Jordan Press Foundation publishes the Arabic language daily newspaper Al Ra’i, which is the best selling newspaper in Jordan, and The Jordan Times, an English daily newspaper published in Amman, Jordan’s capital city.
Media assets
Publishing: Al Ra’i, The Jordan Times
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
Jordan Press Foundation is majority owned by the government of Jordan. The company is secretive about its corporate affairs. The government controls at the moment some 55 % of the Jordan Press Foundation via a state-controlled company, Social Security Corporation. Jordan Press Foundation also floats part of its shares on the Amman Stock Exchange.
The top management of the company is traditionally filled by people with a history of working for authorities. In February 2023, Shehadeh Mohammad Al Kayed Abu Baqar was appointed chairman of the board of directors at the Jordan Press Foundation. Among other jobs before his appointment, Abu Baqar worked as adviser to the prime minister and the Senate president.
Source of funding and budget
There is no detailed, publicly available, information about the financial performance of Jordan Press Foundation. Local journalists and experts say that Al Ra’i is one of the largest recipients of state advertising, which has a significant impact on its editorial independence. However, there is no sufficient information to allow us to say whether state funding accounts for more than 50% of the publisher’s turnover.
In 2019, the company had total revenues of JOD 8.5m (US$ 12m), according to an internal balance sheet. The following year, its revenues plummeted to some JOD 4.6m (US$ 6.6m). According to the latest data we could collect, the company incurred a loss of JOD 7.6m in 2020, according to an investor relations report from the corporation.
Editorial independence
Al Rai’s is known as a pro-government newspaper, often being referred to as a government-run publication. The Jordan Times was perceived to be editorially independent, yet a content analysis found the Times’ coverage of the royal house overtly favorable.
No domestic statute and no independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Jordan Press Foundation’s publications have been identified.
August 2023