Morsi, The Military and The Media

The Country's New Civilian Administration Is Fighting To Establish Its Authority In A New Media Landscape.



Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's president, has been in the job for less than a month, but has already found himself caught up in a battle with the country’s state media. The power struggle between the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and President Morsi is being played out in the front pages of the country’s newspapers and on its television screens.

Private media outlets, which have taken off since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, are growing in numbers and becoming more opinionated than ever. State-owned media meanwhile have been accused of favouring the military over their new leader.

In this week’s News Divide, we look at the stand-off between Egypt’s new civilian administration and a state-owned media that continues to be influenced by remnants of the old regime.

This week’s News Bytes: In Moscow, authorities charge a former policeman in connection with the murder of prominent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya; WikiLeaks claims victory in a court battle against a US financial firm that imposed a blockade against the whistle-blowing site; and an Ethiopian court hands out tough sentences against six journalists in what critics are calling a blow to press freedom in the country.