When Akhbar al-Adab (Literature News) was founded by a group of intellectuals in 1993, few of its journalists could have known that 20 years later they would be celebrating being the only cultural newspaper continuously published in two decades in Egypt. And now without an editor-in-chief.
The battles fought by Akhbar Al-Adab journalists against their editor in chiefs went hand in hand with the other battles fought by the Egyptian revolution, and today the newspaper is issued without an editor-in-chief.
Two decades in media
When Akhbar al-Adab (Literature News) was founded by a group of intellectuals in 1993, few of its journalists could have known that 20 years later they would be celebrating being the only cultural newspaper continuously published in two decades in Egypt. And now without an editor-in-chief.
The battles fought by Akhbar Al-Adab journalists against their editor in chiefs went hand in hand with the other battles fought by the Egyptian revolution, and today the newspaper is issued without an editor-in-chief.
Two decades in media
The cultural magazine has remained insulated from financial problems because it is affiliated to national press agency, Akhbar el-Yom. It has become a Pan-Arab cultural outlet thanks to its parent organization’s efficient distribution network.
The magazine’s cofounder and longest standing editor, Gamal Ghitani, stepped down in 2011 due to health issues, having shaped its character as a unique cultural publication that managed to maintain independence from its parent organization and also succeeded in building bridges with intellectuals throughout the Arab world.
Much of the success is due to the contributors however, cultural journalists renowned in Egypt and in the Arab world. Most of them are novelists and creative writers, who have won many national and international awards.
Changes after the revolution
Following the January 25 Revolution, co-founder Ghitani stepped down. The Akhbar al-Adab journalists then staged a revolt against Ghitani’s successor, Mustapha Abdullah, because of his “limited editorial capabilities”. The journalists went on indefinite strike, demanding Abdullah’s dismissal and nominating a new list of candidates the job. The pressure paid off and Abla Roweni was appointed the new editor-in-chief.
Roweni’s term in office from May 2011 to September 2012 – concurrently with the reign of the Military Council – witnessed notable developments in Akhbar Al-Adab’s form and content, which was evident in a highly artistic cover and page design and excellent coverage of the events.
Many Akhbar Al-Adab covers were raised as posters during the anti-military demonstrations. The magazine tried to present a critical analysis of the official, media and public rhetoric and consistently condemned the violations committed at the time.
Brotherhood’s reign
But Akhbar Al-Adab’s tone did not go down well with the Morsi Administration and Roweni was quickly dismissed on the pretext that new rules were in place for selecting national newspapers’ editors-in-chief. Roweni apparently failed to meet the new conditions. So in a blink of an eye, Magdi Afifi, a total unknown in the cultural arena, became editor-in-chief of the most renowned cultural publication in Egypt.
Having just returned to the country after 25 years of working in Oman – which was a clear violation of the new rules, but overlooked by the new regime – Afifi insisted from day one on lowering the freedom ceiling set by the newspaper during the previous period, transforming Akhbar Al-Adab into a second-tier, culturally shallow and a politically and creatively conservative publication.
Afifi’s editorials frequently put an image of Khairat el-Shater, the Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy supreme guide, on the cover, calling for his appointment as prime minister “since he is capable of resurrecting Egypt’s cultural spirit.”
In another leading article, Afifi rhetorically asked: “Why do the enlightening ideas of Hassan al-Banna transcend space and time?”
Afifi’s editorial blunders continued when he claimed in a piece that Karl Marx returned to the practice of religion in the last stages of his life and that he came closer to Islam.
The gap between Afifi and his journalists widened as a result and the journalists began an indefinite strike last January. After the events of June 30, the journalists kicked out Afifi who went on a 2-week vacation and they assumed the newspaper’s affairs collectively. They have managed to publish two issues so far, the first was under the caption ‘Salvation.’ The newspaper is now run collectively, without an editor-in-chief.
Mirror of the revolution
The story of Akhbar Al-Adab is unprecedented in Egypt’s national press history and it is expressive of the revolution’s ups and downs. And the experiment conducted by journalists was a bold move to free national newspapers from dependence on the country’s ruling regimes. Now, the experiment’s maturity and whether or not it can survive is subject to the outcome of the revolution.
