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When in doubt, tune in to your favorite station?
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by Ramez Maluf
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 While Israel’s recent war on Lebanon may have been inconclusive on the ground, in the airwaves Hezbollah was the clear victor. It owes that victory to its defiant TV station, Al Manar, which despite having its studios and headquarters turned into rubble, continued to broadcast uninterruptedly throughout the 34-day ordeal.
Understandably, Al Manar TV officials are tight-lipped about the safeguards adopted to survive the massive Israeli air strikes. Its satellite broadcasts were interrupted for just two minutes throughout the offensive, and that as the station’s main building came tumbling down on July 16 following an air raid. Al Manar spokesperson Ibrahim Farhat said the station staff were in the premises when that happened, and that “they simply and quickly moved elsewhere.” Despite coming under attack seven times, Al Manar anchors remained upbeat, their on-site correspondents filing live reports glorifying the Resistance, while guest analysts showered Hezbollah with admiration. The very survival of the station underscored the impotence of Israel and the United States to achieve their stated objective to disarm and neutralize the militia. The longer the war continued, the greater the Israeli embarrassment.
In reporting on Hezbollah’s successes on the battlefront, Al Manar was able to draw on its credibility as a source of information. This was no longer the pathetic Sawt Al Arab radio station announcing from Cairo the “routing” of the Israeli army in 1967, or the pitiable state-run Syrian TV – whose very staff are known to scoff at its news reports – touting the “victories” of the Syrian army in 1973. Since its launch in 1991, and under the leadership of capable news director and current MP Hassan Fadlallah, Al Manar TV has made a concerted effort to report the news accurately, albeit remaining steadfastly committed to propagating the party’s ideology. From early on, the station recognized and appreciated the virtues of credibility, as well as the possibility of using facts and figures wisely, selectively and appropriately to marshal a point of view.
Throughout the war the station drew on political analysts, and eloquent sympathizers able to make a strong argument for Hezbollah. This was a war imposed by Israel, they all agreed, which Hezbollah was forced into, and was now in the position of having to defend the whole Arab and Islamic Nation, the Ummah, against its historic enemies. Critics of Hezbollah were accused of unconsciously, or otherwise, helping the enemy. Allusions to treason are powerful tools in times of war.
Possibly the most significant asset of Al Manar TV were the speeches of the charismatic Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Even as the Israelis spread rumors that he was injured and on the run, he appeared on TV, calm and in control, and in full health, to announce that his men, the men of the Islamic Resistance, were inflicting heavy casualties on a disoriented Israeli army. Their victory was a triumph for all the Lebanese that should not be discarded on the negotiating table by politicians too quick to agree to American and Israeli terms. When the first draft of a French-US sponsored UN resolution, clearly unfavorable to the Lebanese, was aired, Nasrallah appeared again on Al Manar to tell the Lebanese and the world that Hezbollah was in a strong position. The country should not allow “the Israelis and the Americans to win a war politically that they had lost militarily.”
Despite the upbeat tone of Al Manar, there is no denying that the war was obviously devastating for the Lebanese, both in terms of loss of life and otherwise. More than a thousand people died, thousands others were injured. An UNDP report released on August 23 estimates the infrastructure damage at $15 billion. Said UNDP spokesman Jean Fabre: “the last 15 years of work on reconstruction and rehabilitation …are now annihilated."
Nevertheless, if what PR executives tell us is true, that perception is reality, then to many of those involved and touched by this war, this round belongs to Hezbollah and the credit for their victory, as it is, goes to their TV station. Analysts who are still in doubt about the power of the media should take note. However, the Lebanese, their friends, and particularly Lebanese politicians, should be reminded that victory on the airwaves should not obscure what on the ground is a much more complicated and tragic reality.
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