Jordan Press & Publishing Company is a publishing house that runs a series of newspapers and magazines in Jordan, including Ad-Dustour (which means “the constitution” in Arabic), the weekly sports magazine Ad-Dustour Al-Riyadi, the English weekly The Star, and the Arabic weekly Daleel Ad-Dustour. By far, Ad-Dustour is the most prominent title in the publisher’s portfolio.
Media assets
Publishing: Ad-Dustour
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
The newspaper Ad-Dustour was privately owned until 1986, when the government of Jordan purchased a stake in the publisher. According to data from the Securities Depository Center, the government owns 30% of Jordan Press & Publishing Company via Social Security Investment Fund, a state-controlled company.
Source of funding and budget
There is no detailed information about the funding sources behind Jordan Press & Publishing Company. Its newspapers have been struggling financially because of the economic crisis, which dented their ad revenues. Local journalists and experts said in the past that the newspapers run by this publisher were kept afloat by state advertising contracts awarded by the government. Yet, there is no conclusive evidence that the state funding exceeds half of the company’s income.
According to a company source, Jordan Press & Publishing Company had total revenues of JOD 2.1m (US$2.9 m) in 2021, slightly up from JOD 1.8m (US$2.5 m) in the previous year. Data from the Securities Depository Center shows that Jordan Press & Publishing Company operated with a loss since 2010. Between 2010 and 2022, the company had cumulated losses of nearly JOD 28m, which is about US$ 40m at the 2023 exchange rate.
Editorial independence
Ad-Dustour has been regularly described as a pro-government publication solely focused on covering the Royal House and publishing government announcements. It often supports and praises the restrictions against freedom of expression imposed by Jordan’s government.
No domestic statute and independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Al-Dustour have been identified.
July 2024