In 2017, the launch of Canal 9 del Congreso de la República was announced. The station does not have a frequency that allows it to air free-to-air. The station’s programming consists mostly of raw broadcasts of the congress sessions.
Media assets
Television: Canal 9 del Congreso
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Canal 9 belongs to the Directorate for Social Communication and Public Relations of the Guatemalan Congress, specifically to the Television Department in this Directorate.
Source of funding and budget
A detailed account of the budget of Canal 9 is not available. The channel is budgeted in the general expenditure of the congress. In 2017, Canal 9 requested an external donation to be able to air terrestrially.
Editorial independence
The content of the channel is controlled by the Directorate for Social Communication and Public Relations of the Guatemalan Congress. The channel also produces, on top of the broadcasts of the parliamentary sessions, a series of newscasts that are mostly focused on the parliament’s activity. Some of its programs are made available online.
No domestic statute and no independent assessment/oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of the station have been identified.
August 2023