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.

The law requires that stations apply for licenses, valid for 16 years, with Category One and Two stations paying licensing fees of LL 250 million and annual rent of LL 100 million. As for radio stations, the same categories were assigned licensing fees of LL125 million and annual rent of LL15 million.

The licensing decision is made by the Council of Ministers, but a 10-member advisory body called the National Council of Audio-Visual Media was formed to review the licensing applications and offer its opinion before submitting it to the Council.

In terms of ownership, the law compels institutions to have nominal shares and prohibits any natural or legal person from owning more than 10% of the company’s equity (spouses, parents and minor-age children are considered one entity). In addition, it is also unlawful for such an entity to own shares in another company.

In a legislative attempt to monitor this sector and keep it controlled by the Lebanese, prior approval is required for any transfer of ownership, but at the risk of annulment. Penalties to be applied on institutions committing any violations include the following:

• First-time violation: Broadcasts are halted for a maximum period of three days by decision from the Minister of Information, and upon the suggestion of the National Council of Audio Visual Media.

• Second violation (within one year of the first): Broadcasting is halted for a period ranging between three days and one month, upon a decision by the Council of Ministers, and based on the suggestion of the Minister of Information and the National Council of Audio Visual Media.

Decree No. 7997 (Enacted February 29, 1996)

This decree was based on the Audio Visual Law (No. 382) discussed previously and enacted 15 months after it was passed. It was considered by many to be a restrictive law that banned stations from broadcasting news deemed to rouse sectarian or religious tensions, as seen in the eyes of the authorities, while others deemed it necessary considering the confessional and sectarian feuds in the country.

It includes a ‘model guidelines’ booklet targeting Category One and Two radio and television stations. Compulsory programming and technical requirements include the following:

• A minimum of 730 hours per year devoted to local productions, with 280 hours for news and 146 hours for children’s programs.
• Movies and programs containing violence and sexual content cannot be broadcast before 10:30 p.m.
• Live broadcast of ceremonies consisting of political or unauthorized content is prohibited.
• Religious programs may be broadcast during official religious occasions, with a 52-hour per week limit.

Licensed organizations

Licenses were handed out along a confessional, political and geographic basis, as a number of the stations do not satisfy the conditions of Law No. 382 and Decree No. 7997. The stations licensed by the Council of Ministers consist of eight Category One television stations and 23 radio stations (14 Category One and 15 Category Two stations), with the TV stations listed as follows:

Unlicensed organizations

There are presently 27 radio stations (as of September 2002) that have secured licenses, while two stations continue to broadcast without them. In addition, three unlicensed religious stations (Muslim and Christian) are still operational, and were allocated airwaves to broadcast religious programs by the Lebanese government. These are the Dar el Fatwa (Sunni Religious Council), the Higher Shiite Islamic Council and the Council of Catholic Cardinals and Bishops.

Violations by licensed organizations

There are many who point out that there are clear violations when comparing the programs being aired to the conditions laid out in the ‘model guidelines’ booklet, as stations do not broadcast the sufficient requirements. Critics especially point to the quotas that are not being filled in terms of awareness and educational programs, while shows containing sex and violence are being aired before the permissible hour. However, station owners refer to prevailing market conditions that force them to resort to certain programs which are more economically feasible and fit their budgets.

Such violations, among others, have led the Minister of Information to declare: “If we want to apply Lebanese law, then we should shut down all media institutions with no exceptions. There is no institution that is not in violation of a clause or several clauses of the Audio-Visual Law. The law, in spite of its shortcomings, should be applied. The reasons when it is not applied are due to the presence of some form of protection from certain parties and those who can bypass the law…” The violation referred to is the default in payment by some institutions for outstanding fees required by law and these were estimated at LL 2.5 billion for TV stations (not accounting for the amounts due to the Ministry of Telecommunications for the use of satellites and satellite transmissions) and LL 3 billion for radio stations. In addition, the current Prime Minister and Speaker of the House have indicated that they have benefitted from the law and this was not correct, therefore, it is not proper for politicians to own TV stations.

Conflict of laws

The Audio-Visual Law imposes several penalties on violating institutions; however, these penalties have been dictated by different laws.
Clause 2 of Article 35 in the penal code states that the Publications Court, the penal code and other related laws would be applied to crimes committed by TV and radio stations. However, Article 68 of the Election Law No. 171 states that all audio-visual and non-political print media outlets are forbidden from dealing with political advertisement during the election campaign, defined as the period starting from the call for elections until they take place and the final results are declared. Defiance of this article would be at the risk of either temporary or permanent closure by a decision from the Publications Court, without the presence of the related party. This illustrates the non-unified application of the law, where different parties are responsible for applying the law.

Presently, Lebanon is awash with newsprint material and audio-visual media outlets that have the means and the ability to carry on and offer high-quality programming, so consolidation in this medium must become a consideration.

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