Reforming Egypt’s broadcasting in the post-25 january era: The challenges of path dependence

Abstract

Under Hosni Mubarak’s regime, many in Egypt criticized the nepotism prevailing in the broadcasting sector. After the ’25 January revolution’, criticism increased significantly and was voiced, for the first time in many years, by employees of the state television who demanded publicly a real reform of broadcasting in Egypt. Since then, meetings1 and studies2 on the evolution of state broadcasting multiplied. In Egypt, as in Tunisia, it seems that great efforts are displayed to reform the state media. Local and international NGOs, media professionals’ associations3 and UNESCO are taking very seriously the project to build new media institutions that are politically more open, and economically more rational and efficient. In fact, if we focus on Egypt, reforms and changes had already been undertaken by the previous rulers. Egyptian audiences had somehow been exposed to critical viewpoints and a variety of opinions even though this was far from being satisfactory and could not justify the colossal waste and corruption within the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU). Even if rulers have, at times, fostered progress and, at other times, have been obstacles to change, such ‘stop and go’ policies have punctuated the past 15 years and cannot be ignored. Indeed, the forthcoming reforms in the huge and cumbersome state media institution will not emerge from scratch: they have to make do with the available resources, the existing structures, their internal functioning, and the existing social groups, competencies and habits.