Private TV Under Threat

In a move very similar to Mubarak's attempts to quell the 2011 uprising by cutting off the internet, last night Mohamed Morsi illegally removed several members of the board in charge  of Media City – the broadcasting hub for most of Egypt's private TV channels including CBC and OnTV.

Members removed represented a number of private channels and were all immediately replaced by Islamist supporters of Morsi.

The chances of Morsi cutting off private channels all together (as has been rumoured over the last few days) increased dramatically when, according to El Watan news agency,  this message  was sent just minutes ago to each of the private networks stating that the government retained the right to shut them down without having to obtain a court order.