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![]() 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 |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
![]() | |
![]() 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 |
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]