Assayad

{{Infobox magazine

| image_file =

| image_size =

| image_caption =

| editor =

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| frequency = Weekly

| circulation = 76,192 (2009)

| category = Newsweekly

| company = Dar Assayad

| publisher = Dar Assayad

| firstdate = 22 November 1943

| finaldate = 2018

| country = Lebanon

| based = Beirut

| language = Arabic

| website = [http://www.al-sayad.com/ Assayad]

| issn = 0250-3549

| oclc = 473862707}}

Assayad (Arabic: Hunter) was a weekly news magazine published in Lebanon between 1943 and 2018. It was the first pan-Arab magazine in the country. Its headquarters was in Beirut.{{cite book|title=The Middle East and North Africa 2003

|location=London; New York|edition=49th}}

History and profile

Assayad was launched by Dar Assayad publishing house led by Said Freiha on 22 November 1943.{{cite web|title=Dar Assayad's Publications|url=http://www.bassamsfreiha.com/oneframe/pubIn.asp?part=1&upart=4|work=B. Freiha|access-date=24 September 2013|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926221634/http://www.bassamsfreiha.com/oneframe/pubIn.asp?part=1&upart=4|archive-date=26 September 2013}}{{cite web|title=Company profile|url=http://in2info.com/dar-assayad/|work=Dar Assayad|access-date=24 September 2013}} Freiha was an advocate of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian president.{{cite book|author=Nasser Kalawoun|title=The Struggle For Lebanon: A Modern History of Lebanese-Egyptian Relations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W5k_qbw6fiYC&pg=PA37|year=2000|publisher=I.B. Tauris

|isbn=978-1-86064-423-8|page=37|location=London; New York}} The publishing house also owned other publications including daily Al Anwar.{{cite web|title=Dar Assayad|work=Kompass|url=http://lb.kompass.com/live/en/LB000176/dar-assayad-pour-l-impression-la-presse-et-l-edition-sal.html#.UkHHpmRJVgs|archive-date=27 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927003625/http://lb.kompass.com/live/en/LB000176/dar-assayad-pour-l-impression-la-presse-et-l-edition-sal.html#.UkHHpmRJVgs}}{{cite web|title=Lebanon Press|url=http://www.pressreference.com/Ky-Ma/Lebanon.html|work=Press Reference

|access-date=27 September 2013}}

The magazine was based in Beirut and had offices in various cities including Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Cairo, Damascus, Amman, London, and Paris.{{cite web|title=Assayad|work=Dar Assayad|access-date=24 September 2013

|url=http://al-sayad.com/assayad2013/files/sayad%202013.pdf}} In Fall 2018 the Dar Assayad publishing house ended its operations and closed the magazine together with other publications.{{cite news|title=75-Year-Old Publisher Dar Assayad to Shut Down|work=Blog Baladi

|url=https://blogbaladi.com/75-year-old-publisher-dar-assayad-to-shut-down/|date=29 September 2018}}

Contributors

Many prominent journalists worked for the magazine: Mustafa Ameen, Nizar Kabbani, Selim El Laouzi, Amin Malouf, Melhem Karam, Said Akl, Nabil Khoury, Hisham Abu Zahr, and Talal Salman. Palestinian journalist Bayan Nuwayhed was a regular contributor of Assayad from 1960 to 1966.{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question|title=Bayan Nuwayhed al-Hout|url=https://www.palquest.org/en/biography/34679/bayan-nuwayhed-al-hout}} Lebanese journalist Jean Obeid joined the magazine in 1966.{{cite book|title=Who's Who in Lebanon 2007-2008|year=2007|page=274|location=Beirut|url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110945904.328

|doi=10.1515/9783110945904.328|publisher=Publitec Publications|isbn=9783110945904|edition=19th}} Lebanese caricaturist Pierre Sadek also work in the magazine.{{cite news|title=Pierre Sadek Defended the Right to Criticize Until His Dying Breath|work=Al Monitor|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/lebanon-political-cartoonist-dies.html|date=26 April 2013|author=Elie Hajj}}

From 1967 to 1972, its editor-in-chief was Palestinian journalist and writer Ghassan Kanafani.{{cite book

|author-link=Mouin Rabbani}} As of 2012, the editorial team of the magazine included Raouf Chahour, Rafik Khoury, George Trad and Lima Nabil.

Content and circulation

Assayad carried articles about politics, economy, social affairs in the Arab and international context. In addition, it covered arts, entertainment, and life style topics. The magazine also published interviews, one of which was with Leila Ben Ali, former first lady of Tunisia.{{cite news|title=Mrs. Leila Ben Ali's interview to Lebanese Assayad magazine|work=Tunis Afrique Presse|date=14 February 2010|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Mrs.+Leila+Ben+Ali's+interview+to+Lebanese+%22Assayad%22+magazine.-a0244523123}}

In 2009 Assayad sold 76,192 copies.