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Lebanon's Daily Star Abandons Print Edition in Protest Against 'Deteriorating Situation' in Country

Lebanon’s leading English-language newspaper, The Daily Star, abandoned its print edition on August 8 to take a stance on the deteriorating situation in the country, a statement by the newspaper said.

Emily Lewis, Lebanon reporter at The Daily Star, published a video of the empty pages of the newspaper where warning messages on black background can be seen. The newspaper listed the major problems facing Lebanon such as “government deadlock,” “sectarian rhetoric,” “trash,”unemployment," and the high number of refugees. The final page read, “Wake up before it’s too late.”

The online desk editor Joseph Haboush told Storyful that they wanted to sound the alarm to the politicians and officials that the situation in Lebanon cannot continue in this manner. “The message was to deliver a warning and call on those officials as well as the citizens to pull together before it’s too late do so,” Haboush said

Lebanese activists, journalists and politicians took social media to express their support the newspaper’s stance.

Larissa Aoun, a Sky News Arabia reporter and producer, described the edition as “exceptional.” Samy Gemayel, a member of the Lebanese Parliament, tweeted that “the journalism cry by The Daily Star is strong and expressive.” Credit: Emily Lewis via Storyful