CAIRO: In response to reports suggesting TV host Mona El-Shazly’s primetime show Al Ashera Masa’an” had been cancelled, Dream TV said the show will resume on Sunday night.
Dream TV, the show’s satellite channel, told Daily News Egypt that new episodes of El Shazly’s show will be broadcasted on Sunday, and that the program will have a brand new look.
El Shazly is scheduled to interview renowned scriptwriter Wahid Hamed, who penned the highly controversial TV series “El-Gama’a” (The Group) which focuses on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Circulating rumors suggested there was a rift between El Shazly and Dream TV owner Ahmed Bahgat. The dispute, the rumor continued, arose following an episode where El Shazly discussed how the National Democratic Party (NDP) chose its candidates for the People’s Assembly (PA) elections.
However, officials at Dream TV denied the gossip, stating that El Shazly will be back on air after a week-long vacation. The show was scheduled to begin broadcasting new episodes again on Saturday, but a re-run was aired instead fueling the rumors.
The NDP filed a complaint against Dream TV to the Media Standards Review Committee (MSRC) of the 2010 People’s Assembly Elections shortly after the contested episode was aired. The MSRC is the entity responsible for ensuring that all PA candidates are given fair and accurate coverage in the Egyptian media.
In its first report reviewing the media’s compliance with guidelines certified by the High Elections Commission, the MSRC stated that El Shazly’s show “denied [the NDP] the right to respond [that is] afforded to all parties regarding [media] coverage of the … candidate selection process.”
Minister of Information Anas El-Fiqqi recently forwarded the MSRC report to the Ministry of Investment so that it may take additional punitive measures against Dream TV for violating the election coverage standards set forth by the MSRC.
In the past few months leading to the parliamentary elections, the outspoken television host Amr Adib witnessed the cancellation of his show “Al Qahera Al Youm,” and editor-in-chief of independent daily Al-Dostor Ibrahim Eissa was fired.
Given that the parliamentary elections are steadily approaching and that both Adib and Eissa are particularly known for openly criticizing prominent figures in the ruling NDP, many political analysts viewed these events to be part of a mass governmental crackdown on local media.
Head of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights Hossam Bahgat previously told Daily News Egypt that the timing of the two incidents was no accident.
“The one thing that survived from the relative openness in 2004 and 2006 was media freedom which is now being [taken] back by the government,” said Bahgat. “It is an indication of how worse things are to become in the [follow-up to the elections].”
