Al Bayrak
TypeDaily newspaper
Founder(s)Said Akl
PublisherDar Alf Leila Wa Leila
Editor-in-chief
Founded1911
LanguageArabic
Ceased publicationAugust 2011
CityBeirut
CountryLebanon

Al Bayrak (Arabic: البيرق, romanized: The Flag) was an Arabic language newspaper published in Beirut, Lebanon.[1] It was one of the leading and oldest Arabic papers in the country. After being published for a century the paper closed in August 2011.

History

Al Bayrak was founded in 1911.[1][2] Its founder was the Lebanese poet Said Akl.[3] The publisher was Dar Alf Leila Wa Leila publishing house which owned a number of daily and weekly publications in Lebanon and in Europe, including Al Hawadeth, Monday Morning and La Revue du Liban.[4][5] The company was headed by Melhem Karam.[4]

In the 1990s Melhem Karam was the editor and Said Nassereddine the editor-in-chief of the daily.[6][7] Then Karam who was also the president of Lebanese Journalists Association served as the editor-in-chief.[8][9] The daily was disestablished in August 2011 due to financial problems.[8][10][3]

Influence and political orientation

In 2009, the IREX, an international research board, cited the daily as one of the major eleven papers published in Lebanon.[11] At the initial phase of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 it had a pro-government stance.[12] In the early 1980s the western media described the daily as conservative.[13] It was one of the newspapers which advocated the March 14 alliance in 2009.[11]

Content

In 1999, Al Bayrak published an interview with Robert Hatem, who was the author of From Israel to Damascus banned in Lebanon.[6] Due to the publication of the interview the Beirut Appeals Court prosecuted Melhem Karam and Said Nassereddine, who were editor and editor-in-chief of the paper, respectively.[6] Following the assassination of Lebanese journalist and lawmaker Gebran Tueni in December 2005, the headline of the daily was "Enough...".[14]

Bans and attacks

The daily was banned by Michel Aoun, then interim prime minister and army commander, on 19 January 1990 due to its clash with Aoun's policies.[15] In the immediate aftermath of the ban a reporter working for the daily, George Hajj, was abducted in Beirut and was freed eight hours later.[16] Aoun was accused of the abduction.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 The Middle East and North Africa 2003 (49th ed.). London; New York: Europa Publications. 2002. p. 737. ISBN 978-1-85743-132-2.
  2. ↑ Publitec Publications, ed. (2007). "The Press". Who's Who in Lebanon 2007-2008 (19th ed.). Beirut: Publitec. p. 548. doi:10.1515/9783110945904. ISBN 978-3598077340.
  3. 1 2 Sarah El-Richani (2016). The Lebanese Media. Anatomy of a System in Perpetual Crisis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 159. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-60183-4. ISBN 978-1-137-60183-4.
  4. 1 2 "Melhem Karam passed away at 76". Ya Libnan. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Profile". RDL. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Journalists prosecuted over controversial interview". IFEX. 30 July 1999. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Departure President of Lebanese Editors Syndicate Melhem Karam". Alowais. 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  8. 1 2 Rasha Abouzaki (14 May 2012). "Lebanon's Media Industry: Jobs With Expiry Dates". Al Akhbar. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  9. ↑ Nabi Dajanil (Summer 2013). "The Myth of Media Freedom in Lebanon" (PDF). Arab Media & Society (18).
  10. ↑ "Great Journalist Melhem Karam Passes away". Syrian Arab News Agency. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Media sustainability index 2008" (PDF). IREX. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  12. ↑ "Newspaper says Lebanon wants raid moratorium". The Bulletin. Beirut. Associated Press. 27 January 1975. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "Libya Building up Forces to Counter Israelis". The Beaver County Times. AP. 22 September 1980. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  14. ↑ Nadim Ladki (13 December 2005). "Lebanon mourns slain newspaper magnate". Journal of Turkish Weekly. Beirut. Reuters. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  15. ↑ Ihsan A. Hijazi (19 January 1990). "A Second Newspaper Is Shut by Lebanese General". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Kidnapped journalist in Lebanon is released". Observer–Reporter. Beirut. AP. 21 January 1990. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
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