Archive | Journalism

Ya Lateef! Beirut’s NYE 2019 Celebration Ranked 7th in The World!

By Rami on January 2, 2019 in Beirut, Journalism, Lebanon, Social

National Geographic compiled a list of the top 10 new year’s eve celebrations around the world and Beirut was fortunately mentioned in the article. Next thing we know, local media picked up the article to brag about how the party in Nejmeh square was the 7th best in the world, and people of course were euphoric about it on social networks. Even our prime minister spoke about it on TV!

I hate to spoil things. The national geographic article is nice, and having Beirut mentioned is absolutely cool, but can we stop blowing things out of proportions when it comes to such news?

First of all, the article was published a while ago and last updated on December 31st, so contrary to what people think, the editors didn’t watch every celebration out there in the world and in the end decided to include Beirut for its epic party. The article was simply prepared ahead of time with appealing cities from around the world.

Moreover, whether you like it or not, there were definitely some cooler parties around the globe. Nejmeh square is basically small compared to other public spaces elsewhere in the world, and anyone in his proper mind would know there’s no way it can make it to the top 10 celebrations in the world. On the other hand, The UAE celebrations were massive this year and included attempts to break several world records, why weren’t they mentioned? And what about other major cities like Moscow, Berlin, Bangkok, Singapore, Cape Town and others?

It’s not like I love to hate on Beirut’s party, my problem is with people who love to lie to themselves like the websites who incorrectly reported the news and are now infesting the social platforms with their article. Hell even the company who was in charge of organizing the NYE event sponsored a post on Facebook to brag about it…

https://www.facebook.com/420271691486788/posts/1144775369036413/

But then again, in a country where we lie day in day out about an economy boost after the government formation, a super fast internet, and better wages, you find it logical to have NYE celebration ranked 7th in the world. So let’s wait to see what other good news does 2019 holds for us!

Lebanon Ranks 99th in World Press Freedom Index – 2nd Among Arab Countries

By Rami on May 2, 2017 in Journalism, Lebanon

Reporters without borders issued their yearly World Press Freedom Index and Lebanon came in the 99th place among 180 countries (dropping 1 spot since last year) and in the 2nd place among the Arab countries behind Tunsia.

Here’s what they had to say about the state of press in Lebanon:

Lebanon’s media are outspoken but also extremely politicized and polarized. Its newspapers, radio stations, and TV channels serve as the mouthpieces of political parties or businessmen. Lebanon’s criminal code regards defamation and the dissemination of false information as offenses. Journalists who are prosecuted and convicted by a “print media court” are usually fined, but a prison sentence is still legally possible. Bloggers and online journalists may receive summonses from the “bureau for combatting cyber-crimes” if something they have posted on a social network elicits a complaint from a private party.

Morevoer, below is a list of some Arab countries compared to us:

97 – Tunisia
99 – Lebanon
104 – Kuwait
119 – UAE
123 – Qatar
126 – Oman
138 – Jordan
158 – Iraq
161 – Egypt
164 – Bahrain
165 – Iran
166 – Yemen
168 – Saudi Arabia
177 – Syria

The country with the freest media turned to be Norway, followed by Sweden, Finland and Denmark, while North Korea came at the bottom of the ranking.

BBC Pop Up – Lebanon: Pimps, Prostitutes and Refugees

By Rami on March 24, 2017 in Journalism, Sex, Videos

Here’s BBC Pop Up latest video from Lebanon. In this one, Benjamin Zand basically explores our red light districts. And just like he did with his video about drugs in Lebanon, he met with some local pimp who explained all about his “business” including lawfully locking up the women who work for him… and he interviewed some Syrian refugees who unfortunately had to turn to prostitution to survive.

As you know, following their previous video about Hachich production in Bekaa, the security forces raided the homes of some of the biggest dealers in that region (but failed to arrest them), which makes me wonder if the same thing is going to happen with this pimp now…

BBC Pop UP Published Their First Video From Lebanon

By Rami on February 22, 2017 in Journalism, Sex, Videos

Remember when I told you that the BBC Pop Up team are in Lebanon for this month? Well, they published their first video and it’s about homosexuals in the country.

Over the last few years, some judges issued rulings in favor of gay people due to the fact that you simply cannot define what sexual acts really contradict “the laws of nature”, so the report discusses if this is going to offer a better future for the LGBT community in Lebanon.

P.S: The video contains some sexual content.

BBC Pop Up Are Coming to Beirut And Want to Hear Your Stories!

By Rami on January 29, 2017 in Journalism, Travel

BBC Pop Up is BBC’s mobile bureau, it’s a small team that travels to different cities one month at a time to make documentaries.

They have previously been to several places like Russia and India and made some pretty interesting videos. The way they get inspired to make their stories however is different than other show, instead of deciding by themselves what to report on, they rely on suggestions submitted by the inhabitants of the place they’re visiting or other people who simply want to know more about a certain topic related the country they’re in.

Throughout the month of February, BBC Pop Up announced on their twitter account that they will be flying to Beirut, and in a country like ours with countless problems and so many awesome things at the same time, I bet they will have a quite busy month! From the refugee crisis, to waste management, messed up transportation system, our food culture, and cool places off the beaten track like little Armenia (Bourj Hammoud) and cities like Tripoli and Saida… there’s just so much to talk about.

You can submit your ideas to BBC Pop Up through their website or write to them on bbcpopup@bbc.co.uk.

Assafir Newspaper Printed Its Final Issue

By Rami on January 2, 2017 in Journalism

2016 is over and so is unfortunately the paper print of Assafir daily. The last issue was printed on the last day of 2016 with an editorial titled “The nation without Assafir”.

It was originally planned for the newspaper to stop operating in March 2016 due to financial difficulties but it continued publishing for a few more months after getting some support. Talal Salman, its Chief Editor, blamed the closure on the crisis currently affecting all media outlets (falling sales and decrease in advertising), but in fact I believe it is their failure to adapt to changing times that should be blamed.

Advertisers are currently spending more on digital channels, and Chief Editors can no longer expect their newspapers to survive unless they accept to adapt and provide good content through their websites, social media, apps and even blogs.

I personally used to follow some of Assafir’s editors and will definitely miss reading their articles, so I really hope they keep publishing on some online platform.

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