Beirut, 17 November 2021.
Leading Lebanese television and radio outlets launched a new initiative in Beirut today, jointly committing to principles of public interest journalism. The group also announced a series of televised programs dubbed Townhall_لبنان# (Lubnan Townhall) that will be broadcast by all members, live and simultaneously, discussing major challenges facing Lebanon and its citizens. Convened by the Munathara Initiative, an organization promoting constructive public discourse across the Arabic-speaking region, founding members include Télé Liban, Al Jadeed TV, NBN, OTV, Sawt Lubnan, and Radio Sawt El Chaab.
Veteran journalist Zaven Kouyoumdjian, who was nominated by the group to host the new programs, commented: “I’m honored to be part of this much-needed initiative for our country. It’s time we took the Lebanese media sphere to a new level so it can finally live up to the challenges our country is facing on the political, economic, and social level. It’s time for a change. And change needs new ideas and people who are passionate about improving the quality of public debate in Lebanon.”
The media outlets also agreed on an independent committee of Lebanese journalists to produce the public interest themed Townhalls, which will be editorially fully independent from the broadcasters airing them.
Public interest journalism, defined as journalism that serves the common good, is based on principles of objectivity, independence, non-partisanship, and inclusion. It places great emphasis on fact-driven conversation and seeks to highlight citizen voices that are underrepresented in public discourse. Townhall Lubnan will feature citizens from across Lebanon alongside well-known public figures, debating on an equal footing. The first instalment will be aired live on 22 November 2021, at 9.30pm on all participating channels. Young participants come from every region of Lebanon and are trained in partnership with the Lebanon Debating Society, which ran a nationwide campaign to recruit citizens for in-depth workshops in public speaking and debate.
“We have a unique opportunity to break through the siloes of Lebanon’s media sphere. For the first time ever, broadcast stations will unite around a single project, a single television feed, a single conversation, establishing a shared, national debate for all citizens.”, said Fadwa Zidi, who is the Chief Operating Officer of the Munathara Initiative and led months of extensive negotiations with the owners of Lebanon’s leading broadcast outlets. “Our initiative remains open to all channels that share the values of journalism in the public interest of all Lebanese citizens.”
The Munathara Initiative, the Arabic-speaking world’s leading debate organization, has since 2012 broadcast public interest debates from across the region, including Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Yemen. In 2019, Munathara organized the Tunisian presidential debates, which broke audience records across North Africa and the Middle East, triggering widespread popular demands for debates holding candidates accountable to citizens.