As-Safir

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]

As-Safir
السفير

As-Safir front page, 16 April 2013
Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Publisher	Dar Al Safir
Editor	Talal Salman
Founded	26 March 1974
Political alignment	Pan-Arab
Language	Arabic
Ceased publication	31 December 2016
Headquarters	Beirut, Lebanon
Website	www.assafir.com

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][5] Talal Salman also served as chief editor of the paper.^[6] Bassem Sabeh was the chief editor of the paper between 1980 and 1990.^[7] In 2005, the daily's chief editor was Joseph Samaha.^[8][9] The publisher of the daily which was published in broadsheet format was Dar Al Safir.^[1][10]

One of the early contributors was Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al Ali.^[11] Another contributor was Samir Frangieh.^[7]

On 18 July 2011, the paper, together with Al Akhbar, another daily published in Lebanon, was banned in Syria.^[12]

As-Safir had a weekly page on the environmental issues.^[13]

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."^[14] This remained the slogan printed on the paper's masthead.^[5] 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.^[15] It also focused on issues pertaining to the Muslim world, advocated Arab nationalism, was close to Hezbollah and had a pro-Syrian stance.^[16]

Another Lebanese daily, An-Nahar, was cited as the biggest rival of As-Safir.^[17] In the mid-1990s, the paper was described as a left-of-center paper, whereas An-Nahar as a right-of-center paper.^[18] During the same period, As-Safir was also described by Robert Fisk as a Syrian-backed newspaper.^[19] 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.^[20]

Circulation and websites

As-Safir had the second highest circulation in Lebanon in the 1990s after An-Nahar.^[18] Its circulation was 45,000 copies in 2003, making it the second best selling paper in Lebanon.^[10] The paper sold more than 50,000 copies in 2010.^[21] In 2012, the Lebanese Ministry of Information reported that the daily had a circulation of 50,000 copies.^[4][20][22] The circulation of the paper was less than 10,000 copies in 2016 when it folded.^[21]

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

• List of newspapers in Lebanon

References

1. . Menassat. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
2. "Lebanese newspaper As-Safir to stop publishing after 40 years". An Nahar. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
3. Najem, Tom; Amore, Roy C.; Abu Khalil, As'ad (2021). Historical Dictionary of Lebanon. Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East (2nd ed.). Lanham Boulder New York London: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-5381-2043-9.
4. . European Journalism Center. Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
5. (PDF). Publicitas. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
6. Ranwa Yehia (27 January – 2 February 2000). "Salam bid farewell". Al Ahram Weekly. 466.
7. Who's Who in Lebanon (19th ed.). Beirut: Publitec Publications. 2007. pp. 132, 298. doi:10.1515/9783110945904.476. ISBN 978-3-598-07734-0.
8. Jad Mouawad (9 March 2005). "Lebanese Lawmakers Bring Back Pro-Syrian Prime Minister". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
9. Serene Assir (21–27 April 2005). . Al Ahram Weekly. 739. Archived from the original on 25 March 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
10. (PDF). Paris: World Association of Newspapers. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
11. Michael R. Fischbach (2005). "al-Ali, Naji". In Philip Mattar (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. New York: Facts on File, Inc. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-8160-6986-6.
12. "Press and Cultural Freedom in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine" (Annual report). SKeyes. 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
13. Najib Saab. (PDF). Arab Forum for Environment and Development. Archived from the original (Report) on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
14. 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. S2CID 143657988.
15. Nick Cumming-Bruce (18 February 2013). "U.N. Rights Officials Urge Syria War Crimes Charges". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
16. "Mikati unveils 30-member Cabinet dominated by Hizbullah and March 8 allies". The Daily Middle East Reporter. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
17. Mohalhel Fakih (2–8 September 2004). . Al Ahram Weekly. 706. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
18. Yahya R. Kamalipour; Hamid Mowlana (1994). Mass Media in the Middle East: A Comprehensive Handbook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313285356.
19. 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.
20. "Mapping Digital Media: Lebanon" (PDF). Open Society Foundations. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
21. "The Lebanese Print Media Landscape". Media Ownership Monitor. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
22. "Lebanon Press". Press Reference. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
23. "English - جريدة السفير".
24. . Jad Aoun. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2014.

External links

• Official website
•   Media related to As-Safir at Wikimedia Commons