Media: Life as a 'Reality Show'; Future TV, founded by Rafik Hariri, was once known for fluff. Now it's a key player in Lebanon's unfolding political drama.

Byline: Kevin Peraino

To go live, or not? That was the dilemma at the 10 a.m. news meeting of Future Television, the Beirut-based cable network once-owned by slain former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The network's young management team gathered last Tuesday inside Future's low-slung studio building--a heavily guarded complex surrounded by barbed wire and barricades--to mull over the decision. "This is no rally," griped one executive, referring to the massive Hizbullah-organized demonstration that was scheduled for later that day. "It's a picnic." Others argued that the spectacle was too big to ignore. A decision was agreed upon: blanket coverage. Right choice. "It was huge ," recalled Mike Fakih, the station's English news editor.

So, now, is Future Television. At one time, Future was known around the Arab world as a producer of fluffy entertainment, especially its popular talent show "Super Star," an "American Idol" knockoff. But after Hariri's killing, the station abruptly changed tack, producing live images of political events that have been seared into the national consciousness. It broadcasts round-the-clock. But some rival networks are slamming Future as the propaganda arm of the opposition, a wealthy renegade studio with a personal ax to grind. The critics aren't entirely wrong. "This time there's a personal motive," said one Future news executive. "There's a vengeance [motive]." The sentiment is understandable. But Future's unusual predicament has also touched off a bitter debate about how the Lebanese revolution should be televised.

Hariri founded Future in 1993, airing U.S. sitcoms. In recent years it has joined the worldwide trend toward reality TV. After Hariri's death, the station's managers discovered that the production skills for their reality ...