Eight years since the audio-visual law was passed in Lebanon, the media is still a demonstration of the highly charged sensitivities in the country. Nicknamed Lebanon’s Fourth Authority, the media has yet to live up to its reputation and achieve independence.

The story so far

Since the outbreak of the civil war in Lebanon, different warring factions used the mediums of TV and radio to present and defend their political and military orientations. The initial years following the end of the war saw the closure of some of these organizations, while other sectarian and political groups resorted to the establishment of their own stations to disseminate their political opinions. The resulting media disarray led the government to issue a law regulating the broadcasting sector and reducing the number of stations that had proliferated during the war.

Law No. 382 (November 4, 1994)
 

This law brought an end to the monopoly held by Tele-Liban (which had been accorded until the year 2012) and Radio Liban over licensed broadcasting in Lebanon. It also legalized channels being broadcast illegally and introduced new ones, handing out licenses on a confessional, political and geographic basis.

No compensation was granted in return; however, Tele-Liban was exempted from the fees generally required from all other media outlets.

The groundwork for the operation of privately owned TV and radio stations was also established, under the following four categories:
• Category One: Stations entitled to broadcast news and political programs, among other others.
• Category Two: Stations permitted to transmit all programs, except news and political programs.
• Category Three: Stations that broadcast coded signals, limited to subscribers.
• Category Four: Stations that broadcast via satellite and whose coverage extends beyond Lebanese territory. ...Full Story