Radio Tunisienne (officially known as Établissement de la radio tunisienne) is the public radio broadcaster in Tunisia. It runs five nationwide channels and a network of regional channels.
Media assets
National: Radio Tunis, Radio Tunisie Culture, Radio Jeunes, Radio Panorama, RTCI;
Regional: Sfax, Monastir, Gafsa, Tataouine, Le Kef
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Radio Tunisienne was established in the same manner as the ETT, has the same statute (a public institution fully owned by the government) as ETT and is subordinated to the same body as ETT is, the Presidency of the Government, which also appoints the broadcaster’s executive board. HAICA must give its green light for the appointment of the station’s CEO, the same as in the case of ETT.
Source of funding and budget
The majority of the funding in Radio Tunisienne’s budget comes from the government. The station also sells advertising, but that accounts for only a small part of the broadcaster’s budget, according to local experts/journalists.
Editorial independence
Radio Tunisienne used to be a government propaganda channel, but during the past decade a process aimed at reforming the radio broadcaster has been rolled out, with a positive impact. In recent years, no evidence of editorial control by the government at the broadcaster has been identified.Nonetheless, following the introduction by president Saied of the “exceptional measures” described in this analysis, Radio Tunisienne has come under the strict editorial control of the government in a similar manner as ETT. As in the case of ETT, Saied dismissed the CEO of the Tunisian public radio twice since he launched his “measures.”
Radio Tunisienne has followed in its work an editorial charter that, among other things, helped guarantee the editorial independence of the broadcaster, yet since the introduction of the exceptional measure by president Saied, this charter is not implemented anymore.
No oversight or assessment mechanism that would validate the editorial independence of Radio Tunisienne has been identified.
August 2023