By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    IMF reaches staff-level deal with Somalia
    IMF reaches staff-level deal with Somalia
    March 21, 2023
    HDB allocates EGP 3.85bn to sustainable financing in 2022: Chairperson
    HDB allocates EGP 3.85bn to sustainable financing in 2022: Chairperson
    March 21, 2023
    Cooperation between MSMEDA, JICA to boost competitiveness of MSMEs
    Cooperation between MSMEDA, JICA to boost competitiveness of MSMEs
    March 21, 2023
    SCZONE discusses cooperation with American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce
    SCZONE discusses cooperation with American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce
    March 21, 2023
    EFG Hermes concludes valU’s 4th issuance in a securitized bond worth EGP 856.5m
    EFG Hermes concludes valU’s 4th issuance in a securitized bond worth EGP 856.5m
    March 21, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Shoukry confirms Egypt's full support to COP28 in UAE
    Shoukry confirms Egypt’s full support to COP28 in UAE
    March 21, 2023
    Egypt’s GAH, WHO discuss cooperation in health sector
    Egypt’s GAH, WHO discuss cooperation in health sector
    March 21, 2023
    Egypt, Turkey are not competitors in Libya: FM Cavusoglu 
    Egypt, Turkey are not competitors in Libya: FM Cavusoglu 
    March 21, 2023
    Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China is ready to expand cooperation with Russia during his meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
    Xi says China to expand cooperation with Russia in trade, investment, supply chain, mega projects, energy, hi-tech
    March 21, 2023
    Egypt’s Irrigation Minister heads to New York for UN water meeting 
    Egypt’s Irrigation Minister heads to New York for UN water meeting 
    March 21, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    March 15, 2023
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    March 12, 2023
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    February 15, 2023
    British International Investment invests $4.5bn in 700 businesses across Africa: Sherine Shohdy
    February 15, 2023
    Valeo has invested around €0.5bn in Egypt over the past 10 years: CEO
    Valeo has invested around €0.5bn in Egypt over the past 10 years: CEO
    December 27, 2022
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: I’m not a journalist – but the least I can do is salute them
Share
Notification
Latest News
IMF reaches staff-level deal with Somalia
IMF reaches staff-level deal with Somalia
Business
HDB allocates EGP 3.85bn to sustainable financing in 2022: Chairperson
HDB allocates EGP 3.85bn to sustainable financing in 2022: Chairperson
Business
Shoukry confirms Egypt's full support to COP28 in UAE
Shoukry confirms Egypt’s full support to COP28 in UAE
Politics Egypt
Egypt’s GAH, WHO discuss cooperation in health sector
Egypt’s GAH, WHO discuss cooperation in health sector
Politics Egypt
American University in Cairo (AUC) launches Excellence Scholarship Program to support outstanding students
AUC launches Excellence Scholarship Program to support outstanding students
Society in depth
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Opinion > I’m not a journalist – but the least I can do is salute them
Opinion

I’m not a journalist – but the least I can do is salute them

H.A. Hellyer
Last updated: 2014/02/04 at 2:59 PM
By H.A. Hellyer 8 Min Read
Share
Dr. H.A. Hellyer
Dr. H.A. Hellyer
SHARE
Dr. H.A. Hellyer
Dr. H.A. Hellyer

“One of the objects of a newspaper is to understand the popular feelings and give expression to it; another is to arouse among the people certain desirable elements; and the third is fearlessly to expose popular defects.”
Mahatma Ghandi

I’m not a journalist. My father was a journalist, on and off, for around two decades. As a child, I spent time wandering in and out of the pressroom. I remember the first time I saw an Apple Mac computer: it was a massive clunky thing that was used solely because it was easier to do spread sheets on in the pressroom.

But I’m not a journalist. I write analyses, and I pen commentary. The irony at the moment is that many who used to write commentary and analyses no longer do. They feel dejected: they invested their hearts and souls into the Egyptian revolution, and have seen it been used and abused so many times in the past three years. So, they’ve decided to give themselves a well-earned (and for many of them, it is definitely very well earned) break.

But they’re not journalists either. You see, journalists don’t really get to have those breaks. They just keep at it. I’ve been trying to convince several of the best journalists I know in Cairo to take a holiday, and just disconnect from the story – if only to recharge their batteries. They can’t. They get to the point of looking through flights and almost, almost pressing the “book” button online. Then, they stop, and think, “But what if something happens?” They have to be witnesses. That’s their job.

It’s not my job. I have a constant running argument with one journalist I know in Cairo who insists on taking risks in order to get the story covered. Each time I shout at her on the phone to take better care of herself (which, in my world, means staying home), she meekly responds, “But, it’s my job.” I retort, “I don’t care” – because my job, as her friend, is to be concerned about her wellbeing. I’m not a journalist.

Some of my journalist friends are far better off than others – but they’re all in a vulnerable state. Some of them work for TV networks that do not really care about their well being and put them in the most vulnerable of positions, while they sit hundreds and thousands of miles away. Some of them work for other networks that provide them with the gold standard in safety and protection. But they all work in the knowledge that, actually, they might all go out one day to do their jobs, and be injured – or worse. I don’t work in that frame of mind. I’m not a journalist.

I’m not a journalist, so I don’t have to suffer the incessant squeals of bantam trolls and little sprites that argue on social media, “It’s time for you journalists to leave Cairo”. The “War on Terror” narrative, it seems, brings out the worst in people – and the best in them too. The worst decide to try to make xenophobia somehow respectable, and remind us of the old adage that “nationalism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”. The best of them remind us that a nation’s values are never more put to the test than when the nation is under pressure. One of those values is the freedom to report, without the fear of imprisonment, harassment or insecurity. There are none who feel the effects of that freedom being curtailed than journalists. But I’m not a journalist.

I’m not a journalist – so I don’t have the same sort of instinctive reflex reaction when I see the poor, shabby, utterly unethical attempts at journalism being promoted. Professional journalists see the likes of half-truths, promoting fascism or some sort of partisan neo-religious bigotry being passed off as journalism, and get angry. Their anger is not just for themselves, as such work inevitably brings disrepute to their vocation and their calling – it is for the public, who invariably begin to treat such diatribes as even partially authentic. The public has a right to know the truth – and when pseudo-reportage takes that right, and abuses it to spew an agenda, it has consequences that are now only all too clear.

I’m not a journalist, so I don’t wake up in the morning and wonder, “Am I next? Am I the one who will be put on some list that will describe me as somehow an accomplice to terrorism or treason? Am I the one who will have ‘evidence’ shown against me on some talk show, like Peter Greste and Mohammed Fadel Fahmy, and the ‘evidence’ will be my notepad, camera and laptop? Am I the one whose crime will be, actually, just trying to find out the truth, and show it to the public? Am I the one who will be imprisoned and detained for news-related offences, even though under the new constitution, that’s supposed to be illegal?” But I’m not a journalist.

I’m not a journalist. I don’t walk into my place of work and think, “So, how long do we have left, before they shut us down? How long is it before some spurious accusation is made against us, and in the course of ‘investigating’ us, we’re shut down? Do we have weeks? Months? Or will it just come out of nowhere?” I’m not a journalist, so I probably wouldn’t answer those questions with a cheerful but defiant demeanour. But journalists do: “Yeah, they’ll probably close us down at some point. Oh well. As for us, most of us love the place, and we love the job. We manage to get by, even though we suspect that at some point it will soon be over.”

I don’t have that spirit that I see in the faces of those that work at places like Mada Masr or Daily News Egypt. It’s a spirit that, to this day, demands on being true to the calling of their vocation – to speak truth to power, and be respectful of the public’s right to know what happens in their country.

I’m not a journalist. But the least I can do is salute them, stand by them, applaud them, and give them whatever support I can. The very least all of us can do is precisely that. Otherwise, it’s not their loss – it’s our loss, and our shame.

You Might Also Like

Egypt, Turkey are not competitors in Libya: FM Cavusoglu 

Climate change: farmers in Ghana can’t predict rainfall anymore, changing how they work

Kenzaburō Ōe: a writer of real humanity and the real Japan

Is Norse god Odin older than previously thought? An expert analyses new evidence

20 years on, George W. Bush’s promise of democracy in Iraq and Middle East falls short

TAGGED: Daily News Egypt, DNE, Egypt, H.A. Hellyer, journalism, journalists
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
By H.A. Hellyer
Dr H A Hellyer, a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, is a Cairo-based specialist on Arab affairs, and relations between the Muslim world and the west. Fellow at ISPU, he was previously senior practice consultant at Gallup, and senior research fellow at Warwick University. Find him online @hahellyer and www.hahellyer.com .
Previous Article Egypt summons Qatar diplomat to demand wanted Islamists
Next Article Morsi trial to continue on Wednesday
7 Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

IMF reaches staff-level deal with Somalia
IMF reaches staff-level deal with Somalia
Business
HDB allocates EGP 3.85bn to sustainable financing in 2022: Chairperson
HDB allocates EGP 3.85bn to sustainable financing in 2022: Chairperson
Business
Shoukry confirms Egypt's full support to COP28 in UAE
Shoukry confirms Egypt’s full support to COP28 in UAE
Politics Egypt
Egypt’s GAH, WHO discuss cooperation in health sector
Egypt’s GAH, WHO discuss cooperation in health sector
Politics Egypt
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?