Egypt
The Egyptian press is one of the most influential and widely-read in the region, while Egyptian TV and film industry supplies much of the Arab-speaking world with shows from its Media Production City, an enterprise launched with a view to creating the "Hollywood of the East". Press laws which allow prison sentences for libel and "insults" and an ongoing state of emergency have encouraged self-censorship on sensitive issues. Egypt has two state-run national TV channels and six regional channels. It is a key player in satellite TV; the Egyptian Space Channels are widely watched across the Arab-speaking world. The channels enjoy the support of the country's huge program-making industry and have access to a large archive of Egyptian films and TV programs. Egypt was the first Arab nation to have its own satellite, Nilesat 101. The country's first private TV stations came on air in 2001, broadcasting via satellite. The state monopoly on radio broadcasting was broken with the arrival of private, commercial music stations in 2003.
Press: The most influential Egyptian daily is Al-Ahram, the oldest newspaper in the Arab world; others include Al-Akhbar and several weekly and periodical publications. Al-Ahahi and Al-Wafd are opposition publications. The Middle East Observer is the main weekly English-language business paper. Al-Ahram Weekly is also published in English.
TV: State-run Egypt Radio Television Union (ERTU) operates domestic networks; It also operates satellite networks such as Nile TV International, which broadcats some programs in English and Hebrew; Dream TV, a privately-owned satellite network, operates Dream 1 targeting young viewers and Dream 2, an entertainment channel.
Radio: Egypt Radio Television Union (ERTU) operates eight national networks and external services Radio Cairo and Voice of the Arabs; Nile FM and Nogoum FM are private stations. Nile FM broadcasts Western pop while Nogoum FM broadcasts Arabic pop.
