A source at the Ministry of Information, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the military council and the government have secretly tasked certain media personalities with forming a National Media Council to control the media during the transition period.
The source also said that the Ministry of Information is devising regulations and frameworks for the council to impose on the media. Certain media personalities have rejected the initiative, saying this would produce a “mutilated” council that only speaks for the government.
The source added that certain international organizations would be invited to take part in the initiative, which would be officially announced in a few days.
“Such a council would be a knife to our throats," said Farida al-Shobashy, who has resigned from the Radio and Television Union’s council of trustees. “It would be directly controlled by the military."
“The military council is thereby trying to promote itself to rule the country,” warned Mahmoud Khalil, professor of mass communications.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
