Rumors about disagreements between the Journalists Syndicate and the Shura Council regarding selection criteria for editors-in-chief and heads of national journalist institutions are not true, syndicate head Mamdouh al-Wali said Monday.
In an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Wali said, "Ahmed Fahmy, Shura Council speaker, has responded to all the demands of the Journalists Syndicate. This includes our demand for the presence of eight journalist members in the committee that is choosing the editors-in-chief, alongside six Shura members."
The eight syndicate members will be divided into three major figures in journalism, two representatives from the Supreme Press Council, two professors of mass communication and one member of the national administrative institution, Wali explained.
"The Shura Council speaker has also responded to a number of other demands, particularly the abolition of a number of criteria rejected by the union, including that the editor-in-chief should have experience in financial matters, should not be suspected of ties with foreign countries and should provide samples of past work," he added.
“There are some editors-in-chief and board heads who refuse these changes. They are provoking crises that hinder the process of change, and prevent the selection of editors and board heads according to fair standards,” said Wali.
A number of activists have criticized the selection standards of the Shura Council.
Gamal Eid, the director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights, said, "We had hoped that the Shura Council would allow media institutions to choose their editors-in-chief, so that the nominations would come from the employees of the institutions themselves."
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
