BEIRUT: Members of the media attended a workshop in Beirut Tuesday to learn about issues of safety and the unique challenges they face working in Lebanon, as well as ways to protect themselves.

The three-day event, entitled “Workshop on safety and protection of media professionals,” was organized by UNESCO as part of their Communication and Information program.

The workshop will cover reporting in conflict situations and unfamiliar areas as well as mental health issues.

Media professionals will also learn about first aid and how to deal with mine fields and cluster bombs.

Asked about the particularities of working in the media in Lebanon, Awad said that most of the media is affiliated with political parties.

“There are some points in common with the whole Arab region, but Lebanon’s specificity is that there is a division not only between religious parties, but also at the [media] level.”

“This TV [station] or this newspaper belongs to this party, so they’re allowed to go to this place but not to that place,” he explained, adding that media professionals often hide their organization’s logo to access certain areas.

“This is something you won’t find much in other places,” he said, acknowledging that it makes the work of media professionals more dangerous.

Nada Abdelsamad, the head of BBC Arabic’s Beirut office, who is moderating the workshop, agreed.

“In Lebanon, according to the logo of the TV [station], it might be dangerous to cover some regions,” she said.

LBC journalist Nada Andraos Aziz said she didn’t know why her organization had chosen her to attend the workshop, but guessed it might be “because I never hesitate to go back to conflict zones.”

“[I’m here to] share experiences … but for me it’s not going to change much because I already plan before I go to a really dangerous region,” she added.

“We’re a country that lives on conflicts; we had the Civil War, then the withdrawal of the Syrian army, and now the conflicts between the March 14 and 8 [coalitions].”

Freelance journalist Walid Elsheikh decided to attend the workshop to find out if he was approaching conflict situations in the right way.

“I’ve a good amount of experience in war and revolution but I don’t know the rules,” Elsheikh said. “I make them instinctively.”

“Lebanon in 2006 was different from Libya, Kosovo, the revolution in Egypt, and I always try to do what I think is right at that moment. But I came to see if what I do is actually right.”

According to Abdelsamad, journalists should remember that “getting a scoop is not the priority” and put safety first, keeping in mind this key principle: “The story shouldn’t be the last story you cover.”