Guilt by photography: the Lebanese press does it again

byHabib Battah
Sep 15, 2008

After reading my previous post, a friend pointed out this article from the Al Akhbar newspaper as a further example of the photo selection process that has become shamefully routine among the Lebanese press. The article discusses a government agency that has been accused of mismanaging international aid received in the wake of the 2006 war. But before going on to read the article, and thus actually judge the integrity of its reporting, it seems that Al Akbar is trying to tell us something. Here is the close up:

Perhaps someone has got has hand stuck in the cookie jar?

Habib Battah

Habib Battah is an investigative journalist and founder of the news site beirutreport.com. Battah has covered Lebanon and the Middle East for over 15 years and teaches journalism and media studies at the American University of Beirut. He is a contributor to Monocle, The Guardian, BBC World, Al Jazeera and others, a former fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and two-time recipient of the Samir Kassir Press Freedom Award. Battah's investigative work was recently recognized for outstanding local reporting by the Columbia University Oakes Award for Environmental Reporting. Battah earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. in Near East Studies and Journalism from New York University.

2 comments

Hamid Dezyan says:

Oct 20, 2008 at 6:37 pm

Dear Habib

I am one of your blogs readers. I always follow your posts to find some reliable information about Lebanon, but its a long time you dont write anything.
Just wanted to make sure that every thing is ok with uand tell u I am waiting u start again.
Take Care
Hamid

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Habib Battah says:

Oct 20, 2008 at 8:31 pm

Thank you Hamid. It’s nice to hear from you. I have taken on some new projects but promise to post again in the next few days.

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