The state agency of Bahrain, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) was established in 1976 as the Gulf News Agency. It was renamed as the Bahrain News Agency in 2001.
Media assets
Bahrain News Agency
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
The agency is run by the Information Affairs Authority, which holds all the decision-making power over BNA both in terms of the editorial policy and organizational matters. The agency’s management is picked by the authority. The general director of BNA is appointed by the King through a royal decree. The director has a high government rank, according to journalists and experts specializing in Bahrain.
Source of funding and budget
BNA is funded through a state grant allocated to the Information Affairs Authority, the minister-level government body that runs BNA, according to journalists and experts specializing in Bahrain.
Editorial independence
BNA is under strict government control. The agency is openly promoting the government, its policies and activities. An informal content analysis run for this project found that articles positively covering authorities, and the King in particular, represent over 90% of all the stories run by the agency.
No domestic statute or independent assessment/oversight mechanism that would validate the editorial independence of BNA have been identified.
August 2023