The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), established in 1965, is the official news agency of the Syrian government.
Media assets
News agency: SANA
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
According to Syrian journalists and academics living abroad who were interviewed for this report, SANA is owned and run by the Ministry of Information, which makes all the decisions related to the agency’s operation, including its management.
Source of funding and budget
Syrian authorities do not publish information about the budget of the state media operating in the country. Syrian journalists and academics living abroad who were interviewed for this report say that it is common knowledge among the country’s journalists that the government fully funds SANA.
Editorial independence
SANA is under strict government control, and its editorial agenda is openly pro-governmental.
There is no domestic statute or independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate SANA’s editorial independence.
July 2024