Established in 1994, Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) consists of a radio station that operates as the Voice of Palestine, and a satellite channel known as Palestinian Satellite Channel. Palestine TV launched broadcasting in 1996 in Gaza. The broadcaster was in the past targeted by Israel’s military that used to accuse PBC of airing propagandistic reports that incited violence.
Media assets
Television: Palestine TV, Palestine Satellite Channel;
Radio: Voice of Palestine
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Palestine Radio and TV Corporation, the original name of PBC, was created in 1993 as a state broadcaster by the late President Yasser Arafat. In 2010, the Presidential Decree No 2 of 2010 laid the basis for the establishment of Palestine Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) as a public entity that is subordinated to the President. PBC replaced Palestine Radio and TV Corporation.
Source of funding and budget
There is no official information about the financial resources of PBC. Local journalists and experts say that PBC is fully funded by the Palestinian Authority, the self-government body of the Palestinian territories. Media reports confirm that. The latest data about the PBC budget date from 2017.
Editorial independence
Although the 2010 decree was meant to lead to the transformation of PBC into a public service broadcaster, PBC is far from achieving its public service mission, being rather a government tool used to disseminate the government’s perspectives and to promote its policies.
Although the Decree that established PBC in 2010 as a public media institution puts forward a series of provisions regarding the mission of the broadcaster, there is no provision in it (or in any official regulation of PBC) with respect to news and editorial independence.
No body or mechanism to independently validate the editorial independence of PBC has been identified.
August 2023