Marcel Ghanem () (born 1964) is a Lebanese journalist known for hosting popular political talk shows, including "Kalam El-Nas" () and currently "Sar el Waqt" (). While popular, Ghanem's career has been marked by accusations of promoting misinformation and alleged bias in coverage, which critics argue contributes to polarized public opinion in Lebanon. Some observers claim his platform has been used to disseminate divisive narratives that cater to specific political interests, thus affecting his public image and making him one of the most contentious figures in Lebanese journalism. These practices, according to critics, have contributed to his reputation as " the most hated man in Lebanon " reflecting broader concerns about media ethics and hate speech in the country.

Early years

Ghanem was born in Yahchouch,

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 ...

in 1964. He graduated from

Lebanese University The Lebanese University (LU; ) is the only state-funded public university in Lebanon. It was established in 1951. The university's main campus was originally located in Beirut, but a few satellite campuses were opened due to travel restriction ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1987. He then practiced as an attorney between 1987 and 1994.

Career

Ahmed al-Assir hosted in the political talk show Kalam El-Nas

Ghanem presented a political talk show on the

Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (), widely known as LBCI (), Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation () or LBC () is a private television station in Lebanon. LBCI was founded in 1992 by acquiring the assets, liabilities and logo of ...

(LBC) and Radio Liban Libre from 1991 to 1993. The program was called ''Kalam Massoul'' (Talking Responsibly?), co-hosted by journalist

May Chidiac May Chidiac () (born in Beirut, Lebanon, 20 June 1963) is a journalist and former Lebanese Minister of State for Administrative Development. Bio Chdiac that was born in Beirut 1963, holds a Ph.d in "Sciences de L'Information et de la Commun ...

. From 1995 until 29 March 2018, Ghanem hosted the talk show '' Kalam El Nass'' (What people are saying) on LBC. He left LBC after receiving an offer from

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. His new show on MTV is "

Sar El Wa'et SAR or Sar may refer to: Places * Sar (river), Galicia, Spain * Sar, Bahrain, a residential district * Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China * Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europ ...

" (It's About Time) and has been on air since October 2018.

Giving a media platform to provocative speeches

During the 2017 Lebanon–Saudi Arabia dispute crisis, Marcel Ghanem hosted in his political talk show Kalam El-Nas Saudi journalists who attacked the

Lebanese Armed Forces The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...

and accused the president of Lebanon, the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon as terrorists.

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanem, Marcel 21st-century Lebanese journalists Lebanese Maronites Living people 1964 births Lebanese television presenters Lebanese University alumni People from Keserwan District