France Médias Monde is set to launch a new hub near Beirut, Lebanon on Thursday, February 27, 2025, with a fully digitalised newsroom to enhance FRANCE 24 and Monte Carlo Doualiya’s Arabic offerings while playing a crucial role in combating disinformation.
Situated in the heart of the Near and Middle East, the initiative complements existing France Médias Monde newsrooms in Africa, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. Through a localised approach, it aims to foster public trust by delivering news in our audiences’ native languages.
A team of approximately 15 Arabic-speaking journalists from across the region (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, and beyond) has been recruited for the new digital newsroom. The Beirut-based team enhances the digital production capabilities of FRANCE 24’s Arabic editorial team and Monte Carlo Doualiya (MCD) by creating content for both media outlets’ websites and social media platforms.
Joumana Fehmi, a seasoned journalist with experience at MTV Lebanon, Alrai TV, Future TV and Info3 News, has been appointed editor-in-chief and operational director. All journalists recruited in Beirut in late 2024 underwent a two-month training programme with the France Médias Monde Academy, receiving guidance from experts in editorial, digital, technical and security fields.
Closer to our audience
The Beirut regional hub is a key element of France Médias Monde’s strategy to cultivate public trust by remaining geographically and linguistically close to its audiences. Lebanon was chosen for this digital newsroom because of France Médias Monde’s longstanding presence in the country — a Francophone nation where RFI, FRANCE 24 and MCD extensively cover news through our on-site correspondents.
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
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