Diana Moukalled/Arab News: Lebanon’s press in crisis as political funds dry up

Lebanon’s press in crisis as political funds dry up
Diana Moukalled/Arab News/January 17/17

“How is the press?” “How do you see the future of the media?” “Are you receiving your pension?”

For months, these questions have frequently been raised by journalists and others who are concerned about the crisis in Lebanon’s media industry.

Everybody, including family members and friends from inside Lebanon or different Arab countries, is giving their opinion. Some of them are friends working in other sectors who are worried about the deterioration in media institutions.

Others communicated through Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp their worries about a profession that had a respectable past in Lebanon, yet is now struggling with a troubled present.
The crisis in the Arab media, and signs of a major collapse hitting the press in Lebanon in particular, has been addressed many times before. Prestigious newspapers have closed and dozens of media corporations’ staff have been dismissed, with others suffering pay delays. There is no sign of a way out of the crisis.

The political and financial aspects of the press crisis are not limited to Lebanon alone, yet these factors are much more evident here. The situation tells us much about Lebanon’s economy, press, politics and divisions. But the most important revelation is how political money, of key importance to media, has dried up.

The problem in the media undeniably has other causes like decreasing sales and advertising revenues, the economic crunch and an inability to cope with modern developments in the field. All of this is not, however, the key reason behind the enormous deterioration of the press, just as the need for real journalism is increasing.

Political money at play
The Lebanese press crisis has causes that go beyond financial troubles, which were cited as justifications for closing some newspapers, or for suspending employee salaries for months in other media outlets. The crisis reflects how political money played a decisive role in creating the industry in the past, and undermining it at present.

There is no doubt that Lebanese public opinion is influenced by sects, with the majority influenced by a group that does not necessarily put Lebanon’s common interests first. The media is caught up in such divisions.

The collapse of many media corporations reflects how public and individual freedoms have receded, and how the elements of society that resist sectarianism and the dominance of militia are unable to promote their own media discourse.

Coinciding with this, foreign political finance, which contributed to Lebanon’s media boom, has abated. Hence, it is now important to launch special initiatives in the media field — because the need for journalism that tackles the ongoing changes is very pressing.

• Diana Moukalled is a veteran journalist with extensive experience in both traditional and new media. She is also a columnist and freelance documentary producer. She can be reached on Twitter @dianamoukalled.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1039981/columns