Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) is a news service based in Greece. It was founded in 2008 through the merger of the news agencies Athens News Agency (ANA) and the Macedonian Press Agency (MPA).
Media assets
News agency: ANA-MPA
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)
Ownership and governance
ANA-MPA was established by a presidential decree as a public entity anonymous company. The agency has a board of directors consisting of nine members, the majority of whom are appointed by the Government. The agency has been subordinated since 2019 to the Prime Minister’s Office, the head of the agency being appointed by the government, too.
Source of funding and budget
ANA-MPA is funded through a combination of state grant funds and advertising revenues. AMNA’s budget in 2019 was a total of €9.2m, followed by €10.3m in 2020 and €9.1m in 2021, according to the agency’s annual reports. In recent years, the agency has decreased its reliance on state money; yet, the state funds still account for the largest part of the agency’s budget.
Editorial independence
There are no rules or regulations imposed by the government on ANA-MPA that force the agency to give preferential coverage to the government. There is no evidence of editorial interference by the state.
There is no domestic statute and no independent assessment and oversight mechanism to validate ANA-MPA’s editorial independence.
September 2023