Cablegate: As Promised, Egyptian Presidential Campaign Media

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 006989

SIPDIS

NEA/PD FOR FRANK FINVER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPAO KMDR OPRC EG
SUBJECT: AS PROMISED, EGYPTIAN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN MEDIA
COVERAGE MORE OPEN AND BALANCED

REF: A. CAIRO 6508
B. CAIRO 6654

1. Summary: Media coverage for Egypt's September 7
presidential election campaign largely lived up to Minister
of Information Anas El Fekki's promise to be more open and
balanced. While print and television the latter, without
a doubt, the most influential medium in Egypt covered all
candidates, the bulk of press and TV coverage focused on
President Mubarak. With half of the Egyptian population
illiterate, newspaper photos and TV coverage had a greater
impact than print stories in determining how the majority
of Egyptians viewed the presidential campaign. PA contacts
remarked that competition from pan-Arab satellite channels
and Minister El Fekki's promise helped to ensure better TV
coverage than in years past. Nonetheless, contacts also
pointed to the lack of candidate debates on Egyptian TV
(ETV) as evidence that media coverage still has room to
improve. End summary.

2. Minister of Information (and President Mubarak's media
advisor) Anas El Fekki promised fair and balanced media
coverage for all candidates during Egypt's presidential
electoral campaign. Most pro-government print and all ETV
leading coverage focused on the beginning of a "new,
democratic process" in Egypt. Newspaper and magazine
photos and TV images undoubtedly played a large role in
shaping the Egyptian public's perception of the
presidential campaign, given Egypt's 50 percent illiteracy
rate. On balance, Mubarak was covered with larger photos
in lead articles and his image appeared on the front page
of pro-government publications more than other candidates.

3. Pro-government daily Al-Akhbar (circulation: 800,000)
was the most balanced pro-government publication. Its
editorial page repeatedly encouraged the public to vote and
printed all the candidates' photos and their ballot symbols
on September 7, in order to help citizens vote. While pro-
government media coverage was more balanced than ever and
the independent and opposition press were allowed to
publish freely, the pro-government media that dominates
Egypt's airwaves and newsstands still devoted the majority
of its coverage to President Mubarak. While leading pro-
government daily Al-Ahram (circulation: 750,000) used its
feature pages throughout the campaign to quote pro-Mubarak
"experts" who often refuted opposition candidates' opinions
and promises, the newspaper did interview and profile Ayman
Nour's wife in its August 20 edition.

4. ETV coverage focused on campaign rallies, candidate
statements, and the beginning of a new democratic "era,"
while talk shows hosted guests who emphasized the openness
and fairness of the democratic process in Egypt. ETV
coverage largely avoided controversial topics and
discussions of candidates' platforms. Mubarak granted an
hour-long ETV interview on September 4 that largely avoided
confrontational questions, although Mubarak was asked to
justify Egypt's Emergency Law, with Mubarak claiming that
it was "an instrument to combat terrorism" in Egypt. Al-
Wafd party candidate Noaman Gomaa appeared on the popular
ETV program Al-Bayt Baytak ("Make Yourself at Home") on
August 21 praising elections as "a good experience" for
Egyptians (ref A). Al-Wafd ran TV commercials for Gomaa's
candidacy on ETV, with the party's slogan "We've had
enough!" included. However, limited financial resources
prevented most candidates from airing ads. Several PA
contacts commented that the competition from pan-Arab
satellite TV and Minister El Fekki's promise helped to
ensure that ETV coverage was more open than ever before.

5. What government-controlled ETV might have lacked, pan-
Arab satellite channels Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera tried to
provide. Al-Jazeera (which according to some polls, has
around 40 percent of Egyptian TV viewership) devoted much
of its coverage to the judiciary's attempts to monitor the
elections and the debate over international monitoring.
Al-Jazeera interviewed and profiled Ayman Nour on September
3. During the interview, Nour criticized the large amounts
of money he claimed Mubarak had spent on his campaign and
pointed to his own experience in parliamentary elections as
making him qualified to be president.

6. In contrast to the more balanced coverage in most pro-
government publications, leading opposition newspapers Al-
Wafd and Al-Ghad devoted coverage to only its parties'
candidates Noaman Gomaa and Ayman Nour, respectively.
Independent dailies Nahdet Masr (circulation: 50,000) and
Al-Masry Al-Youm (circulation: 50,000) continued to
distinguish themselves for fair and balanced coverage
throughout the campaign, with one Egyptian NGO that
analyzed media coverage characterizing the papers' coverage
as "unprecedented" (ref B).

7. Established weblogs such as "The Arabist" (Arabist.net)
and "Big Pharaoh" (bigpharaoh.blogspot.com), which have
always been critical of Mubarak's government, continued
their criticism, highlighting opposition protest rallies
and an alleged NDP attempt to censor a Ayman Nour campaign
ad. (Note: Almost all websites and weblogs devoted to
commentary on Egypt are critical of Mubarak and his
government. End note.) Popular news websites such as
Masrawy (www.masrawy.com) and Good News 4 Me
(www.gn4me.com) presented mostly matter-of-fact reporting,
with most coverage devoted to the debate over international
monitoring, the judges' attempt to monitor elections, and
the various candidates' platforms.

8. A PA contact offered the following perspective on
Egyptian media coverage of the campaign: "It has been a
mirror of the democratic process itself in Egypt a
positive step forward, but there is still a long way to
go." Coverage was compared by another PA contact to "soup
without spice," noting that while there was some substance
to the coverage, without debates and candidates' "mud
slinging," there was little that could hold the public's
attention. The lack of candidate debates and the reported
ETV ban on candidates criticizing one another resulted in
fewer 'fireworks' than might appear in an American or
European electoral campaign. However, the Egyptian media
exposed the public to new faces and a new democratic
process. Nonetheless, with Egypt's illiteracy rate at 50
percent and much of the public at the mercy of ETV for
information, much work remains to be done for Egypt to have
a media establishment than can credibly cover an election
campaign.

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