Ad Diyar, a Qatar and Saudi-backed newspaper sometimes described as Baathist and seen as very tolerant of Syria, has been more careful.One journalist has been killed so far. Layal Nejib, a Lebanese photojournalist, died last week in an Israeli aerial bombardmentwhile on assignment in the south.. We begin with an object lesson in the art of tabloid scoop-getting, courtesy of the Daily Mail rain-maker Neil Sears. On 27 March, Sears was instructed to track down Farah Damji, a former magazine editor who - as we reported last week - had escaped from prison, where she was serving three and a half years for theft and deception. Al Ballad, a new, independent paper with a very high circulation, has a mixed editorial stance. An Nahar, a well-respected paper known for its strong anti-Syrian sentiments, has retained its March 14 leanings.Its editor, Gebran Tueni, a fierce opponent of the Syrian presence in Lebanon, was killed by a car bomb in December last year.

Pages are full of photographs depicting destruction, and Lebanon coverage dominates the pages. Its main studios in Beirut's southern suburbs were destroyed in the first week of the conflict, along with one of the channel's transmitters.Newspapers in Lebanon also operate along sectarian lines and coverage has altered in line with that of the TV channels, although political alliances are still there. Launched in 1991 to publicise the fight against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000, Al Manar repeatedly runs video montages showing past military operations, and clips condemning Israel and America. But it also airs Israeli TV footage, displaying the damage Hizbullah's rockets have caused in northern Israel.

The Qana massacre received extensive coverage on all Lebanese networks.Al Manar has paid a high price for its connection to Hizbullah. The surprising find was that 55 per cent of Christians supported Hizbullah's seizure of two Israeli soldiers.Hizbullah has its own channel, too. According to a poll by the Beirut Center for Research and Information, 87 per cent of the Lebanese people supported Hizbollah's retaliation against Israel. But it has been public opinion that has altered news coverage in favour of Hizbullah. It has lost viewers in recent years to pan-Arab channels such as Al-Jazeera.The new, and relatively independent, station New TV has taken viewers from all the major channels, and has shown strong support for the Shia, the south and Lebanon in general. However, LBC's correspondent in southern Lebanon, Sultan Sulayman, has received praise for his balanced coverage.NBN is partially backed by the Shiite parliamentary speaker and head of the Amal movement Nabih Berri, and has run pro-resistance footage.

Those fond of cementing ties with America attacked their opponents for their intimacy with Syria, widely viewed as responsible for Hariri's killing. Those opposed to the US derided their opponents for cosying up to Israel's prime benefactor and the power behind the hugely unpopular war in Iraq.Mustaqbal (Future), owned by the Hariri family, is a Sunni channel that reflects the March 14 Future movement. With the Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, a member of Future, the channel strongly backs Siniora's position on ending the conflict through a ceasefire and gradual disarmament of Hizbullah. Also pro-March 14, LBC (Lebanese Broadcasting Channel) is a Christian channel that recently severed its links with the right-wing party The Lebanese Forces, and has echoed the concerns of the Christian community.

Hariri's killing saw the withdrawal of Syrian forces and increased Washington's role in Lebanon. A rough polarisation emerged between those who believed a degree of US patronage would best serve the development of the post-Syria Lebanon, the "March 14 Forces" and those who felt more comfortable relying on support from Muslim Iran, embracing a less entangled Damascus as a brother nation.The news media allied to these two perspectives in varying degrees as each camp fought to defend its position. But beneath the purported unity in condemning Israel, the entrenched sectarian differences are still prevalent.The Lebanese media was instrumental in expressing the division that arose in the country following the assassination of the popular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "Public opinion is very critical towards the government and towards the army if the results don't fit the expectations."Clancy Chassay in Beirut on how the Lebanese media has set aside differences of opinionSince the outbreak of war 25 days ago, Lebanon's sectarian and often highly polarised media outlets have been forced to agree on something: condemnation of Israel's three-week attack on the country. Between news broadcasts, TV networks play minute-long video montages to moving music depicting Lebanese victims of the Israeli air strikes.Some channels are running footage of the destruction in the south and Beirut's southern suburbs, while others play the national anthem. People didn't like it, but I wasn't endangering lives."Nahum Barnea is comforted that, while his readers are impatient with criticism of the army in time of war, they come round in the end. At no point have I asked a commentator or reporter whether we really want to say something because it might be selling Israel short or might upset our readers."Schiff, who had two stints in Vietnam in the 1960s, confesses that he'd be much happier covering British troops in Iraq than Israelis in Lebanon "Here, the family is involved I would never expose operational secrets I accept limits that I'm imposing on myself.