President Mohamed Morsy said Thursday that he supports the idea of forming a national council to oversee state and private media.
During the radio program “The people ask and the president answers,” Morsy said media figures should be more transparent in how they report on news, and should also be committed to a higher standard of ethics in journalism.
“I know that media figures support what’s in the best interests of the nation,” Morsy said, adding that he is sure the Egyptian media will attain a higher level of quality in the coming period, while still leaving room for different view points.
Figures in the Muslim Brotherhood have complained on several occasions about media bias against Islamists, particularly as the Brotherhood became prominent in the political arena after the January 2011 revolution.
Concerns regarding a Brotherhood stranglehold over media have risen after Brotherhood-member Salah Abdel Maqsoud was named the new information and telecommunications minister last Thursday. The Brotherhood-dominated Shura Council was also responsible for selecting the new editors-in-chief of state-run newspapers, despite objections from journalists and activists over the potential for bias in the selection process.
Edited translation from MENA
