Société Nouvelle d’Impression, de Presse et d’Edition (SNIPE) is a company that publishes some of Tunisia’s main newspapers, including La Presse de Tunisie, one of the country’s oldest newspapers, dating back to 1936, and Essahafa, an Arabic daily. In July 2023, the press group Dar Assabah, confiscated by the government, was merged with SNIPE. Dar Assabah runs four print media titles.
Media assets
Publishing: La Presse, Essahafa; Dar Assabah titles: Assabah, Le Temps, Al Ousboui, Sabah Al Khair
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed Media (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
SNIPE is a shareholding corporation, with almost 73% of the shares controlled by the state and various public institutions, including the Tunisian Trade Office, Tunisian Press Agency (TAP), and other state-run companies, according to data from a government report summarizing the performance of the Tunisian state-run companies. SNIPE is subordinated to the Government’s presidency, which appoints the group’s CEO.
Source of funding and budget
Newspapers run by SNIPE are financed through a combination of commercially generated income, mainly advertising, and state subsidies. According to estimates from a local source at SNIPE interviewed in May 2024 and media reports, SNIPE is one of the largest recipients of state funds in Tunisia. Between 2020 and 2022, the company received nearly TND 9m (US$ 3m) from the government.
Editorial independence
No editorial rules have been imposed by the government on SNIPE. Although the company has employed journalists with a history going back to the days of the Ben Ali dictatorship to lead SNIPE’s publications in the past, there was no evidence in independent reports or in our ad hoc content analysis run for this report in April 2020 that would indicate editorial control by the government at SNIPE’s newspapers.
However, following President Kais Saied’s introduction of “exceptional measures” in July 2021, the publishing house has come under strict editorial control, according to local journalists and experts. That led to a strike organized in April 2022 by journalists from all state media in Tunisia, SNIPE included, over the government interference in their editorial decisions.
No domestic statute or oversight or assessment mechanism that would validate the editorial independence of SNIPE’s publications has been identified.
July 2024