The Essential Press Guide from the Middle East is a project that was done for the media, by the media in print form. For the first time in its 90 years of existence, AnNahar transformed its main medium of print from a regular newspaper into a foldable pocket-sized guidebook, providing media professionals with indispensable tools and knowledge to navigate the complexities of their field. This is the perfect example of work relevant for print; AnNahar shifted its focus from merely reporting news to actively empowering fellow media persons.

While 2023 has become the most dangerous year for journalism around the world, the Middle East particularly has been characterized by a stark reality of heightened risks and increasing fatalities.

Over the past year, 121 journalists and media workers lost their lives globally, with a staggering 60% of these casualties occurring in the Middle East.

As the leading newspaper and a primary source of news in Lebanon and the whole region, we quickly found ourselves becoming experts on the matter over the years. And so, by transforming our paper into a comprehensive safety guide, we aimed to not only share our insights but also to serve as a beacon of safety and protection for journalists worldwide.

AnNahar has had a long and rich history of advocating for press freedom and championing significant causes. Tragically, our own editor-in-chief Gebran Tueni was assassinated in 2005, followed shortly after by our star journalist Samir Kassir, so we’ve become accustomed to the silencing of the guardians of truth.

UNESCO figures show that 2023 has been a particularly deadly year for journalists who work in conflict zones, with killings almost doubling compared to the past three years. Shockingly, there is no specific law to protect journalists, and international laws fail to explicitly criminalize attacks against them.

The brief was to honor Gebran Tueni's sacrifice by not only providing a measure of security to journalists in conflict zones, but to utilize the newspaper edition in raising a voice for stronger measures to protect journalists.

The print edition sold out quickly, and became one of AnNahar's most popular ones, turning quickly into a collector's edition. The campaign garnered widespread attention on Twitter, rapidly becoming a viral sensation, and earning our message $12 million worth of media impressions.

The masterclass held at AnNahar's headquarters saw an attendance of journalists from 28 different countries, taking the message globally. The online PDF of the edition was downloaded several hundred times across the world.

The accompanying petition calling for legislation to protect journalists in conflict zones brought significant support, with thousands of readers and journalists signing it. AnNahar's edition, transformed into a survival guide, was widely shared not only among high-level journalists and reporters but also amongst the general public.

An entire newspaper was turned into a foldable survival guide for journalists in conflict zones, designed to be portable and accessible.