''As-Safir'' () was a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. The headquarters of the daily was in Beirut. It was in circulation from March 1974 until December 2016. The last issue of the paper was published on 31 December 2016. The online version was also closed on the same date. 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 The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. 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.

History and profile

''As-Safir'' was first published by Talal Salman on 26 March 1974 as an Arabic political daily. Talal Salman also served as

chief editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's Editing, editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is hel ...

of the paper. Bassem Sabeh was the chief editor of the paper between 1980 and 1990. In 2005, the daily's chief editor was Joseph Samaha. The publisher of the daily which was published in broadsheet format was Dar Al Safir. One of the early contributors was Palestinian cartoonist Naji Al Ali. Another contributor was Samir Frangieh. On 18 July 2011, the paper, together with '' Al Akhbar'', another daily published in Lebanon, was banned in Syria. ''As-Safir'' had a weekly page on the environmental issues.

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." This remained the slogan printed on the paper's masthead. 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 The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. It also focused on issues pertaining to the Muslim world, advocated Arab nationalism, was close to Hezbollah and had a pro-Syrian stance. Another Lebanese daily, '' An-Nahar'', was cited as the biggest rival of ''As-Safir''. In the mid-1990s, the paper was described as a left-of-center paper, whereas ''An-Nahar'' as a right-of-center paper. During the same period, ''As-Safir'' was also described by

Robert Fisk Robert William Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was an English writer and journalist. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. As an international correspo ...

as a Syrian-backed newspaper. 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.

Circulation and websites

''As-Safir'' had the second highest circulation in Lebanon in the 1990s after ''An-Nahar''. Its circulation was 45,000 copies in 2003, making it the second best selling paper in Lebanon. The paper sold more than 50,000 copies in 2010. In 2012, the Lebanese Ministry of Information reported that the daily had a circulation of 50,000 copies. The circulation of the paper was less than 10,000 copies in 2016 when it folded. In addition to its Arabic website, the paper had also an English website. The paper's online version was the 16th most visited website for 2010 in the MENA region.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Safir 1974 establishments in Lebanon 2016 disestablishments in Lebanon Arab nationalism in Lebanon Arabic-language newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Lebanon Newspapers published in Beirut Pan-Arabist media Newspapers established in 1974 Publications disestablished in 2016 Daily newspapers published in Lebanon

History and profile

Political approach

Circulation and websites

See also

References

External links