How to improve Egypt's media law
Abdel Latif El-Menawy, the former head of Egyptian state TV who now heads Al Ghad Al Arabi satellite TV, explained in an interview with Al-Monitor why the Egyptian media has deviated from its role, and what the field needs now.
CAIRO, Egypt — The book "Tahrir: The last 18 days of Mubarak," published in 2012, revealed what was secretly going on behind the scenes prior to President Hosni Mubarak’s famed resignation speech on Feb. 11, 2011. Most important among this information is the disassociation of the Egyptian military and intelligence services from the Mubarak administration.
Abdel Latif El-Menawy, the author of the book and the former head of the news department at Egyptian state TV, says he revealed "what he was able to say at the time" of what he was privy to in his association with decision-making circles.
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor on Nov. 12, Menawy said, “What I have witnessed is included in the book … I have done what I felt is necessary.”
Menawy, currently the head of Al Ghad Al Arabi satellite TV station, said that there is no such thing as unbiased media, because media work is not charity. He added that there is, however, what could be deemed “professional media work,” and stressed that the media in Egypt has deviated from its role, given the disorientation within the Egyptian state, and that media activities need to be controlled by "a law that regulates, not restricts, freedom of press."
