BEIRUT: Tewfik A. Mishlawi, a veteran Lebanese journalist and publisher/editor of The Middle East Reporter, an independent daily English-language newsletter, died Tuesday morning of heart failure at the American University Hospital where he was admitted last week after a fall at home. He was 76.
MER is a digest covering political and economic developments in the Middle East and North Africa for diplomats, policymakers, journalists, researchers, historians and others.
In addition to MER, Mishlawi held several posts at The Daily Star from 1997 to 2000.
Previous positions he held included special correspondent for the New York Times in Lebanon and Syria from 1993 to 1996.
From 1985 to 1992, Mishlawi was director of training at the Center for Foreign Journalists in Reston, Virginia in the U.S.
From 1973 to 1985, Mishlawi was Special Middle East Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, providing hard news, features and analyses.
From 1980 to 1983, he was special correspondent for The Times of London, providing hard news.
From 1977 to 1979, he worked as ad hoc correspondent for McGraw Hill’s Business Week in New York.
From 1973 to 1976, Mishlawi, fluent in Arabic and English, worked as a staff reporter for the United Press International in the Beirut Bureau.
From 1975 to 1976, he was a staff correspondent for Mideast Markets, a economic/business newsletter published by Chase Manhattan Bank and later bought by the Financial Times. From 1963 to 1973, he was deputy editor-in-chief of The Daily Star.
A graduate of the American University of Beirut, Mishlawi did research work in the field of journalism, particularly in the area of fundamentals of the American press system, foreign perceptions of the American news media and journalism ethics from a Third World perspective.
He also prepared a 40-minute training video on the fundamentals of professional journalism along with an exercise manual and a teacher’s guide.
Mishlawi had conducted many journalism training workshops in Beirut since returning from the U.S. These included training the staff of The Daily Star in 1996, and at least two major training workshops for Lebanese journalists funded by USAID.
Born in Haifa in 1935, Mishlawi is survived by his wife, Philippa, and three children.