A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

New Syrian English Language Daily

Syria's Baladna newspaper has launched a new independent English-language daily. You can find the early issues here.

The last few years have seen some promising new English-medium publications in the region. Some, like The National from the UAE, are already becoming major platforms for English reportage and opinion, giving Beirut's legendary Daily Star a run for its money. In an age when newspapers are dying in the West, they're proliferating in the Middle East.

5 comments:

Qifa Nabki said...

MIchael,

I'd say the Daily Star is already practically dead.

Jesse Aizenstat said...

Agree with Qifa. The Star is lost.

Even with Rami writing, he only does his small bit now. The rest is reserved for Leftist AUB interns.

Michael Collins Dunn said...

Fair enough. I read it mostly for Rami, or sometimes Michael Young. And they even shut it down for a while earlier this year.

Jesse Aizenstat said...

Indeed, The Star isn't a paper known for solid book keeping.

Michael Collins Dunn said...

The irony of this conversation is that I, at least, read the Daily Star entirely online, so I'm not helping their financial bottom line at all.