CAIRO: Prime Minister Essam Sharaf appointed Ibrahim El-Sayed as head of the news sector at the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), replacing Abdel Latif El-Minawy, amid a reshuffle of top state media officials.
The decision, approved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, comes days after mass demonstrations across Egypt calling to “save the revolution.”
Nihal Kamal was appointed head of state television replacing Nadia Halim, and Ismail El-Shishtawy El-Iraqi was appointed head of state radio, replacing Entisar Shalaby.
The decree also appointed former heads, El-Minawy, El-Sayad and Shalaby as consultants at ERTU.
A producer in the ERTU, who preferred to remain anonymous, claimed that the new appointments in the union are merely to appease people amid continued calls to “cleanse state media.”
"They are just doing it for the sake of change but they don’t represent real change," she said.
"The ERTU has 43,000 workers, reform means getting rid of all the people who aren’t productive and are corrupt … appointing six or seven isn’t reform," she continued.
"The ERTU needs three or four years to be reformed in order to regain peoples’ trust," she noted.
For the past few weeks, producers and television reporters working for state media joined hundreds in protesting in front of the ERTU building demanding the removal of top figures in institutions, saying they have for the most part lost peoples’ trust.
State media has been a mouthpiece of the ousted regime and was heavily criticized for spreading misinformation during the 18-day uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
On Thursday, Sharaf appointed new chairmen and editors-in-chief of state-owned newspapers, describing the move as a prelude to restructuring the press sector in accordance with the “spirit of change and in light of the important role of the media in supporting the values of freedom, democracy and social justice.”
Momtaz El-Qot, former editor-in-chief of Akhbar Al-Youm, Abdallah Kamal of Rose Al-Youssef and Osama Saraya of Al-Ahram were removed from their posts. Al-Ahram’s Abdel Meniem Saeid, MENA’s Abdallah Hassan, Rose Al-Youssef’s Karam Gabr and Abdallah Kamal were replaced, as was Al-Gomhuria’s Mohamed Ali Ibrahim, who had resigned about a month ago.
