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Executive Magazine, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Lebanon Enterprise Development (LED), presented a Media development action plan on June 21st at the Gefinor - Rotana Hotel in the presence of industry representatives and free-speech activists.
The business models of Lebanon-based media enterprises have become increasingly deficient as the country’s economic crisis has exacerbated the pressures that media face due to global shifts in operating environments for professional journalists and quality media. Organizations should move toward greater viability by responding to local and global challenges with a broad catalogue of actions such as adoption of renewable energy solutions, improving the social security and on-the-job protection of their staff, devising economically sustainable digital strategies, using new financing tools, and paying living wages. If Lebanon-based media recover and develop their quality advantages, they can create jobs and provide value in regional context, says a new action plan for this important industry.
“The media action plan project analyzed the responses of 30 media enterprises to a detailed industry survey. It comprises 27 recommendations and a matrix of concrete actions that we present today to all local and international stakeholders that are looking to strengthen the freedom and accuracy of journalism in the Arab countries and the whole Middle East,” says Yasser Akkaoui, editor-in-chief of Executive Magazine and project leader. “This media action plan will enable much-needed collaborative cooperation among stakeholders with the objective of finding alternative solutions in the media industry,” he adds.
Douglas Griffith, Managing Director of the USAID Lebanon Enterprise Development (LED) Project said: “Through this grant to Executive Magazine, LED aims to support Executive to launch a process of self-reflection and improvement among Lebanon-based media organizations that is driven by a keen sense that Lebanese media outlets have an essential role to play domestically and in the wider Middle East region.”
Aouni Kaaki, head of the Lebanese Press Order stressed that, “Despite the widespread chaos in the media industry in Lebanon, the country still has a very important advantage, which is the freedoms it offers.”
As Akkaoui explains, the data that were collected under the action plan’s gap report shows that Lebanese media is hampered by barriers which harm fulfilment of this potential. Examples of these barriers are the poor access to renewable energy, the lack of sufficient protection for journalists, and the little investment attraction of the media enterprises in Lebanon.
The media development action plan identified corporate challenges faced by local media outlets and recommended alternative solutions enabling business to acquire much needed capacities and skills, hence, develop strategies aligned with international industry best practices.
As a publication that has been dedicated to the economic democracy of Lebanon throughout its existence of 24 years, Executive is an integral part of the country’s media landscape and a highly committed stakeholder in the development of journalistic excellence in local and regional context.
