The Daily Star - Ownership dispute threatens to split Voice of Lebanon radio - November 26, 2010

BEIRUT: The Voice of Lebanon (VOL) radio station is poised to be operated by two rival factions within the Phalange Party, setting the stage for the emergence of two rival radio stations next month.

The radio station, which is popular among the Lebanese public, was established by the Phalange in 1958 and has since reflected the party’s political line.

Now a legal dispute over the ownership of the radio’s name is threatening to divide the VOL into two radio stations: one at its current headquarters in Achrafieh, and another in the coastal town of Dbayeh north of Beirut.

The VOL will be turned into two radio stations starting from the morning of December 1, pending the settlement of a legal dispute between the Phalange Party and journalist Rose Zamel, better known as Wardeh, over the ownership of the radio’s controversial name, An-Nahar newspaper reported Thursday.

It said that each of the Phalange factions, represented by the New Audio-Visual Media Company, and the Modern Media Company, run by the sons of the radio’s former director general Simon Khazen who died earlier this year, is claiming ownership of the radio’s name.

Zamel, who is part of the Modern Media Company, is waging a relentless battle to keep the radio’s name, armed with documents, agreements and licenses, An-Nahar said. It added that Zamel’s company is planning to begin airing from a new building in Dbayeh.
The dispute began when the Phalange Party, headed by former President Amin Gemayel, refused to renew the lease contracts for both the radio’s name and the building, which expire at midnight on November 30. The party gave a notice to the radio’s current administration eight months ago and sought to reach a compromise solution under which the party would take over the radio station.

But Zamel, who is currently serving as director of the radio’s political programs and advertising department, has refused to hand over the radio station to the party. She argued that the late Simon Khazen had owned the station after establishing the Modern Media Company and that the party had nothing to do with the station, according to a neutral informed source close to the VOL.

Meanwhile, the Phalange Party maintains that at the expiration of the lease contracts on November 30, the ownership of the radio’s name and building should move to the party, the source added. –The Daily Star