to focus on political news and neglect economic news. News media should strengthen the knowledge and understanding of their economic reporters and journalists in the fields of laws related to the economy, stock markets and economic/business editing. They should also develop and sharpen analytical and explanatory skills of their journalists.
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Maintaining to good journalism standards, such as mentioning the source, whether it was a news agency or a press statement, will also help to promote quality. Editorial news should be completely separated from advertising. For instance, al Akhbar publishes advertisements on a full page titled Banks and Investments, without mentioning that the content is a paid advertisement, which is a violation of the law organizing journalism work. The use of multimedia and interactive tools should be given more attention in the economic news reports of websites. The world is now heading towards integrated journalism, making full benefit of all technological capabilities in one piece of news. Finally, this research study highly recommends that more research and follow-up studies be conducted in order to shed more in-depth analysis into the causes and implications of inadequate economic news reporting in Egyptian newspapers and websites.

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