Egypt's Brotherhood TV

With 15 minutes until the talk show The Democratic Race goes live at the Muslim Brotherhood’s new television station on the outskirts of Cairo, host Sherif Mansour chats genially with tonight’s guest, a parliamentarian from the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. Producer Essam Fouad surveys the scene with his arms crossed. Satisfied, he leaves the set with a cheerful caution: “Just don’t go off the script.”

Today’s show, which airs at 6:40 p.m., is about the role of parliament members now that reasonably free elections have replaced the puppet assembly of the old regime. For an hour, the parliamentarian takes every opportunity to insult the former ruling party of Hosni Mubarak, the fallen strongman, while highlighting the achievements of Muslim Brotherhood politicians—namely, himself. It’s one of a multitude of new programs on the new Misr25 channel that broadcasts 24 hours a day. (The name means Egypt 25, and the number refers to Jan. 25, the day of the first protests against the Mubarak regime.)