CAIRO: Egyptian journalists are subject to slander by their counterparts, a report by the Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies revealed.
According to Doaa Qassem, executive secretary of the institute, some journalists and chief editors insult fellow journalists in their columns, which she said is antithetical to journalistic codes of ethics.
Qassem said that the institution was prompted to conduct the study after Rose El-Youssef attacked Adel Hammouda, chief editor of Al-Fajr newspaper, when he published a photo of slain Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a short dress.
The study ranked Rose El-Youssef daily the first in terms of its abuses against other newspapers and journalists by 35.68 percent, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.
The report cited Abdallah Kamal, chief editor of Rose El-Youssef newspaper, referring to his column on April 11, 2007, where he insulted prominent journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal.
Al-Watani Al-Youm newspaper came in second with 13.64 percent, followed by Rose El-Youssef weekly at 11.57 percent.
The study charted the methods and regulations according to which they considered a journalist in violation. The institute monitored over 24 newspapers and magazines on a daily basis for a year, and noted the personal biases, verbal abuse and insults on the pages of the publications.
Ironically, the study’s results did not sit well with Hammouda himself.
He did not think that the campaign launched against him by Rose El-Youssef was a good enough reason to conduct this study, claiming that this is not the first or only time, and that Rose El-Youssef had been attacking him for years.
“Not all journalists insult each other, Hammouda said, “only a few of them do and they are mostly journalists in state-run newspapers.
He also questioned the study’s results, saying that the insults are generally harsher than those mentioned in the study.
Emad El-Sayed, a reporter for Al-Masry Al-Youm, said the report was not 100 percent objective
“It was obvious that the report opposed [state-run] press and was siding with independent journalists. This was clear its opposition to Rose El-Youssef and its leaning towards Al-Masry Al-Youm, he told Daily News Egypt.
While the report condemns journalists’ attacking one another, El-Sayed believes that a little criticism can be healthy.
“Criticizing one another as journalists is acceptable as long as it is appropriate and non-abusive whether personally or professionally, Qassem said.
“We do not press charges against journalists or newspapers, we only alert them to help them avoid that on the long run. Every journalist owes his readers honesty, and clarity, Qassem added.
“A journalist vows to be unbiased and responsible for every word he or she writes and to inform those who depend on the newspaper for news, Qassem concluded.s siding with the independent journalists. This was clear it its opposition to Rose El-Youssef and its leaning towards Al-Masry Al-Youm, he told Daily News Egypt.
While the report condemns journalists attacking one another, El-Sayed believes that a little criticism can be healthy.
“Criticizing one another as journalists is acceptable as long as it is appropriate and non-abusive whether personally or professionally, Qassem said.
“We do not press charges against journalists or newspapers, we only alert them to help them avoid that on the long run. Every journalist owes his readers honesty, and clarity, Qassem added.
“A journalist vows to be unbiased and responsible for every word he or she writes and to inform those who depend on the newspaper, Qassem concluded.
