Al-Balad (newspaper)
Al-Balad () meaning "The country", officially Sada Al-Balad () meaning "The echo of the country") is an Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. Its headquarters is in Beirut. It is a tabloid commercial paper. History. "Al Balad" was first published on 15 December 2003 and the owner is Al Waseet International. The publisher of the daily is Al Wataniya publishing house. The first editor-in-chief is Béchara Charbel. The paper had a liberal stance. In 2010, "Al Balad" also began publishing a French language edition. In addition to conventional sections, the paper has a lifestyle section  and expanded sports and world affairs sections. Circulation. In 2006, a study carried out by Ara'a Company with 2500 participants concluded that "Al Balad" was read by 18.3% of Lebanese over 15 years of age, being the first in this regard. In the same study it was also found that the paper was the second most popular paper in Lebanon after "An Nahar". The Ipsos study in 2006 revealed that "Al-Balad" had the largest rate of subscribers with 23.8% whereas "An Nahar" had only 2.6%. The paper was also found to have highest circulation in Lebanon in 2006. A  2009 survey by Ipsos Stat also established that the daily was among the five most popular newspapers in Beirut. The paper's online version was the 42nd most visited website for 2010 in the MENA region.