Empresa Peruana de Servicios Editoriales (Peru Publishing House) known as Editora Perú began its activities in 1976, initially as a company in charge of handling state newspapers. The group runs two media outlets: the official daily newspaper El Peruano that focuses on news and opinions, but also publishes the legal acts adopted by the Peruvian government; and the Peruvian News Agency (Andina), an information service that disseminates news, images, videos and audios covering national and international daily events. Editora Perú also runs Publishing and Graphics Services (Segraf), a state-owned printing press. El Peruano is a newspaper with a long history. It was founded in 1825 by Simon Bolivar. Andina has a shorter history: it was established in 1981.
Media assets
Publishing: El Peruano
News agency: Andina
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Editora Perú was established through the Peruvian Enterprise of Publishing Services Act (Legislative Decree No. 181) that was adopted in 1981. According to this act, Editora Perú was established as a “private law state company.” As a state-owned company, it is also governed by Law No. 27170, according to which it has economic, administrative and financial autonomy, although it is part of the government organization chart.
The company’s management is controlled by the company’s board of shareholders (who are all government representatives). Like all state companies in Peru, Editora Perú is accountable to the National Fund for Financing State Business Activity (FONAFE).
The Editora Perú board appoints and can remove the general management of the group. The board is composed of seven members: four of them appointed by the government through FONAFE, one of whom is selected to chair the board. There is also a representative of the Ministry of Education and “one or more” representatives of the industry.
The direction of Editora Perú is the responsibility of its general manager who is appointed and can be removed by the board.
Source of funding and budget
Editora Perú operated with a total budget of PEN 71m (US$ 18.1m) in 2022, according to a company report. Although some PEN 70m of that is in the rubric “sales of services” as the company formally generates its own revenues, but in reality the main source of its sales revenues and its main clients are in majority governmental institutions that pay, for example, for the publication of laws, regulations or various decrees. That means that the company’s funds are in majority coming from the state budget.
Editorial independence
Government-related news looks more like propaganda announcements than news reports in Peru’s state media. For example, on Andina’s home page, an article highlighting in a positive light the activity of the president, posted on 23 October 2020, states that the president “oversees works to strengthen health services.” An informal content analysis found a dominant narrative characterized by praise for the president and critical articles only about former presidents and the opposition political parties. For example, some of the agency’s well-documented reports such as an investigation about the corruption scandal around the constructor Odebrecht led to the imprisonment of two former presidents, a former presidential candidate and the suicide of the former president Alan García (while he was being arrested). However, none of Andina’s reports criticizes the Vizcarra regime, which lasted until late 2020.
Various statements made by the Editor Manager of Andina indicate that he saw the agency as a platform for disseminating official content and not as a space for independent and critical journalistic reporting. Andina broadcast a report in October 2020 where one of its managers explained that the agency had just signed an agreement with the judiciary to offer Andina’s platform for dissemination of information from the judiciary, including interviews with magistrates: “The idea is that the information produced here in the judiciary can be distributed both in the Andean Agency and in the official newspaper El Peruano.”
El Peruano has a similar approach, publishing regularly flattering articles highlighting what former President Vizcarra said, and chastising the opposition-controlled Congress for trying to topple him. The newspaper as a rule chose to interview only congressmen who were not in favor of dismissing the former President Vizcarra.
After the 2021 elections in July, which propelled Jose Castillo to the presidency of Peru, the media run by Editora Perú changed its coverage to support the newly elected administration.
Editora Perú is established by the Legislative Decree No. 181 as a “private law state company” that has economic, administrative and financial autonomy.
The group has a Code of Ethics that establishes rules to ensure neutrality, impartiality and pluralism. The same code of ethics, however, requires Editora Perú to maintain permanent channels of communication with state authorities and to answer formal requests for information from the State.
No domestic statute and no independent assessment that would establish the editorial independence of the company have been identified.
August 2023