CAIRO - Since its establishment in 1960, Egyptian Television has been regarded as the voice of the Government and the ruling political party. Terrestrial channels, Egyptian satellite channels and specialised Nile channels are under direct governmental supervision, operation and ownership. The officials in the huge, semicircular Egyptian TV building, named after the French Egyptologist Gaston Maspero and the most prominent such building in the Middle East and Africa, tarried in responding to what was going on in Egypt during the January 25 revolution. So where was Maspero during the demos? During the 18-day Egyptian revolution, launched on January 25, State-run TV channels always took the Government's side and tried every single way to convince people that the Egyptian regime was a blessing from God that should be respected and appreciated. As the Egyptian demonstrations progressed, State-run TV channels kept on handling the situation in the same peaceful, calm, yet deceitful way. “They appeared on the screen telling us that some young Egyptians, dreaming of freedom and a better future for their country, had decided to protest in the streets on January 25,” says Rami Tawfiq, 23. Egyptian TV kept on churning out the same deceitful slogans. Aiming too for a better future and inspired by these ambitious youths, Egyptian people from all walks of life joined the movement, which soon reached revolutionary proportions. “I thank Egyptian TV, because, if it weren't for its fake reports, I wouldn't have joined in this demo,” continues Rami, who was teased by the Egyptian TV channels into seeing what was going on for himself. What the channels said couldn't stop outraged Egyptian from flooding the streets, as the police abruptly disappeared. “Egyptian TV's Channel 1 screened a movie and documentaries about historic events involving the police, as well as national songs; they even screened movies about treason like Ea'dam Mayet [Hanging the Dead],” says Mohamed Abdel Aal, a bank accountant. “On Friday, January 28, the news was all about ex-minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and his coming home from a brief visit to Turkey,” says Abdel Aal. When the police disappeared, citizens decided to do something about the security vacuum. They gathered the streets, armed with sticks and knives, to protect their homes from thieves and criminals, while Maspero was trying to spread the notion that the people at the protests were to blame for the security vacuum! When the former President announced that he had finally chosen a vice-president and agreed to implement a bunch of procedures that the nation had longed for, the protesters said that this was not enough. Yet, according to Maspero, his speech was enough to end the protests, arguing that wise people should think more about their country's ‘stability'. When pro-Mubarak baltagiyya (thugs) began attacking demonstrators, killing some and injuring thousands more, many anti-Mubarak activists held the Information Ministry and the State media apparatus responsible. State-TV channels, still abiding by the fake rules, started to blame the protesters and denounce the violence on both sides. “One official phoned one of these channels to describe what was happening at Al Tahrir. He arrogantly tried to cover up the problem and distort the reality. “I see no horses, camels or even donkeys' is what he said,” recalls Maha Abdel Fattah, a housewife. Yet, as the protests gained more supporters and more ground, State media for the first time hosted some political activists on a talk show, to highlight the notion that they believed in these youths, but they were afraid of people with hidden agendas who'd joined in the demonstrations. Until Friday February 11, when Mubarak announced his resignation and thus the fall of the regime, Maspero kept misleading viewers by using public figures and spreading misconceptions. According to one of these misconceptions, they said: “Protesters are being given $100 and a Kentucky meal every day by ‘foreign entities'.” State-run TV channels urged Egyptian people not to watch international channels that exaggerate and distort the image of Egypt abroad. They even accused an unlikely alliance of Israel, Hamas, the US and Iran of fomenting the unrest. While other international channels screened the massive numbers of protesters in Al Tahrir Square; Egyptian TV, in a naive bid to soothe people, broadcast a tranquil view of the River Nile with a tank or two on 6th October Bridge. Meanwhile, Egypt's most popular website, Masrawy.com, polled 78,000 users about news channels that they watched during the protests, and the results revealed how much Egyptians distrusted their TV channels. About 45 per cent reported watching Aljazeera and Al-Arabiya channels, while 27 per cent said they watched Egyptian private channels like Dream, Al-Hayat, Al-Mehwar, On TV and others. Only 11 per cent tuned into Egyptian State media. “I admit that some international channels exaggerated, but at least they put the people in the right context,” says Ibrahim Mohamed, a 55-year old university professor. Even after Egypt's anti-Government protesters had laid siege to the State television headquarters, near the Nile erecting barricades and blocking access to the building, Maspero didn't quit the fabrications. “Just as the presidential palace is a symbol of the regime's power, so is Maspero. We were peaceful, but we didn't let their deception continue. These people presented an alternative reality; even as the country was swept by revolution, they remained inside telling lies,” says Karim Hegazi, a 22-year-old student, who joined the crowds outside the Maspero building. However, it was not only ordinary Egyptian citizens who were fed up with the lies. Some of the broadcasters themselves felt ashamed of Maspero, including TV presenter Mahmoud Saad, who resigned to present the Masr Enharda (Egypt Today) talk show. Even Shahira Amin, the deputy head of the State-run Nile TV channel and a senior State TV anchor tendered her resignation and stopped coming to the State media apparatus. Shahira was quoted saying in a recent interview: “You can't have a revolution in your own country and air a story about a beach resort. It was ridiculous. From the window of my office, I could see Molotov cocktails being thrown at pro-change demonstrators, the violence of the horsemen and the trucks running over protesters. For me, that was the breaking point.” After the revolution and the appointment of a new Egyptian Cabinet without businessmen or pro-Mubarak figures, State TV channels have now begun to shift the tone of their coverage, offering air time to protesters and in some cases hailing the occupation of Al Tahrir Square as a positive step. As for where Maspero was during the demos? They replied: “Nobody inside Maspero was really happy about the Government's response to the protests; we were just following orders.”
