media scene

Not that it matters, but yesterday, Al-Meethaq announced the depart of its editor, the Lebanese Aref Al-Abed, who said he was resigning to join the media staff of the new Lebanese Prime Minister. Al-Abed was with the paper since its inception 20 months ago, but failed to put any professional touch or feel to it, and the paper just lurked at the bottom of the heap, editorially and circulation wise. It was widely known that his contract, which was up next October, will not be renewed. The paper is said to be considering a local journalist as a replacement. Some of the names circulating include Mohamed Fadhel and Saeed Mohamed amngst others.

Saturday also saw the debut of Abbas Abu Safwan with Alayam, as a Deputy Editor for local affairs. A significant loss to his previous employer Al-Wasat, where he built a name for himself but recently resigned following some acrimonious months. He ended his term with a bitter, open resignation letter to his boss.

That letter circulated on the very same day Batool Al-Sayed, one of the better journalists of Al-Wasat was writing her last columnn, in which she managed to slip in a resignation notice. Titled "Divorce", she started incospiciously enough with citing and discussing a Saudi divorce rate and what would drive people to seek divorce, and midway through she shifted to talk in the first person singular. And lest any of her colleauges missed it, she sent them a note along with the paper saying essentially "please read AlWasat, from it and in it is my resignation".