Al Bayrak
Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon (1911–2011)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Al Bayrak (Arabic: البيرق, romanized: The Flag) was a daily 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 ceased publication in August 2011.
- Said Nassereddine
- Melhem Karam
| |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Founder | Said Akl |
| Publisher | Dar Alf Leila Wa Leila |
| Editor-in-chief |
|
| Founded | 1911 |
| Ceased publication | August 2011 |
| Language | Arabic |
| City | Beirut |
| Country | Lebanon |
History
Al Bayrak was founded in 1911.[1][2] Its founder was the Lebanese poet Said Akl.[3] The publisher was the 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 folded 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] In 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]