Saudi Press Agency (SPA) is the official news agency in Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1970 during the regime of King Faisal bin Abdulaziz.
Media assets
News agency: SPA
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
SPA is run by the Ministry of Media. The agency has operated as an “independent” company since 2012. Nevertheless, the word “independent” in the company statute doesn’t mean much as the SPA Board of Directors is chaired by the minister of media and includes mostly government officials.
Source of funding and budget
SPA is fully funded by the Saudi government, according to two journalists covering Saudi Arabia interviewed for this project in May 2024.
Editorial independence
SPA is an official organ of the Saudi authorities. The agency has no editorial freedom and is obliged to carry editorial content from the Saudi government at all times (including announcements, press releases, etc.). Authorities also use SPA to influence the editorial content available in other media, the agency providing these media with guidance on what stories to run.
No domestic statute and or independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate SPA’s editorial independence has been identified.
July 2024