As-Safir Explained

As-Safir
السفير
Type:Daily newspaper
Format:Broadsheet
Foundation:26 March 1974
Publisher:Dar Al Safir
Editor:Talal Salman
Headquarters:Beirut, Lebanon
Language:Arabic
Political:Pan-Arab
Ceased Publication:31 December 2016

As-Safir (Arabic: السفير|lit=The Ambassador) was a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. The headquarters of the daily was in Beirut.[1] It was in circulation from March 1974 until December 2016.[2] The last issue of the paper was published on 31 December 2016. The online version was also closed on the same date.[2]

Aimed at political coverage, As-Safir dubbed itself the "Voice of the Voiceless", serving as a key news source for Lebanese in the Arab world. It espoused Arab nationalism and supported the Palestinians, aligning with the March 8 Alliance. Its rival an-Nahar is associated with the March 14 alliance.[3]

History and profile

As-Safir was first published by Talal Salman on 26 March 1974 as an Arabic political daily.[4] Talal Salman also served as chief editor of the paper.[5] Bassem Sabeh was the chief editor of the paper between 1980 and 1990. In 2005, the daily's chief editor was Joseph Samaha.[6] [7] The publisher of the daily which was published in broadsheet format was Dar Al Safir.[1]

One of the early contributors was Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al Ali.[8] Another contributor was Samir Frangieh.[9]

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

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

Political approach

As-Safir stated its mission as to be "the newspaper of Lebanon in the Arab world and the newspaper of the Arab world in Lebanon."[12] This remained the slogan printed on the paper's masthead.[13] It also adopted the slogan "The voice of voiceless". 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.[14] It also focused on issues pertaining to the Muslim world, advocated Arab nationalism, was close to Hezbollah and had a pro-Syrian stance.[15]

Another Lebanese daily, An-Nahar, was cited as the biggest rival of As-Safir.[16] In the mid-1990s, the paper was described as a left-of-center paper, whereas An-Nahar as a right-of-center paper.[17] During the same period, As-Safir was also described by Robert Fisk as a Syrian-backed newspaper.[18] In the 2000s these papers were supporters of two opposite poles in Lebanon, in that An-Nahar supported March 14 alliance, whereas As-Safir supported March 8 alliance.

Circulation and websites

As-Safir had the second highest circulation in Lebanon in the 1990s after An-Nahar.[17] Its circulation was 45,000 copies in 2003, making it the second best selling paper in Lebanon.[19] The paper sold more than 50,000 copies in 2010.[20] In 2012, the Lebanese Ministry of Information reported that the daily had a circulation of 50,000 copies.[4] [21] [22] The circulation of the paper was less than 10,000 copies in 2016 when it folded.[20]

In addition to its Arabic website, the paper had also an English website.[23] The paper's online version was the 16th most visited website for 2010 in the MENA region.[24]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Media Landscape. Menassat. 22 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20190220122703/http://www.menassat.com/?q=en%2Fmedia-landscape%2Fmedia-landscape-8. 20 February 2019. dead.
  2. News: Lebanese newspaper As-Safir to stop publishing after 40 years. 1 March 2020. An Nahar. 9 December 2016.
  3. Book: Najem, Tom . Historical Dictionary of Lebanon . Amore . Roy C. . Abu Khalil . As'ad . 2021 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1-5381-2043-9 . 2nd . Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East . Lanham Boulder New York London . 41.
  4. Web site: Lebanon. Media Landscape. European Journalism Center. 15 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140908134743/http://ejc.net/media_landscapes/lebanon. 8 September 2014. dead. dmy-all.
  5. Ranwa Yehia. Salam bid farewell. Al Ahram Weekly. 27 January – 2 February 2000. 466.
  6. News: Jad Mouawad. Lebanese Lawmakers Bring Back Pro-Syrian Prime Minister. 18 March 2013. The New York Times. 9 March 2005.
  7. Serene Assir. Divided we fall. Al Ahram Weekly. 21–27 April 2005. 739. 15 April 2013. 25 March 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130325171648/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/739/re5.htm.
  8. Book: Michael R. Fischbach. Philip Mattar. Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. 2005. Facts on File, Inc.. New York. 18. al-Ali, Naji. https://books.google.com/books?id=GkbzYoZtaJMC&pg=PA18. 978-0-8160-6986-6.
  9. Book: Who's Who in Lebanon. 2007. Beirut. Publitec Publications. 19th. 132,298. 978-3-598-07734-0. 10.1515/9783110945904.476.
  10. Web site: Press and Cultural Freedom in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Annual report. 2011. SKeyes. 10 October 2014.
  11. Web site: Najib Saab. The Environment in Arab Media. Arab Forum for Environment and Development. 7 October 2014. Report. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141010170621/http://www.afedonline.org/afedreport/english/book14.pdf. 10 October 2014. dmy.
  12. Dany Badran. Democracy and Rhetoric in the Arab World. The Journal of the Middle East and Africa. 2013. 4. 1. 65–86. 10.1080/21520844.2013.772685. 143657988 .
  13. Web site: Lebanon. Publicitas. 8 June 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121202073858/http://www.publicitas.com/fileadmin/uploads/italy/Files/ME_portfolio_01.pdf. 2 December 2012. dmy.
  14. Web site: U.N. Rights Officials Urge Syria War Crimes Charges. The New York Times. Nick Cumming-Bruce. 18 February 2013. 26 April 2015.
  15. News: Mikati unveils 30-member Cabinet dominated by Hizbullah and March 8 allies. 10 March 2013. The Daily Middle East Reporter. 14 June 2011.
  16. Mohalhel Fakih. Pulling at Lebanon's strings. Al Ahram Weekly. 2–8 September 2004. 706. 19 April 2013. 21 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054423/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/706/re4.htm. dead.
  17. Book: Mass Media in the Middle East: A Comprehensive Handbook. 1994. Greenwood Press. Westport, CT. Yahya R. Kamalipour. Hamid Mowlana. 978-0313285356.
  18. News: Robert Fisk. Beirut newspaper defies closure: Lebanese officials say left-wing daily 'endangered security of the state' with peace talks report. 31 July 2014. The Independent. 13 May 1993. Beirut.
  19. Web site: World Press Trends. World Association of Newspapers. 15 February 2015. Paris. 2004. 8 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150208082604/http://www.wan-press.org/ecrire/upload/wpt2004.pdf. dead.
  20. Web site: The Lebanese Print Media Landscape. Media Ownership Monitor. 6 May 2022.
  21. Web site: Mapping Digital Media: Lebanon. Open Society Foundations. 19 September 2013. 15 March 2012.
  22. Web site: Lebanon Press. Press Reference. 27 September 2013.
  23. Web site: English - جريدة السفير.
  24. News: Forbes Releases Top 50 MENA Online Newspapers; Lebanon Fails to Make Top 10. 11 September 2014. Jad Aoun. 28 October 2010. 29 July 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160729212745/http://www.jadaoun.com/2803/forbes-releases-top-50-mena-online-newspapers-lebanon-fails-to-make-top-10/. dead.

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