02 February 2011
BEIRUT: Lebanese television station Al-Jadeed faced being taken off the air in Egypt Tuesday after Egypt’s second biggest satellite provider, NileSat, threatened to cut off coverage.
NileSat made the warning after Al-Jadeed suspended regular broadcasting Tuesday, replacing its programs by Al-Jazeera coverage of the Egyptian protests. Live feeds from Al-Jazeera first appeared on air at around 5 p.m. with Al-Jadeed announcing it was interrupting its scheduled programming out of “solidarity with Al-Jazeera television and the Egyptian revolution.”
But, following threats from NileSat issued around 7 p.m. and reportedly also levied against the National Broadcasting Network (NBN), Al-Jadeed decided to review its policy.
“We were expecting this to happen and while we have decided to continue showing our support for Al-Jazeera and the Egyptian people, we will now be taking a different editorial approach,” Karma Khayyat, deputy news desk director at the station, told The Daily Star.
Instead of broadcasting the unadulterated Al-Jazeera feed, Al-Jadeed will now use footage from the Qatari-funded network but will supplement it with personal analysis to conform to NileSat demands.
“They have the satellite and they have the power to take us off the air with one button and then no one will be able to air anything anymore,” Khayyat said.
The Egyptian authorities ordered satellite providers to stop broadcasting Qatari-funded Al-Jazeera Sunday, but the station has since found ways to skirt the official ban.
“Al-Jazeera is a colleague, they are one of us and what is happening to them could happen to any broadcaster,” said Khayyat. “We have to stand together to show that it should not be allowed to happen to any media outlet.”
The pro-March 8 coalition station Al-Jadeed is best-known for its Lebanon coverage but also has an unspecified amount of viewers in Egypt. Journalists covering the protest, raging since Jan. 25, have experienced widespread intimidation by security services with telecommunications services also witnessing major disruptions. – Simona Sikimic
Copyright The Daily Star 2011.
