On Friday, the publisher of the Lebanese newspaper “As-Safir”, Talal Salman, died at the age of 85 in a Beirut hospital, where he was being treated after his health deteriorated in recent months, according to media outlets and friends of the late journalist.
And the “National Media” (official) agency wrote that Salman died “after a media career full of successes.”
The late media outlets mourned on social networking sites. Family friends said that his health had deteriorated greatly in recent months and that he had been hospitalized more than once.
“The great Talal Salman, who crossed the regions with his pen, his memory will remain immortal, and his ancient history will remain a page that will not be closed in the history of the Lebanese press,” Minister of Information Ziyad al-Makari wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
In 1974, Salman issued “As-Safir” in Beirut, and it was a daily newspaper that bore the slogan “The Voice of the Voiceless” and was known for its advocacy of Arab issues, especially the Palestinian ones.
For many years, Salman has been writing the editorial of “Al-Safir”, which has succeeded in finding a site for it in Lebanon and the Arab world, and has become a reference for many to analyze and understand what is going on in them. He also held meetings with many Arab leaders and leaders.
Some of those who worked with him say that he was “one of the last to leave the newspaper’s offices” at night to make sure that everything was going well.
During the events of the civil war, Salman was subjected to an assassination attempt in front of his house in Ras Beirut at dawn on July 14, 1984, which left scars on his face and chest. It was preceded by attempts to blow up his house, as well as the bombing of the “As-Safir” printing presses on November 1, 1980.
And at the end of 2016, Salman closed the “As-Safir” especially due to financial difficulties. This was a major blow to the Lebanese media, which has been known over the years for its diversity and freedom, forming a distinguishing mark among other Arab countries.
Salman was born in the town of Shamstar, east of the country, in 1938. He married Afaf Mahmoud Al-Asaad, and they have 4 children.
Close “Ambassador”
Al-Safir stopped publishing at the end of 2016 after more than 42 years. Salman, the publisher and editor-in-chief at the time, justified the reason for the financial crisis afflicting his newspaper and the decline in its income from sales, advertisements and subscriptions.
“The journey had to end,” Salman said in a message addressed to colleagues and readers. He added, “The serious crisis that threatens the press in the whole world and the Arab world in general afflicts local newspapers, and it is a crisis that extends from distribution numbers to advertising income (which is the basis) to the closure of Arab markets.” In general, in the face of the Lebanese press.
He continued, “We have worked as hard as we can, and we have expended sweat of fatigue, and sometimes blood, as well as chasing us with bombings, and we have withstood the Israeli invasion and the unjust closure by oppression or by exploiting the judiciary for purposes not related to its role.”
After its closure, a journalist who had left the As-Safir months before – who preferred not to be named – said that in addition to the financial crisis, poor commercial management and editorial policy led to the decline of the newspaper’s star and a decline in its sales and advertising share of the market.
He added to Al-Jazeera Net that “Al-Safir” – which, since its first issue, carried the slogan “The Voice of the Voiceless” – witnessed major shifts in its editorial policy from speaking on behalf of the Nasserist movement, the Lebanese and Arab left, the Palestinian revolution and liberation movements in the world to supporting Khomeini’s revolution, and later the party’s project. God is in Lebanon, leading to its support for the Syrian regime despite its criticisms and exposing its political and reform defects at the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011, according to the same speaker.
The journalist added that “As-Safir”, with its absence from the Lebanese and Arab media scene, “will leave a great void, especially since it was politically and culturally influential for four decades.”
After the “As-Safir” was closed, Salman continued to write on a website that bore his name and “On the Road”, which was the title of his weekly newspaper column.
The late author has several books, including “With Fatah and the Fedayeen, To a Princess Named Beirut, The Fall of the Arab Regime from Palestine to Iraq, Margins on Culture, Literature and Love” and others.
And the National News Agency stated that Salman will be buried at four in the afternoon on Saturday in Shamstar, and his body will be prayed and buried in the town’s cemetery.
2023-08-25 23:58:33
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