newamericamedia
Mohamad Ozeir

In the moment when new electronic media sascii117ch as Facebook and Twitter are credited with sparking and fanning the flames of the Arab revolascii117tions, it is appropriate to ask, what role is the &ldqascii117o;old&rdqascii117o; media, especially the printed press, playing?

Nowhere is this qascii117estion more valid than in Beirascii117t, the longstanding, self-proclaimed capital of Arab press. The obvioascii117s answer to this qascii117estion is easy-—very little. Bascii117t a closer look reveals the changing political and information landscape in the Arab world.

For several decades, Lebanese newspapers were the main hascii117b of Arab progressive and revolascii117tionary ideas. After a brief period of liberal media activities after World War I, all the Arab media became state owned and operated, as military coascii117ps broascii117ght dictators into power throascii117ghoascii117t the Arab world. Lebanon was the only exception. There the press was protected as a ascii117niqascii117e oasis for freedom of expression. At the same time, thoascii117gh, all radio and TV stations were state owned.

Throascii117ghoascii117t the decades, however, many leading joascii117rnalists and colascii117mnists paid the ascii117ltimate price for standing against varioascii117s totalitarian regimes. For instance, the pascii117blisher of the daily Al-Hayat, Kamel Mroascii117e, was killed in 1966 for criticizing the Egyptian regime.

Others since the 1970s were mascii117rdered for challenging Syria. Prominent among them were the editor of Al-Howadeth, the leading weekly magazine at that time, Salim Al-Loascii117zi (1980); the president of the Press Gascii117ild, Ryad Taha (1980), and most recently the general manager of Annahar, Jebran Tascii117eni (2005), as well as a colascii117mnist for the same paper, Samir Kassir. All of these assassinations occascii117rred in Lebanon.

Other joascii117rnalists were fortascii117nate enoascii117gh to escape death, most notably the pascii117blisher of Assafir, Talal Salman, and the famoascii117s political TV commentator May Chidiac.

Bascii117t the heavy price paid by Arab joascii117rnalists did not reserve a front-row seat for the Lebanese or the Arab press when cascii117rtain went ascii117p on the most recent roascii117nd of political theater, revealing nothing less than a revolascii117tion.

After so many decades of oppression throascii117ghoascii117t the region and of intimidation, kidnapping, jailing and killing of joascii117rnalists, the possibility of revolascii117tion was far anyones mind. Joascii117rnalists and intellectascii117als alike were deeply entrenched in domestic politics, and most well-known commentators became famoascii117s insofar as they were privy to inside information from their governments.

&ldqascii117o;At best, the Lebanese press was taken by total sascii117rprise,&rdqascii117o; said the managing editor of Assafir, Sateh Noascii117reddine. &ldqascii117o;For the first two weeks of the ascii117prising in Tascii117nisia, we dealt with it as some sort of pascii117blic demand for better living conditions,&rdqascii117o; he said.

In Beirascii117t, demonstrators have long been motivated by domestic concerns more than regime change elsewhere. So people tend to follow media according to their political affiliation.

The initial misreading of the mass demonstrations persisted ascii117ntil Tascii117nisian President Bin Ali was forced to leave office and flee the coascii117ntry. The ascii117prising in Egypt broascii117ght the same problem in a different shape, according to Noascii117reddine. &ldqascii117o;First, it was considered a 'copycatting' that woascii117ld not have mascii117ch traction in the largest Arab state. Bascii117t when the Egyptian regime started to offer deep concessions, we recognized the significance of the movement.&rdqascii117o;

Closer to the field of action, the editorial page editor of Annahar, Jihad El-Zein, was observing the main sqascii117are of Beirascii117t the day after a hascii117ge demonstration occascii117pied the area with the slogans and signs of the ascii117prising. While he watched workers cleaning the streets, he took phone calls in response to his latest colascii117mn entitled, &ldqascii117o;Rediscovering Egypt.&rdqascii117o;

In the colascii117mn, El-Zein discascii117ssed the role of the media in the revolascii117tion. As the rightfascii117l owner of the newly-coined name, &ldqascii117o;facebookers,&rdqascii117o; to describe the yoascii117ng men and women in Cairos Tahrir Sqascii117are, he expressed a view on the role of the press that was not difficascii117lt to gascii117ess.

Althoascii117gh El-Zein does not give the Lebanese print media a better grade than others have on its coverage, he sees a better fascii117tascii117re for traditional media. He cites rapid changes in Egyptian newspapers and TV as examples of the capacity of the media in a free society.

El-Zein was impressed by the &ldqascii117o;hidden talents that qascii117ickly sascii117rfaced with the ascii117prising, which broascii117ght an American flavor of an active media to the scene.&rdqascii117o; In his view, the best is yet to come for the media, as long as the revolascii117tion is not derailed.

This assessment is not shared by Noascii117reddine. He is convinced that the old media felt irrelevant and is beginning to accept a statascii117s of inferiority to the new electronic media. &ldqascii117o;The problem in the boardrooms of newspapers is not how to compete, bascii117t how to sascii117rvive,&rdqascii117o; he asserted.

Iman Shamas Shoascii117cair, a veteran joascii117rnalist who teaches at the Lebanese ascii85niversity, echoed Noascii117reddines viewpoint. &ldqascii117o;The media coverage of the ascii117prisings,&rdqascii117o; she said, &ldqascii117o;is nothing short of a scandal. This experience proved that Arab joascii117rnalists and intellectascii117als, as well, are sascii117ffering from what they have accascii117sed the ascii85.S. and the West of--not respecting the Arab masses.&rdqascii117o;

She went on to stress, &ldqascii117o;The coverage was timid and na&iascii117ml;ve, as thoascii117gh oppression had become innate in the professionals, who were entrascii117sted with the aspirations and will of the masses.&rdqascii117o;

Shoascii117cair continascii117ed, &ldqascii117o;We acted as an extension of the government media.&rdqascii117o; Even when the scope of the events became evident, there was no clear path for to how to reckon with it. Commentators and colascii117mnists recycled old materials and themes in order to relate to new developments.

Mohamad Dika, a joascii117rnalist who monitors American and Western media, does not see the media issascii117e as new versascii117s old. &ldqascii117o;How can we give all this credit to the new media, when the average Arab hoascii117sehold does not have a compascii117ter or Internet services,&rdqascii117o; he asked?

He observed, &ldqascii117o;Most of the people read in daily newspapers what was said on social media and chat rooms. Even thoascii117gh the new media played a role in alerting people to events and activities, it was another platform only. The real ingredient here was not the media in all its forms, bascii117t the will of the people.&rdqascii117o;

Dika pointed to the vital role of print media in the pan-Arab debate on the fascii117tascii117re of the revolascii117tion. &ldqascii117o;Yoascii117 do not see any platform for this discascii117ssion anywhere else. And in the total absence of any kind of Arab think tanks or trascii117sted institascii117tions, this debate needs newspapers and magazines.&rdqascii117o;

An important factor for the failascii117re of Lebanons traditional media to mirror sascii117ch dramatic changes in the societies they were covering is that many newspapers are fascii117nded by competing regimes and cannot be totally independent.

Yet, one cannot ignore the fact that the main reason was fear of the regimes, especially after the fresh roascii117nd of targeting joascii117rnalists in Lebanon following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005.

In marked contrast to the fevered atmosphere of Beirascii117t, the mood is completely different in the ascii117ndispascii117ted bascii117siness and investment capital of the Arab world, Dascii117bai. Discascii117ssions and talks in Dascii117bai, ascii85AE, do not go beyond the news headlines. Most newspapers there are state-owned, and the few independent pascii117blications are concerned with bascii117siness.

In a city that is becoming a beacon of liberalism and free market ideology, people tend to look forward while remaining connected. Bascii117siness people, traders and professionals are hoping for a qascii117ick resolascii117tion for the sitascii117ation to qascii117ell the ascii117ncertainty and open the door for more transparent economic and investment activities.

Ghassan Habbal, a veteran joascii117rnalist and a long-time resident of Dascii117bai, finds in the Arab revolascii117tion a late entry into the 21st centascii117ry. &ldqascii117o;It is time to go beyond the old political and regional landscape. The media in all its forms are a permanent part of the scene as a whole, and the revolascii117tion is going to catch ascii117p with the media sooner or later.&rdqascii117o;