[Download] "Egypt's Media Freedoms Challenged--Analyst (Freedoms)" by The Middle East Reporter * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free

eBook details

Title: Egypt's Media Freedoms Challenged--Analyst (Freedoms)
Author : The Middle East Reporter
Release Date : January 06, 2010
Genre: Reference,Books,
Pages : * pages
Size : 64 KB

Description

Egypt's recent crackdown on the media as general elections approach, amount to a major challenge to freedoms, two commentators wrote in the London-based daily AL HAYAT in October. "An increasing fear over media freedoms in Egypt is in the air after the government made a series of decisions and measures that are of a clearly restrictive nature," Amr Hamzawy wrote in the Saudi-owned newspaper on Oct. 21. "Egypt's Information Ministry ordered satellite channels to get its permission before broadcasting any event live and distributing news reports to other satellite and land TV channels," wrote Hamzawy, a research director and senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. "Earlier, the administration of the Egyptian satellite, NileSat, shut four satellite channels, warned two others and suspended a program called Cairo Today on the satellite channel Orbit," he said. "Analysts close to the government argued that the suspended channels were of minor importance. NileSat's administration stressed that its moves were motivated by the channels' failure to pay their dues. On the other hand, voices in privately-owned media said the government and NileSat's administration were politically-motivated," Hamzawy wrote in AL HAYAT. "It is obvious that authoritarian, restrictive politics were behind the measures, especially the requirement that any live broadcast needs permission. This is also obvious in the timing of the measures, a few weeks before the November general elections and as opposition parties are becoming more active in preparation for the polls," he said.