State paper in dire finances

One of Egypt’s pioneering magazines, Rose al-Youssef, which is facing bankruptcy, asked Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to relieve some of its debts.

The magazine, which dates back to 1925, may disappear from circulation if the state does not provide financial assistance to salvage it from debts owed to insurance companies, publishers announced in a press conference on Tuesday.

Rose al-Youssef is also faced with late fees and fines for failing to deliver its payments on time.

Publishers expressed their concern that the Minister of Social Solidarity, Ghada Waly, has announced that some of the company’s funds are being seized in light of its inability to pay its debts.

This state-owned magazine has been suffering financially for several years. The daily Rose al-Youssef Newspaper, which was re-established in 2005 (the first newspaper by this name existed in the mid 1930s) has nearly disappeared from circulation since the 2011 uprising, due to low readership.

The paper is said to have incurred several millions pounds worth of losses annually, although the magazine is reportedly faring slightly better.

Named after a prominent Levantine-Egyptian actress, Rose al-Youssef used to be an independent and critical publication. It is widely recognized as Egypt’s flagship magazine, covering a wide variety of social, cultural, political and other issues on a national, regional and international level. However, the magazine lost much of its independence (though not its popularity) following its nationalization under Gamal Abdel Nasser.

It gradually became a mouthpiece for the ruling regime, particularly during Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year reign.

Following Mubarak’s ouster in the 2011 uprising, the newspaper’s staff launched protests and sit-ins to rid the publication of Mubarak loyalists in the upper echelons of the publication.

Since then, publishers, editors, journalists and columnists have taken a more critical stance towards Mubarak and his regime. However, Rose al-Youssef’s publications appear to be warming up to Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his presidential bid.

The Supreme Press Council, which was owned by the Shura Council, manages state-owned press in Egypt.

In May 2012, the council said the debts of the state press were at an estimated LE12 billion. Eight press institutions produce more than 50 publications. Al-Ahram, the flagship institution of the state, employs somewhere around 12,000 people.

State debt makes up nearly 90 percent of Egyptian GDP.