Bombs and broadcasts: Al Manar's battle to stay on air
By Paul Cochrane, Arab Media & Society
For all the obstacles Pan-Arab satellite channels Al Jazeera and
Al Arabiya have faced this year—correspondents attacked, operations
banned from Iraq, government harassment in Israel, Iran, and the
Gulf—no Arab TV channel has encountered the difficulties of Lebanese
broadcaster Al Manar (The Beacon). In fact, no sizeable media outlet
has encountered such sustained, deliberate violence since NATO
bombed the Radio Television Serbia (RTS) headquarters in Belgrade in
1999, leaving 16 staff dead.
A day after the war began between Israel and Hizbullah on July 12,
Al Manar, the so-called mouthpiece of Hizbullah, had its
headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs targeted by Israeli
warplanes (was this legitimate? see Andrew Exum). Three staff were
injured in the initial attack, and the five-storey building was
eventually pummelled to dust in seven separate attacks.
In the ensuing weeks as Israel’s bombardment continued, Al Manar’s
transmitters were targeted, transmissions were jammed and its
website was repeatedly hacked.
A Brief Media Silence
Despite Israel's repeated attempts to silence Al Manar, the channel
continued to broadcast from an undisclosed location, only going off
air for two minutes after the headquarters were targeted.
“The Israeli military had an aim to hit media capabilities in
Lebanon. That explains why they were bombing transmitters all over
Lebanon, not only Al Manar's, but other channels too,” said the
channel's head of public relations Ibrahim Farhat. In addition to Al
Manar, other channels using the same transmitters—Al Jazeera, Al
Arabiya, Future TV and state broadcaster TeleLiban—were also
affected.[1]
Despite the widescale impact of the attacks on Lebanese and Arab
media, Al Manar was undoubtedly the primary target given the
channel’s close relations with Hizbullah. Although Farhat insists
the channel, established in 1991 by the Lebanese Media Group (LMG),
is an independent institution (albeit one with shareholders from the
political party in addition to shareholders from the Lebanese
Christian community) the channel’s backing of the party is clear
from the numerous video montages and programmes praising the
‘Islamic Resistance’—Hizbullah’s military wing.
“It was obvious Al Manar was a target, because Al Manar is the voice
of the resistance against Israel,” claimed Farhat, speaking from a
dilapidated building at the entrance of what used to be the Al Manar
studios.
Al Manar has long been a thorn in the side of the Israeli attempts
to confront Hizbullah’s popularity in Southern Lebanon. Until 2000
when Israel was forced to make an “ignominious withdrawal”—as a
Hizbullah poster in the South creatively put it—Al Manar championed
the cause of the Islamic resistance in its fight against the
occupation and, in the years that followed, it devoted a large slice
of news coverage to Palestinian issues.[2]
Equally, the channel has garnered the disdain of the American
government due to its close links with Hizbullah and the
anti-American position the channel has adopted, rarely failing to
point out incongruities in US claims of fighting for ‘freedom’ and
‘democracy’ in the so-called ‘war on terror.’ Some video montages
designed to lambaste the US in the past have included an artist’s
impression of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty’s face replaced by a
skull and her torch dripping blood) next to scrolling text in Arabic
listing off every country the US has invaded or had military
involvement in since 1945.
In 2004 the US State Department, urged on by Israel, labelled Al
Manar a terrorist entity by adding the station to its Terrorist
Exclusion List and banning broadcasting in North America. In 2006
the order was expanded to include other LMG assets Al Noor Radio and
newspapers Al Ahed and Al Intiqad. On March 23 this year the US
Treasury Department froze Al Manar’s financial assets.[3]
It is perhaps no surprise therefore that Al Manar instituted
contingency plans for a possible attack, especially given the
additional flack the channel has sustained over the past few years
outside of Israel and the US.
“After the building was bombed several times, broadcasting stopped
and we moved to another [undisclosed] location. We were prepared for
this, but not totally, and during the war added facilities,” said
Farhat.
The US ban fell in line with similar measures taken over the last
three years by Australia, the Netherlands, France and Spain—all of
which accuse the Beirut-based station of "inciting violence."
France banned the channel following complaints by the Representative
Council of Jewish Institutions in France to the French Higher Audio
Visual Council (CSA) that scenes in a 30 part Syrian-made series,
Al-Shatat (The Diaspora), aired during Ramadan 2003, were
anti-Semitic.
The show, which claimed to depict the history of the Zionist
movement, stoked widespread condemnation by portraying the killing
of a Christian child by Jews to use the victim's blood to make
matzoh bread.
In August last year France Telecom's Globecast removed Al Manar from
its Asiasat bouquet, following Spain's withdrawal in June of
transmission rights from state-owned satellite Hispasat, which
broadcasts to Latin America.
Al Manar said it erred in showing two episodes in the series and is
appealing the ban in France.[4]
"It is unfair. Al Manar is not radical. It has the same standards as
other channels and Western governments and Israel have no right to
ban us. This aggression against Al Manar results from the
Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian case," Farhat reaffirmed.
Nonetheless, the channel has utilized the destruction of its studios
as a symbol of Israeli aggression, holding live interviews with
Lebanese personalities at the entrance to the levelled headquarters
on the day of the ceasefire on August 14. Draped on a neighboring
building a new slogan was emblazoned beneath the Al Manar symbol: "A
flame that will not be extinguished."
Interviews with journalists were also scheduled at the entrance to
the studios, and PR men were permanently stationed there to meet the
throngs of adults and children that came to witness the destruction
levied on the southern suburbs in the war’s aftermath.
Viewers Soar Despite Transmission Jams
If the Israeli strike was intended to remove Al Manar from the
airwaves, it achieved the opposite result. Instead, Al Manar viewing
figures soared during the conflict as it became the primary outlet
for the speeches of Hizbullah Secretary General Sayeed Hassan
Nasrallah. With other channels turning to Al Manar for the latest
line from Hizbullah, it could set the regional news agenda and bring
viewers to its extensive coverage of the war. Indeed, purely by
staying on air, Al Manar could claim a success. According to
Israel's Market Research, the channel's popularity rankings in the
Middle East leapt from 83rd to the 10th slot between July 15 and
28.[5]
This meant a substantial increase to the estimated 10 million people
that tune in daily to its terrestrial and satellite channels in
normal times, according to Farhat.
During the 34-day war, the channel aired news, political programmes,
video montages showing Hizbullah fighters in action, Qu’ranic
verses, and extensive coverage of the damage caused by Israeli
attacks.
“In the war we tried to be an intermediary to show people what was
going on,” said Farhat.
As for all journalists and media outlets in Lebanon at that time
(see also Magda Abu-Fadil), Al Manar correspondents ran the gauntlet
to cover the conflict in the South and the Bekaa.
"It [Al-Manar] fought alongside the fighters ... fielding a unique
experience of tenacity with great commitment," wrote George Hayek, a
TV columnist for Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar. "Its employees were
like the soldiers on the battlefield," he added.[6]
Israel’s repeated attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut made
life difficult for the channel’s employees, with some staff losing
apartments in the suburbs and residences in the south of the
country.
The Israelis also interrupted transmissions and tried to jam Al
Manar frequencies altogether. Farhat claims these were not
successful, even though the channel could do little against attacks
on wavelength frequencies.
“They tried to affect the picture and sound once or twice but
couldn’t successfully block us,” he said.
In one incident, Israel hacked Al Manar’s signal and inserted a
90-second spot that began with a gun site superimposed on a crude
drawing of Hassan Nasrallah looking at the ground. The image was
punctuated by the sound of three gunshots and framed on the top with
the words, "Your day is coming, coming, coming." Underneath the
image of Nasrallah were the words: "The State of Israel."[7]
Television reception was also affected throughout Lebanon by the
unmanned drones that continuously buzzed in the skies and
temporarily disrupted reception when flying directly overhead.
Alongside Al Manar’s terrestrial and satellite TV channels, Al Manar
was available on the Internet via live video streaming, with more
than 15,000 people accessing the service every day according to
Farhat. The website was however repeatedly hacked by unknown
assailants, affecting the channel’s print and video output.
Although the website helped viewers in North America access Al Manar,
the broadcast ban caused some controversy when a Pakistani
businessman in New York was arrested for providing “material support
for terrorism” by offering customers with Al Manar’s satellite
channel during the war.[8] Asked about the incident Farhat refused
to comment, but said: “That’s why they can’t stop us from
broadcasting everywhere.”
Israel certainly did its best to stop Al Manar from broadcasting in
Lebanon, targeting Al Manar antennas right up to the ceasefire with
the final attack just 15 minutes before it took hold.
Farhat said the channel would look into legal action against Israel
for targeting the media outlet, as attacks on the media are
considered a violation of international law.
"We will discuss with our lawyers to see what we can do against
Israel, knowing that the UN and international institutions are not
working in a fair manner," he said. Direct and indirect damage to Al
Manar was put at $16.07 million, according to Lebanon’s National
Council of Information.[9]
The Divine Victory
Farhat said no decision had been made on a new studio, but it would
likely take more than a year for new headquarters and studios to be
completed.
In the meantime, Ramadan broadcasting aside, the channel has
returned to its original programming schedule (see note 2) replete
with new montages of the resistance (‘A Victory from God’ or ‘The
Divine Victory’ the slogan that emerged from the war); montages that
ridicule the US, Israeli and British governments and depict
atrocities carried out in Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq; coverage of
the reconstruction; and montages of the Hizbullah rally that
attracted up to one million supporters on September 22.
The channel’s engagement with local politics, reflecting its status
as a politically aligned media outlet, is as noticeable as ever amid
Lebanon’s fractious sectarian political system, for instance
screening footage originally broadcast on Israeli TV (after the
ceasefire) of a Lebanese Army general greeting the IDF at his
Marjayoun barracks with tea and biscuits in the middle of the
war.[10] The army was ridiculed and people mocked the ability of the
establishment to be able to protect Lebanon from Israel without
Hizbullah remaining militarized, despite UN resolutions that call
for the group’s disarmament.
Al Manar's broadcasting standards are expected to return to normal
by the end of the year—the channel having lost 20 per cent of its
terrestrial broadcasting capabilities—and a fixed location for the
station is to be revealed.
“Al Manar is operating from a secret location that will not be
disclosed until there is a complete ceasefire,” Farhat said. But on
contacting Al Manar after the Israeli military’s near full
withdrawal on October 1, the channel’s elusive location still
remains a well-guarded secret.
Paul Cochrane is a contributing editor for Arab Media & Society. He
is also a freelance journalist based in Beirut, writing on politics,
media, education and business. He formerly worked as an editor at
Beirut’s The Daily Star and was news editor of Middle East
Broadcasters Journal. Cochrane holds a MA in Middle Eastern Studies
from the American University of Beirut and a BA in International
Politics and International History from Keele University, England.
Notes:
[1] A technician for the Lebanese Broadcast Corporation (LBC),
Suleiman Chidiac, was killed on July 12 when Israel warplanes
launched three missiles at a transmission center in Fatqa, northwest
of Beirut.
[2] 35 percent of Al Manar programming is political, the rest
devoted to sports and entertainment . “Political programming will
still focus on Lebanon and Palestine, because we are related to it,”
said Farhat.
[3] Trish Schuh. ‘Israel Targets, Flattens Beirut TV Station HQ,’
Counterpunch, July 19, 2006 -
[4] Paul Cochrane, ‘Al Manar Recants Programming Decisions,’ Middle
East Broadcasters Journal, August-September 2005
[5] Dudi Goldman, ‘War soars al-Manar popularity,’
Ynetnews.com, August 24, 2006
[6] ‘Why Did Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV Never Go Off the Air?’
Associated Press, August 25, 2006
[7] Elie Lake, ‘Israel War Effort Extends Even To Hezbollah TV,’
The New York Sun,
August 2, 2006 -
[8] Timothy Williams and William K. Rashbaum, ‘New York Man Charged
With Enabling Hezbollah Television Broadcasts,’ The New York Times,
August 25, 2006
[9] According to figures presented by the Lebanese media to the
National Council of Information, the sector suffered $38,670,163 in
indirect and direct damages. The Council is to demand compensation
from Israel. Published in An-Nahar Daily, 24 October 2006.
[10] ‘Lebanese general arrested for drinking tea with IDF,’
Associated Press, August 16, 2006.
