A pitched battle on the streets of Beirut backed Hizbullah’s opponents into a corner last May. But it was media savvy and the powerful rhetoric of Hassan Nasrallah that turned a tactical victory into a strategic success, argues David Wilmsen. Features video and full translations of three speeches.

Contributing Editor Pete Ajemian traces the rhetoric and media techniques of Bashir Gemayel from his years as a military commander to the days before his assassination as president-elect of Lebanon. Featuring video and full English translations.

Media were at the forefront of Lebanon’s bloodiest infighting since the civil war, relaying the heated words of politicians while beaming out propaganda thick and fast, writes Contributing Editor Paul Cochrane.

Were the 2006 war and the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh operational setbacks but propaganda victories? Pete Ajemian traces recent developments in Hizbullah’s media strategy. (features video)

Middle East insurgencies are learning from each other’s media strategies, writes Contributing Editor Andrew Exum. Can the U.S. Military catch up?

When is a joke in Lebanon not funny anymore? When it mocks Hassan Nasrallah and stokes highly tense sectarian sentiments, demonstrates Contributing Editor Sune Haugbolle. (Features Video)

Politics have become so divisive in Lebanon that the national media council chief urged the media in January to curb "tense rhetoric" that could instigate violence among the country's religious sects, writes Contributing Editor Paul Cochrane. So what are the media up to? Are they guilty of fanning the flames?

It was not clear whether the ultimate point of the conference was to support Arab journalists in their struggle for protected freedoms, or to promote Siniora’s government?then under heavy fire?as democratic and free before a would-be sympathetic international audience, claims Abigail Hauslohner.

During the Hizbullah-Israel War, blogs provided alternative on-the-ground accounts of events, says Sune Haugbolle. But can they challenge the social authority of old media?

We are hardly ever innocent bystanders to conflict. Merely with their presence journalists influence the parties they report on, so we are participants rather than bystanders. And our choice of what to report and how always serves certain power interests, argues Dutch journalist Joris Luyendijk.