The situation on freedom of press and publication in Lebanon

Policy analysis by Annabelle Ghanem, Staff Writer & Sarah El-Abd, Editor-in-Chief

May 5th, 2020

In the year 1993, a new internationally recognized date was placed on the world calendar. A day of solidarity and respect towards those who provide us with knowledge of our surroundings, granting us the valuable gift of awareness, and providing us with the ability to make factual decisions within the course of our journeys. In 1993 the United Nations’ General Assembly established May 3rd as the international World Press Freedom Day, an essential win for reporters, as well the human race, in the long-standing battle against fake news, media coercion, legalized silencing and judicial prosecution, and much more forms of journalism oppression. Till this day, the press remains our greatest ally, as well as our shrewdest enemy. They are tasked with accumulating worldwide knowledge, and building that glass wall between those who rule and those who are ruled. With that being said, our reliance on journalism, reporters, and media outlets leaves us unconsciously dependent, for with the absence of these tools of knowledge consumption, we would be left blind amidst our world’s unexpected turns of events. Nevertheless, so much power given to one sector of our survival has surely led to a tiresome amount of injustice.  With governments and corporations all over the world putting in great efforts to steer the media in directions that fit their political agenda, manipulate facts, threatening the freedom of reporters, suppressing world changing media coverages, and most importantly, stripping the rights of journalists, and preventing them from doing their sole duty as the watch dogs of our world. 

As an independent Lebanese newspaper, we pride ourselves with a national constitution that stipulates “the freedom to express one’s opinion orally or in writing, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, and the freedom of association shall be guaranteed within the limits established by law.” under article 13. Yet, as an intellectual newspaper we also know it is our responsibility to question, and explore, what those limits established by the law are - both in theory and in practice.

The freedom of press in Lebanon is quite simple, as set out by the Press Law of 1962 ( amended by legislative decree in 1977, and by law in 1994), and although various fundamental freedoms are promised according to the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Lebanon ranked 102 nonetheless.
Many international viewers often perceive Lebanon’s spread of press freedom to not be as confined as the rest of the Arab world, and to a certain extent, that very well is the case.  According to the 2020 worldwide Press Freedom Index, Lebanon is ranked amongst the bottom 80 nations with oppressed press freedom, a low slot, given due to the infamous mixture of political parties and media outlets. Although Lebanon remains the highest ranked state within the Arab region, corruption and manipulation is still a prominent force within the country’s journalism, directly affecting the knowledge consumed by national and international viewers.

Although the freedom of press is simple in legal principle in Lebanon, there lies complexities, or rather the corruption, within the Ministry of Information and the publishing industry.

According to the Lebanese Press Law, it is forbidden to issue a press publication without first obtaining a license. This is a normal practice world wide. Every publication must be granted a license to legally publish. Although this practice is common world wide and is a fundamental element that allows for the freedom of press, in Lebanon everything is different. We may have the same procedures and rights guaranteed fundamentally and constitutionally like the rest of the world, yet the procedure has become one of the various constituents that contributes to the fundamental corruption in the country.

In theory, the procedure of obtaining a license is primary, apply at the Ministry of Information, specify if your content is political or non-political. Wait for response. This remains the current procedure in 2020, should you be a non-political publication. Should you be a political publication, the process is drastically different - if not non-existent. Getting this license has become a privileged ordeal, and has ultimately crushed any idea of ‘freedom’ of press. The license has gained the label of an “imtiyaz” license, and lies only in the hands of the powerful, rich, and/or politically strategic.

The current Minister of Information, Dr. Manal A.Samad NAJD, during a speech in late April 2020

The process of obtaining the license is a special concession, although legally any publication house may request a license at any time, as set out by the Press law. Historically, what has occurred is that under various Ministers of Information and under various Presidents/Cabinets, this option has been put on halt. Back then, the government would close the door to new license applications for daily newspapers whenever it was not political strategic or beneficial to keep doors open for such. The doors for applying for a license for a political publication have been closed. And they have been closed since 1953. Yes, over 70 years ago.

So does this mean absolutely no new publication house for political content has been established since 1953? Of course not, after all this is Lebanon; we don’t abide by the legal policies set out, and we certainly don’t abide by the non-legal policies set out.

So, what are the ways of getting a license in these modern times?

There are 2 methods. Method one, is the ‘wasta’ method we all love and hate, use and despise. For this method of obtaining a license, the potential publisher must search for an individual from his social-economic-political circle that works within the ministry, or knows someone who does. Here the wasta is utilized to make an exceptional license. This typically involves more than just the use of a wasta, and good amounts of cash, or more significant favors are involved. Method two, is the cash method. Here the process of obtaining a license is quite strategic. The potential publisher must go through the list of all established publication houses pre-1953, and then analyze which ones have gone bankrupts, closed down, or have become inactive. The publisher reaches out to the owner and the license, probably through a wasta if we’re being realistic, and places a price on the license. If the deal goes through, the publisher is now licensed.

This means that all those newspapers on the stands in Hamra, fall into 3 main categories - the established pre-1953, the wasta established - the wasta purchased.

On a more positive note, although the publication industry in Lebanon is evidently limited in its capabilities and promised freedoms, Lebanon nevertheless accounts for about 50% of the periodicals produced in the Middle East region. More Thant his, according to Press Freedom’s Reporters without Borders, "the media have more freedom in Lebanon than in any other Arab country". 

Our media may be outspoken, but it is also extremely politicized and polarized. From newspapers to radio stations, all channels of Lebanese media serve as the mouthpieces of political parties or businessmen, as the ownership and control of media platforms nationally lies in the hands of a few families and political parties. According to Lebanon’s Media Ownership Monitor at least 43 percent of all Lebanese media outlets have at least one member of 12 families in ownership, its board, or both. Among these 12 most notable families lie the Hariris, the Tuenis, the Murrs, the Mikatis, the Aouns, and many more - all with their political ambitions for their respective political parties.

Ghassan Tuéni and Wafic Ramadan with Edmond Rabbath, Mikhaël Daher, Riad Taha and Chafic Wazzan at the military tribunal, in May 1974. Picture from L’Orient Le Jour archives.

A recent example of this form of coercion can be traced back to October 2019, with the birth of the Lebanese revolution. A few days into the revolution that prompted protests spreading across all corners of the globe, protestors found themselves not only opposing the ‘political regime’, but in extension media outlets as well. After the widespread of fake news and tampered coverages, influenced by various political parties and foreign powers, many Lebanese took a firm stand against the media. Protestors were furious with the work of certain Lebanese journalists, who pushed to discredit the motives behind the revolution, portraying the situation in a completely different light to national Lebanese supporters who wouldn't/couldn’t make their way to the streets, and the international community following the situation abroad. After that, protestors shunned journalists attempting to interview them, screaming that they will not speak to traitors of the cause they longed for.

There remains two fundamental concerns in the right to freedom of press; the violations of the right to publish and the violations of the rights of journalists. Both industries are oppressed by their puppet masters -the funders of their pay checks -the Lebanese political parties -the foreign powers.. Thus, many Lebanese reporters are faced with a very hard choice. Will they give up the virtues and values of being an international watch dog, serving the entirety of their scattered nation across the globe, or will they choose to be jobless within a nation where economic stability is extremely difficult to attain?

Not to mention that the “closing of doors” to grant the constitutional right of freedom of press represents the most basic infringement on press freedoms and has become a fundamental factor in restricting journalism in Lebanon.

This is where your role is ever-so essential. Despite being a constitutional right, freedom of press will never be achieved as long as we keep feeding into the politicized and corrupted sources of information within our borders. So long as publication licenses remain solely attainable by those countering the emergence of press freedom and intellectual news coverage. So long as “Wasta” and (stolen) money remain the only convincing mechanisms able to persuade a Lebanese official. Here at The Phoenix Daily, we take pride in our initiative to provide non-biased, non-political, and very opinionated news coverages, with strong ambitions to influence an intellectual Lebanon. We’ve witnessed the injustices within the realm of Lebanese media first hand, and will always play our part in ensuring that our constitutional rights are fought for and embodied by each and every member of our team.