Why are Egypt’s TV hosts migrating to Western screens?
Bassem Youssef, known as “Egypt’s Jon Stewart,” is no longer in Egypt, as he and other personalities like him are finding freedom of speech in the West.
Media hosts have been leaving the Egyptian and Arab screens and more are likely to leave in the future. Among the first to leave was satirist Bassem Youssef, whose show, "Al-Bernameg" ("The Program"), was canceled in 2014. The show had appeared on Saudi-owned MBC MASR.
In September 2014, famed media host Yosri Fouda called it quits for his program, "Akhir Kalam" ("The Last Word"), on the ONtv network — which also suspended "Gamea Mo’anath Salem," a television show that had been hosted by Reem Maged. After ONtv was fully acquired by Egyptian businessman Ahmed Abu Hashima, it also canceled the contract of Lebanese-British presenter Lilian Daoud in June. A few hours after she announced her show had been canceled, Egyptian security forces arrested and deported her, claiming her residency permit had expired.
Many celebrities have made comebacks, such as TV anchor Youssef al-Hosseini, whose ONtv program was temporarily suspended in April after he criticized the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. He resumed the same program in June.
TV anchor Jaber al-Qarmouty, whose ONtv contract was ended by Abu Hashima in June, signed a new contract with Al-Asema TV to host a new program with the same name as his old show, "Manchet" ("The Headline").
