2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Summary

Following the first nationwide elections since 2009, Lebanon, due to political infighting and gridlock, had been without a government for over 5 months. The lack of functioning government stalled the country and pushed the economy to the brink of collapse. Politicians from all camps used the countries press to placate the public by way of a continuous stream of excuses all while being paid to do nothing. An-Nahar, the nation's leading newspaper, has a long history of standing with the Lebanese people in the face of adversary. The paper decided that action needed to be taken to shock the growingly apathetic nation into demanding that the democratically elected government fulfil their obligations. The Lebanese people had grown tired of their politicians' excuses which fill the pages of every newspaper in the country. To cut through the growing apathy, we decided to take a bold step to illustrate exactly what the politicians were doing — nothing at all. Our idea was to print an entirely blank newspaper to send shockwaves throughout the country. Once we had garnered enough public interest, we would call on the nation to fill the pages with the future that they demanded from their politicians. The blank newspaper caused a wave of interest and speculation in the country. When that speculation reached its height, the papers’ editor-in-chief called a press-conference to reveal our activation — she called on the nation to use the blank newspapers to write the future that they deserved. Whilst costing An-Nahar absolutely nothing in terms of expenditure, the Blank Edition sparked debate throughout the entire country, leading to it becoming the number one trending topic on Twitter in Lebanon, bringing the campaign almost 500 million impressions. People knew the newspaper was making history and even those who do not it read it purchased it in an act of solidarity, making it the bestselling edition in the publication’s history. In fact, the Blank Edition went in to re-printing twice due to the unexpectedly high demand — the newspaper sold around 48,000 copies, 45% over our target of 33,000. On social media, the campaign generated thousands of content pieces by Lebanese people who wrote their own headlines, making the newspaper a true example of the peopleʼs voice. A few weeks after The Blank Edition had been printed, the political parties in Lebanon got their act together and formed a new government. Our newspaper had played such a great role in this development, that the Lebanese Prime Minister visited the newspaper’s headquarters to address the issues raised by the paper and its readers. The campaign didnʼt just send shockwaves through Lebanon — the world of journalism took notice of how a newspaper can bring about real change. Other news publications from around the world hailed the ʻBlank Editionʼ with over 100 international publications including the New York Times, Washington Post and BBC covering the stunt, earning the campaign over 5 million dollars in earned media.