Egyptian TV presenter, Ramy Radwan: I’ll quit if I’m ever forced to give up my principles!

By Farah Zalat and Hussein Shaker

(Cairo, Egypt) - Ramy Radwan, TV presenter of El Beit Beitak and alumnus of The American University in Cairo (AUC), spoke at AUC about the challenges facing young media professionals on Monday, November 2, 2015.

Radwan was the guest speaker and around 50 people attended, ranging from current AUC students and faculty to AUC alumni. It was planned by The AUC Alumni Association, which strives to connect the AUC alumni with one another as well as with the university.

After a brief introduction of Radwan by Dr. Naila Hamdy, associate professor and chair of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department (JRMC), he began his speech by clarifying how he was choosing to speak in Arabic because his respect for his native language has significantly grown lately. He jokingly, yet informatively, mentioned some of the challenges he has faced in the field.

He reassured the audience by using a personal example that making a mistake will not be as severe if you take the right measures to correct it and apologize. He also talked about how hard it is now to stay grounded ethically, stating how this problem has become increasingly evident in the Egyptian media.

In 2015, The Guardian published an article focusing on the increasing number of Egyptian media professionals who are becoming “mouthpieces for the government.” Which further proves Radwan’s point about the ethics in Egyptian media.

Rawan Lasheen, a JRMC graduate who attended the event; stated, “The government restrictions they put on the media. To say this and say that, don’t say this and don’t say that,” is the biggest problem she is personally facing in the field.

During the interview with Radwan after the event, he advised, “If you stick to your own beliefs, you will always gain more than just doing like a chameleon” to further emphasize the importance of principles in media.

Radwan is on El Beit Beitak on TEN TV at 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Tune in to watch him apply his personal ethics as a TV presenter.