Media

With 10 privately owned daily papers in three languages and more than 1,500 weekly and monthly periodicals, Lebanon accounts for about half of the periodicals produced in the Middle East region. In addition, there are nine television stations and about 40 radio stations. Despite this diversity, 78.4% of the covered media outlets are politically affiliated. Of them, 21.62 % are directly affiliated to political parties; 43.24% are affiliated to the government (state-owned, owned or co-owned by incumbent ministers and MPs) and 13.51% to individuals who have been involved in politics or aspire to become politicians. Moreover, 32% of the most popular media outlets surveyed is in the hands of at least eight of Lebanon’s most prominent families. This represents an audience share of 30% of the TV audience, 72% of the listenership and 60% of the readership.