Launched in 1976, Emirates News Agency (Wakalat Anba’a al Emarat, WAM) is the official news agency in the UAE.
Media assets
News agency: WAM
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
WAM is a government agency operating as part of the National Media Council, the media regulatory authority in the UAE. According to data obtained from journalists and experts covering the UAE interviewed in May 2024, most of the council’s board of directors are government officials. The Council has a broad range of powers, including licensing media companies (newspapers, television, and radio broadcasters), awarding photo permits, and issuing press cards.
Source of funding and budget
WAM generates funding on its own through the sale of content but also receives a subsidy from the state budget, which constitutes the most significant part of the agency’s annual budget, according to journalists and experts covering the UAE interviewed for this report in May 2024. The agency doesn’t publish information about its budget.
Editorial independence
WAM operates as a government agency, and its editorial coverage is closely shaped, monitored, and controlled by authorities through the National Media Council. An ad hoc content analysis run for this report during three periods (1-10 December 2023, 1-22 February 2024, and 1-15 March 2024) found the agency’s coverage dominated by coverage of the authorities’ activities.
No statute and independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of WAM has been identified.
July 2024