"This research responds to a recurring call for comparative work and particularly for the application of the Hallin and Mancini framework on other non-Western media systems. By critically applying their framework to the Lebanese media system, this thesis assesses the complex dimensions developed by the two scholars. These include: the development of media markets, political parallelism, the degree of development of journalistic professionalism and the degree and nature of state intervention. Hallin and Mancini acknowledge that restricting themselves to the western world was a limitation. They also suggest that their work should serve as an inspiration for a process of re-modelling by adapting and reconfiguring their framework and their three ideal types to a given context. This study does just that by amending the sub-indicators, identifying salient factors and suggesting a new model that better suits the Lebanese media system and potentially similar systems." (Summary, page i)