Owners Database
Most of the owners are politically affiliated or are prominent businessmen, sometimes both combined. No woman is represented although former Investment Minister, Dalia Korshid, is the Chairwoman of Eagle Capital, an investment firm that owns Egyptian Media Group.
The inheritance of the Murabak era: media and businesses
Out of the eighteen identified individual owners, nine are prominent businessmen whose investments in media were favored by the Mubarak regime (A. Baghat, M. Abu Al Enein, T. Helmy, I. Al Moallem, S. Diab, N. Kauzman, N. Sawiris, R. Eward, A. Heikal). Most of them have investments in other industrial sectors.
Intelligence media: the takeover
The General Intelligence is linked to ten of the surveyed media outlets: six broadcast media outlets (Mega FM, Nagham FM, Shabee FM, Al Hayah, ON E, Extra News), two print outlets and their online version (Al Youm Al Sabea, Al Watan). Headed by General Abbas Kamel who was the former Chief of staff of President al-Sisi, it has already impacted some media owners either by buying shares of some of their companies through the Egyptian Media Group headed and co-owned by Tamer Morsi (M.Al-Amin), or by replacing them at their position of Chairman within the management of companies they owned (T. Ismaïl).
The State: owner and regulator
The State directly owns and manages fifteen out the forty one media outlets through the National Media Authority, the National Press Authority and the Nile Radio Company. With the adoption of a new set of laws to regulate the media sector in 2018, the President is also the Egyptian media main regulator as he can appoint the President and choose some members of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation.
Other owners include a member of the Saudi royal family (Waleed Al-Ibrahim), and a prominent businessman with interests in audience data research and advertising (Alaa El-Khaki). Some media outlets are also owned by journalists. However, this type of ownership account for a small percentage of the media market. Journalist Abdul Rahim Ali owns Al Bawaba media, he has ties with the United Arab Emirates, probably through which he can fund his media activity. Mada Masr is also owned by a group of independent journalists.
