Among the many absurd realities that existed under former president Hosni Mubarak was the state of so-called "national media." In reality, there was nothing "national" about it -- except the name. Since late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser nationalised the press in 1960, major Egyptian newspapers which made their names and history long before the 1952 Revolution, fell under total government control, turning journalists themselves into civil servants. Meanwhile, the television was launched by the state in 1962, and it remained under the government's control until the day Mubarak was forced to leave his office on 11 February 2011. With late president Anwar El-Sadat, the political system was slightly opened up. He allowed the establishment of three opposition parties in the late 1970s, with each having its own mouthpiece. Wanting to conceal the fact that the state directly owned the newspapers -- fearing for his image in front of his new American friends -- Sadat created a second house of parliament, or the Shura Council, and it was tasked with the ownership and administration of the affairs of the "national press". Considering that all elections under the former regime were rigged, it was always the president's former ruling party that maintained a vast majority, and such elected bodies did nothing but to rubber-stamp the president's decisions. Under Nasser and Sadat, selecting the editors-in-chief remained their own personal privilege. Mubarak was no exception, and he personally appointed the editors upon advice from his loyal, long time former minister of information, Safwat El-Sherif, who is now facing trial. In his last six years in office, Mubarak assigned this task to his son Gamal in preparation for his take-over of power. After the 25 January Revolution, Egypt witnessed its first ever fair parliament elections in which the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist Nour Party won an overwhelming majority. Politicians and many ordinary Egyptians, meanwhile, wondered why the Shura Council needed to continue to exist. Its legislative powers are currently very limited, and its membership was regarded, under Mubarak, as a retirement award for his loyal regime personnel. However, an agreement was reached to keep the Shura Council until more in-depth discussions were held on Egypt's future constitution. When the Shura Council elections were held in February, the turnout hardly exceeded 10 per cent, simply because the majority of Egyptians did not believe it was needed in the first place. The Muslim Brotherhood and Nour Party were nearly the only two parties that ran candidates for Shura elections, securing them yet another majority. After the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on 14 June that the parliament election law violated the constitution, practically dissolving the People's Assembly, many experts agreed that this would also be the fate of the Shura Council because it was elected according to the same law. However, last week, the Brotherhood leadership suddenly remembered that the Shura Council enjoys powers that they need to put into action. Feeling bitter towards editors-in-chief of "national" newspapers whom they accuse of failing to back President Mohamed Mursi in his election campaign, the Muslim Brotherhood deputies announced that they will appoint new editors for all state-controlled newspapers. They also asked hopefuls to apply directly to the Shura Council with CVs, paper clips and a proposal on how to develop their publications. Thus, the decision to appoint editors-in-chief shifted from the hands of the former regime to the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Moqattam neighbourhood. The so-called national press is undoubtedly in need of major reform and restructuring. But the first step towards reform cannot be to maintain the same old system of allowing a certain political party to control the media and appointing editors-in-chief. The entire system of state-owned newspapers should be reconsidered because the real fight is over the independence and credibility of the local media rather than the personalities of the editors-in-chief. President Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, that he belongs to, have definitely sent the wrong signal to those working in the media field in Egypt. Many journalists were among the most active in the revolt against Mubarak because they directly suffered under his manipulation of their profession. After his removal, they were looking for a truly democratic system that would allow them to write freely and restore their credibility in front of the Egyptian public. That will continue to not happen if the Muslim Brotherhood replaces the now dissolved, former ruling National Democratic Party with the group's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie.
