Lebanon's Media Landscape
Lebanon has perhaps the most diverse and interesting English-language media of any Middle Eastern country.
That's good for U.S. observers, since this small country occupies a piece of geopolitically sensitive territory. The country borders on Israel and Syria. Its businessmen bridge the worlds of Arab and European business. Lebanon's Shiites have strong ties to Iran. As Lebanon seeks to shed Syrian dominance, democratic change is testing a fragile political system.
In recent weeks, the country has been preoccupied with the continuing U.N. investigation into the February assassination of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. The latest U.N. report points to the involvement of senior Syrian government officials.
Collectively, the Lebanese media provide quality coverage of a complex society.
Naharnet is the Web site of An Nahar, Beruit's leading daily newspaper, whose crusading editor Gebran Tueni was killed by a car bomb on Dec. 12, 2005. Tueni was among the first to denounce the Syrian occupation of the country. The site is newsy and opinionated in favor of the anti-Syrian views of its late editor but also conciliatory toward Hezbollah, the fundamentalist Shiite political party and militia.
Dar Al-Hayat, an influential pan-Arabic daily newspaper, is not exactly a Lebanese news site. The news operation has offices in Beirut and London. The print edition circulates throughout the region. Online, Dar Al Hayat commentators represent mainstream Arabic thinking. They are anti-Zionist and generally critical, though occasionally hopeful, about America's role in the world.
Another spirited Beirut news site is the Daily Star, which doggedly defends freedom of the press. The Daily Star has perhaps the strongest ties to American readers. Editor Rami Khouri writes frequently on Middle Eastern issues for The Washington Post and other U.S. publications. Opinions editor Michael Young is also a contributor to Slate. The editorial line is diversely liberal, anti-Syrian, and sometimes disillusioned about U.S. policy in the region.
On the other side of the political spectrum is Al Manar, which presents a fundamentalist Muslim point of view. The site and a partner TV station are run by Hezbollah. The editorial line is generally, but not always, pro-Syrian. The United States is portrayed negatively, and the editors usually put 'Israel' in quotes to underscore the view that they do not accept the legitimacy of the Jewish State. Al Manar provides close coverage of the sporadic battles between Hezbollah and Israeli forces along Lebanon's southern border.
The New Media kid on the block is Ya Libnan. The site started as Web presence for the massive street demonstrations that took place after Hariri's assassination and has evolved into a daily news site with cosmopolitan liberal democratic politics.
"In a world often dominated by government, politician and corporation influenced media, Ya Libnan is free from the chains of propaganda, censorship and control," the editors claim.
Monday Morning is a political newsweekly that is strong on insider detail and Middle East political analysis.
As-Safir is a popular daily available only in Arabic.
See a special multimedia report on Lebanon's evolving political system produced by washingtonpost.com's Pierre Kattar. Post reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Shadid will be online at noon ET today to answer questions about Lebanon.
By Jefferson Morley |
December 21, 2005; 9:00 AM ET
| Category:
Mideast
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Posted by: Selwyn James | December 21, 2005 12:44 PM
So much for Lebanon and most of the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan included.
Cancel my reservations!
Posted by: Harry S. Hochberg | December 21, 2005 03:32 PM
My flock and I are choking on the overkill of Middle East newss, now it's the Lebanese press and yesterday, Sharon's diet.
By the way, let's put Sharon on Mt. Rushmore (a statue, not him physically) once and for all and move on to proximate bad actors such as Kirchner, Lula, Fidel, Chávez and Evo Morales.
Help!
Posted by: Rev. Roderick Longstaff | December 21, 2005 03:38 PM
"Looks as though diversity of opinion and freedom of the press is in healthier shape in Lebanon than here in the United States, where a handful of huge corporations -- with interests in protecting and advancing Republican policies favorable to big business -- control the vast majority of the news we read in newspapers and magazines and see on TV.
Perhaps one day, our press will be as free as Lebanon's."
That of course is why everyone hates the Liberal press that is the mouthpeice of the democratic party.
Posted by: Duck | December 21, 2005 05:21 PM
Jefferson,
I know that bloggers are not considered "mainstream media" but don't forget to include the Lebanese blogosphere as a great source of diverse opnions and analyses. Lebanese bloggers are some of the most intuitive and intellectual writers in the Arab world. The quality of their material rivals that of the English-language sites you mentioned. I think they're a better reflection of Lebanon and Lebanese attitudes--and they are incredibly diverse: Shia, Sunnis, Christians, and Druze.
Here's a site with links to most Lebanese blogs: http://www.openlebanon.org
Some of the best blogs are:
http://beirutbeltway.blogspot.com
http://beirut2bayside.blogspot.com
http://lebanesebloggers.blogspot.com
http://lebop.blogspot.com
http://beirutspring.blogspot.com
Posted by: Andrea | December 21, 2005 06:34 PM
Jefferson,
As one poster mentioned, the diversity is simply a reflection of Lebanon's unique makeup.
Despite the fact that Lebanon is considered an Arab state, one should be aware of the fact that Lebanon is quite unique in the Arab world. Many commentators and even political analysts attempt, out of naivety and ignorance, to project Lebanon on other Arab countries.
There is no other Arab state with such a diverse religious makeup (pretty much half christian, half muslim). In fact, no Western state has as much religious diversity as Lebanon has.
Not to mention that Lebanon is the only Arab country in which a portion of its population (South Lebanese Army) joined Israel and fought along its sides against their own country Lebanon.
Lebanese media these days is highly charged against Syria. Their analysis of other Middle Eastern issues might be tinted by that.
I think one should to keep that in mind.
I've talked to Lebanese who support Bush only because of Syria.
Posted by: Karim | December 23, 2005 12:45 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Looks as though diversity of opinion and freedom of the press is in healthier shape in Lebanon than here in the United States, where a handful of huge corporations -- with interests in protecting and advancing Republican policies favorable to big business -- control the vast majority of the news we read in newspapers and magazines and see on TV.
Perhaps one day, our press will be as free as Lebanon's.