Radio

In Lebanon, radio is increasingly a less pertinent means of receiving information in 2024, particularly when compared to the state of the sector in 2018. According to the survey conducted by ELKA with the support of the Samir Kassir Foundation, 35% of the population relies on radio for their news. With over 40 radio stations, it is one of the most diversified media sectors. As of 2015, 72% of radio stations offer broadcasting in Arabic, 48% in English and 24% in French. In 1994, the Audiovisual Media Law abolished state monopoly on the broadcasting sector. This led dozens of TV and radio stations that opened during and after the civil war to close, favoring the control of a few powerful local and regional tycoons on the sector at the expense of pluralism.  

Despite its decline, the radio was able to relatively maintain its position among alternative media and modern communication tools, mainly because it managed to stay abreast of new techniques. In fact, many radio stations now adopt digital broadcasting techniques, which allows listeners to follow these stations through their modern mobile equipment, phones or other tools.

Two Categories of Radio

After the 1994 Law was passed, the Council of Ministers allowed 15 radio stations to broadcast in two categories: 1 and 2. Since, several other stations have been licensed.

Category 1 stations are allowed to broadcast political news. This category includes Radio Orient, Radio Liban Libre, Jabal Lebnan, NBN (Radio Al-Risala), Al-Nour, Sawt El Shaab, Voix du Liban, Sawt El Ghad, Voice of Van, Sawt El Watan, Sawt El Mada, Nidaa FM, Lubnan Al-Arabi, Voice of Beirut, Radio Liban, Fajr Radio, and Voix de Tout le Liban 93.3, among others. Category 2 radio stations are not authorized to broadcast political news. These are Radio Delta, Radio Scoop, France FM, Light FM, Faddoul Music, Radio In, Sound of Music, Radio One, Nostalgie, Mix FM, Pax Network, Al-Bachaer, Radio Al-Wihda, MSB, Strike, and Rotana Radio among others.

Out of the nine radio stations chosen within the MOM project, only one radio station is state-owned (Radio Liban), six are affiliated with political parties (Voix du Liban, Radio Liban Libre, Sawt El Shaab, Sawt El Mada, Al-Nour, Fajr Radio), while the remaining two (Voix de Tout le Liban 93.3 and Radio Orient) belong to Lebanese families, which have been highly engaged in Lebanese politics. Six out of nine radio stations are owned by political parties who also own TV stations and newspapers: Al-Nour is a pro-Hezbollah radio station, Voix du Liban is pro-Phalange Party, Radio Liban Libre is pro-Lebanese Forces, Sawt El-Mada is pro-Free Patriotic Movement, Radio Orient is pro-Future Movement, and Sawt El Shaab is pro-Communist Party.