The impact of the money and power on newspapers in Lebanon (Case Study: An-Nahar, Ad-Diyar, Al Mustaqbal and Al Akhbar)

Lebanon enjoys the freedom of the press that distinguishes him from other countries in the region, but the newspapers have been transformed after the war (between the Muslims and the Christians), and specifically after the Taif Agreement in 1989, from objective and defending the unity of the country to a new weapon to raise the fire of strife between his sons. This split was more clearly reflected after the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005 as Lebanon broke in two parts, but this time on a sectarian and doctrinal basis (Sunni-Shiite and the Christians were distributed over the two communities).The parties 8 and 14 March arose, competing on everything; starting by the powers and the positions arriving to the domination of the media in order to promote the political line of the leaders of both of them. The newspapers were much affected by this division, and instead of playing their role in the transmission of the truth, they became a mirror reflecting the politician's differences. The main reasons of this bias were addressed by this study, showing the effect of this power on them, and this through the analysis of the content of 21 important events, taking place over 22 years, in four daily newspapers: An-Nahar, Ad- Diyar, Al Mustaqbal and Al Akhbar. It showed also the dominance of money and the need of the newspapers for a permanent additional funding, despite the advertising revenues and the high turnover in the holiday seasons, in order to survive. And how foliar newspapers today will face the risk of extinction after the competition with digital media? This thesis helps to understand the changes of the press between political and technical conditions change.