Lebanese broadcasters pull plug
Lebanon, Entertainment, 7/25/1997

As some radio and television stations that did not receive licensing at the last cabinet session on July 24 began to go off the air, media executives were preparing for the next round of lobbying after Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's return from Athens.

After a meeting on July 24, the media follow-up committee said that there was no legal excuse for the cabinet's decision to immediately close non-licensed audio-visual media. Meanwhile, there were no reports of the authorities officially ordering stations to cease broadcasting.

A sign of the attempt at solidarity was the presence of representatives from Manar TV, Sawt al-Shaab, and the hosting of the meeting by Voice of Lebanon, which all received licensing for category one 9 political broadcasting. While MTV, licensed last year, is not a part of the committee, its president Jihad Murr said that he backed the committee's efforts.

"While we definitely support the regulation of the industry, we are supporting them in their attempt to get a fair conclusion to the issue," he said.

Murr said that the cabinet decision came "suddenly," after media executives had expected a delay so that they could correct their application files.

He added that he had ordered the closure of his group's radio stations Hit FM and Jabal Lubnan on the night of July 23.

"The granting of licenses has not been fair. Jabal Lubnan is the number one rated FM station, and it is being closed, while some stations that do not exist have been granted licenses."

Murr nevertheless praised the implementation of the audio-visual media law so that less "anarchy" would do away with overlapping frequencies.

The follow-up committee called for a conclave to discuss basic issues related to organizing broadcast channels and frequencies, and demanded that officials consider those applications that are still pending.

A "meeting of solidarity" will be held on Monday, July 28 at the journalists association headquarters.

However the committee considered that the cabinet's approval of licenses for a number of stations is a "positive step which will strengthen democracy and media pluralism."

A source close to the committee predicted that the government would try to avoid any political battle that might result from forcing the immediate closure of all unlicensed broadcasters.

"A compromise is still needed on the issue, and we have not reached that compromise. Further positive steps by both sides are needed," the source said.

Voice of Lebanon, Sawt Al Shaab, and Sawt Al Ghad were approved for category one political licenses, while Pax Network, Mix FM, Nostalgie and Liban Star, received non-political licenses. The cabinet also gave its approval for a category one license to the Lebanese Media Group (LMG), a reconstituted version of Manar Television with several Bekaa MPs as shareholders.

Sawt Al Iman radio, an institution supervised by Hizbullah's spiritual leader Sayed Mohammed Hussien Fadal Allah, was granted similar approval as Al Bahaer, with a category two license. LMG complained that the decision to grant a license to its television station, but not its radio station was unfair.

Sidon Holy Koran radio announced that a decision on its closure will be issued on July 28, following a meeting with Mufti Mohammed Rasheed Qabani. The Islamic station added that it would not close until a religious station managed by Dar Al Fatwa and the Higher Shiite council is established.

Five radio stations were reported to have gone off the air9Ehden Radio, Tripoli's Voice of Paradise, Shabab Al Farah and Shabab Al Hubb, Zghorta's Al Samar, and Akkar's Al Ghad.

Suleiman Franjieh's al Ghad radio, which broadcasts from Zghorta, was approved for licensing by the cabinet.

However, the Lebanese Broadcasting Station (LBS) said it would not close unless all other radio stations did the same, adding that it would be "the last one to go off the air."

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