Syrian Arab Publishing and Distributing Company is a privately owned media operator that runs several media outlets including the television station Sama TV and the newspaper Al Watan.
Media assets
Television: Sama TV
Publishing: Al Watan, Al-Iqtissadiya
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
Syrian Arab Publishing and Distributing Company is owned by Rami Makhlouf, cousin of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad, according to a consolidated list of financial sanctions targets in the UK, updated by the British government in May 2022. He is by far the wealthiest and most powerful businessman in Syria with investments in a slew of industries including telecoms, mobile telephony, banking and real estate.
Source of funding and budget
There is no public information available about the media run by Syrian Arab Publishing and Distributing Company. It is believed that the company receives substantial funds from the government, but there is no evidence about how much represents this source of financing in the company’s overall budget.
Editorial independence
The media outlets run by Syrian Arab Publishing and Distributing Company follow an editorial line fully supportive of the government’s interests.
There is no domestic statute and no independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate the independence of the media run by Syrian Arab Publishing and Distributing Company.
August 2023