Société Nouvelle d’Impression, de Presse et d’Edition (SNIPE) is a company whose main activity is the publication of some of Tunisia’s main newspapers, including La Presse de Tunisie, one of the oldest newspapers in the country with a history dating back to 1936, and Essahafa, an Arabic daily.
Media assets
Print: La Presse, Essahafa
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed Media (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
SNIPE is a shareholding corporation with less than 20% of the shares controlled by the state and the rest by public institutions, including Tunisian Trade Office, Tunisian Press Agency (TAP) and other state-run companies. SNIPE is subordinated to the Presidency of the Government, which appoints the group’s CEO.
Source of funding and budget
The newspapers run by SNIPE are financed in majority by commercially generated income, primarily advertising. Overall, ad revenues account for nearly three quarters of the entire annual income of the publisher.
Editorial independence
There are no editorial rules imposed by the government on SNIPE. Although the company has employed in the past journalists with a history going back to the days of the Ben Ali dictatorship to lead SNIPE’s publications, there is no evidence in independent reports that would indicate editorial control by the government at SNIPE’s newspapers. However, following the introduction of “exceptional measures” by president Saied in July 2021, the publishing house has come under strict editorial control, according to local journalists and experts. That led to a strike organized in April 2022 by journalists from all state media in Tunisia, SNIPE included, over the government interference in their editorial decisions.
No domestic statute and no oversight or assessment mechanism that would validate the editorial independence of SNIPE’s publications have been identified.
August 2023