From WNYKRC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media.

Brooke Gladstone is out this week.

I'm Bob Garfield.

Last week, sectarian violence broke out in Lebanon.

Backers of the Shiite opposition led by Hezbollah clashed with government forces in the

worst internecine bloodshed since the end of the Civil War in 1990.

And there was violence directed at the media.

Hezbollah supporters attacked the building of the al-Mustokbal newspaper and broadcast headquarters,

destroying equipment, routing the employees, and knocking the TV channel off the air.

Journalists and human rights supporters rallied to protest the attacks, which they said

struck at the heart of a vibrant free press unique in the Arab world. Rami Kuri is editor at

large of the Daily Star in Lebanon and a professor of public policy and international affairs

at the American University of Beirut. Romi, welcome to the show.

Thank you.

Glad to be with you.

Tell me exactly what media outlets were hit and who was doing the hitting.

Well, the Mastqbal, the future TV was the main one.

They also hit the newspaper of the same name, Mastqbal or Future Newspaper. It was very narrowly and clearly targeted. These were symbols of

Sa'ad Hariri, who's the son of the assassinated late Prime Minister Rafi Hariri, who took over as the

leader of the Sunni Muslims of Lebanon, and he's one of the leaders of the pro-government group

and one of the foes of the Hezbollah-led coalition.

So they targeted his media more of an attack against him and his movement rather than, I think, a complete assault against the mass media.

...