As-Safir

As-Safir
السفير
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Publisher Dar Al Safir
Editor Talal Salman
Founded 26 March 1974 (1974-03-26)
Political alignment

Pan-Arab

Pro-Assad[1][2]
Language Arabic
Headquarters Beirut, Lebanon
Circulation 50,000 (2012)
Website Official website
As-Safir, Beirut, 2010

As-Safir (Arabic: السفير‎), meaning The Ambassador, is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. The headquarters of the daily is in Beirut.[3]

History and profile

As-Safir was first published by Talal Salman on 26 March 1974 as an Arabic political daily.[4][5] Talal Salman also served as chief editor of the paper.[6] In 2005, the daily's chief editor was late Joseph Samaha.[7][8] The current publisher of the daily is Dar Al Safir.[3] It is published in broadsheet format.[9]

On 18 July 2011, the paper, together with Al Akhbar, another daily published in Lebanon, was banned in Syria.[10]

As-Safir has a weekly page on the environmental issues.[11]

Political approach

As-Safir states its mission as to be "the newspaper of the Arab world in Lebanon, and the newspaper of Lebanon in the Arab world."[12] This remains the slogan printed on the paper's masthead.[5] The paper provided an independent voice for the left-wing, Pan Arab tendency which was increasingly active in Lebanese intellectual and political life in the years after the Arab defeat in the Six-Day War. It also focuses on issues pertaining to the Muslim world, advocates Arab nationalism, is close to Hezbollah and has a pro-Syrian stance.[13]

Another Lebanese daily, An-Nahar, is cited as the rival of As-Safir.[14] In the mid-1990s, the paper was described as a left-of-center paper, whereas An-Nahar as a right-of-center paper.[15] During the same period, As-Safir was also described by Robert Fisk as a Syrian-backed newspaper.[16] In the 2000s these papers were again supporters of two opposite poles in Lebanon, in that An-Nahar is a supporter of March 14 alliance, whereas As-Safir supported March 8 alliance.[17]

After the assassination of Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005, Talal Salman wrote "Some want to use his death as a catalyst to create sectarian strife to complete the schemes of the Israeli occupation in Palestine and the American occupation of Iraq."[18]

Circulation and websites

As-Safir had the second highest circulation in the 1990s after An-Nahar.[15] Its circulation was 45,000 copies in 2003, being the second best selling paper in Lebanon.[9] In 2012, the Lebanese Ministry of Information stated that the daily had a circulation of 50,000 copies, being the first in the country.[4][17][19]

In addition to its Arabic website, the paper has also an English website. The paper's online version was the 16th most visited website for 2010 in the MENA region.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (18 February 2013). "U.N. Rights Officials Urge Syria War Crimes Charges". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2015. the pro-Assad Lebanese newspaper As-Safir
  2. ↑ Badran, Tony (25 April 2013). "Assad reading the signs". NOW News. Retrieved 27 April 2015. The Pro-Assad regime Lebanese newspaper As-Safir
  3. 1 2 "Media Landscape". Menassat. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Lebanon. Media Landscape". European Journalism Center. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Lebanon" (PDF). Publicitas. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Yehia, Ranwa (27 January – 2 February 2000). "Salam bid farewell". Al Ahram Weekly 466. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Mouawad, Jad (9 March 2005). "Lebanese Lawmakers Bring Back Pro-Syrian Prime Minister". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Assir, Serene (21–27 April 2005). "Divided we fall". Al Ahram Weekly 739. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  9. 1 2 "World Press Trends" (PDF). Paris: World Association of Newspapers. 2004. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "Press and Cultural Freedom in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine" (Annual report). SKeyes. 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  11. ↑ Najib Saab. "The Environment in Arab Media" (Report). Arab Forum for Environment and Development. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  12. ↑ Dany Badran (2013). "Democracy and Rhetoric in the Arab World". The Journal of the Middle East and Africa 4 (1): 65–86. doi:10.1080/21520844.2013.772685. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  13. ↑ "Mikati unveils 30-member Cabinet dominated by Hizbullah and March 8 allies". The Daily Middle East Reporter. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  14. ↑ Fakih, Mohalhel (2–8 September 2004). "Pulling at Lebanon's strings". Al Ahram Weekly 706. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  15. 1 2 Yahya R. Kamalipour; Hamid Mowlana (1994). Mass Media in the Middle East: A Comprehensive Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Retrieved 9 September 2013.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  16. ↑ Robert Fisk (13 May 1993). "Beirut newspaper defies closure: Lebanese officials say left-wing daily 'endangered security of the state' with peace talks report". The Independent (Beirut). Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Mapping Digital Media: Lebanon" (PDF). Open Society Foundations. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  18. ↑ Abdel Latif, Omayma (3–9 March 2005). "What next, Lebanon?". Al Ahram Weekly 732. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "Lebanon Press". Press Reference. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  20. ↑ "Forbes Releases Top 50 MENA Online Newspapers; Lebanon Fails to Make Top 10". Jad Aoun. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2014.

External links

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