Lebanon newspaper Al-Anwar on Friday (September 28th) said its publisher was suspending its print version, as it became the latest victim of the country's media crisis, AFP reported.
"Dar al-Sayyad has decided to stop publishing Al-Anwar from next Monday," the political daily said on its front page.
The newspaper, which was first issued in 1959, said the demise of its print version was due to "financial losses".
The publisher's eight other publications -- including popular cultural weekly Al-Shabaka -- also would cease to be printed, it said.
It was not immediately clear if there were any plans for the publications to continue to have a presence online.
Founded in 1943 by Lebanese writer Said Freiha, Dar al-Sayyad has offices in London, Dubai, Riyadh, Cairo and Damascus, as well as Beirut.
The press in Lebanon has been in crisis for several years, both as it struggles to adapt to the digital era and faces economic difficulties.
In June, prestigious pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat closed its Lebanon offices, where it was first founded in 1946 before later becoming Saudi owned.
Its printing presses in Beirut stopped the same month, leaving its international version only available online.
In late 2016, Lebanese newspaper As-Safir shuttered 42 years after it published its first edition, with the founder saying it had run out of funds.
Other newspapers have carried out mass layoffs or suspended salary payments.
Lebanon’s newspaper al-Anwar stops publication. This is a big loss that a media outlet such as al-Anwar newspaper stops. This is a bad omen for the Arab media. The first issue of that newspaper was released about 60 years ago. The question now is: didn’t that media outlet find one of those countless capitalists to support it financially?!! This is really strange.
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