This post is more than 15 years old
Politics move quickly and opinions evolve. There's a good chance I no longer hold some of the opinions expressed in the post below
—Mustapha
Apparently Ben Ali Was Bribing Lebanese Media For Positive Coverage
May 25, 2011 · Mustapha Hamoui
Where are all these weird stories coming from:
the [Tunisian] regime established ACTE, the Tunisian Agency for External Communications, to collect money […] and dole it out to foreign journalists,
The director of the Beirut office for ACTE proposed that Tunisia increase the annual amount it had been paying Nahar newspaper […] from $50,000 to $75,000 in order to brighten Ben Ali’s international image, In addition it was also suggested that the pan-Arab, left-leaning Lebanese newspaper Safir be bought off with another $50,000.
Lebanese television stations were reportedly even more voracious. One, parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri’s NBN, “demanded that payments double in order to increase promotional support,” Sabah said
For some strange reason I believe that last sentence..