Riad Taha
Riad Taha was a Lebanese Shiite journalist and president of the Lebanese Publishers Association. He was assassinated when gunmen opened fire on his car. Perpetrators were never caught, but it was widely suspected that the assassination was ordered by the Syrian Intelligence. He was the head of the Lebanese Publishers Association from 1967 until his murder.
Early life
Taha was born into a Shiite family in Hermel, Lebanon, in 1927.Career
Taha started as a journalist in the magazine At Talaeh in 1945 when he was 18. He also worked in the newspaper An Nidal wad Dunia . In 1947, aged 20, he established the weekly Akhbar al 'Aalam and was in Palestine in 1948 to cover the war there. In 1949, he established in Lebanon the Orient News Agency, one of the first ever privately owned Arab news agencies.In 1950, he started the publication Al Ahad magazine . He was also editor of the magazine which opposed the Baghdad Pact. Taha became an advocate of the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser during this period. In 1953, he launched the newspaper Al Bilad .
In 1955, he founded the newspaper Al Kifah and his own publishing house called Dar al Kifah that consolidated all his publishing activities. His also authored books including:
- 1950: Shafataan Bakheelataan
- 1958: Fi Tareeq al Kifah
- 1963: Filisteen al Yawm, La Ghadan
- 1973: Al I'laam wal Ma'raka
- 1974: Qissat al Wahda wal Infisal