In response to the lack of fresh content published by the official news agency of Cambodia, AKP, the news portal Fresh News was launched in 2012 as a Facebook page. It was subsequently developed into a comprehensive news portal with the objective of repurposing government-endorsed content in a more appealing format and presentation.
Media assets
News portal: Fresh News
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
Fresh News management is not officially appointed by the government. A collective of young professionals in the IT sector has asserted ownership of the portal.
Source of funding and budget
In 2018, Fresh News’ owner and CEO Lim Chea Vutha stated that the portal does not receive funding from the Chinese government and operates independently of the Cambodian government. The majority of the portal’s funding is derived from advertising revenues, which are generated through the viral distribution of content. The abundance of advertisements on the portal, however, makes it challenging to navigate the content.
Editorial independence
Fresh News is a notable example of a media outlet that appears to be financially self-sufficient and organizationally independent of the government, yet its editorial strategy is fully controlled by authorities. The portal’s CEO has made his support for the government clear, in exchange for unlimited access to government sources and information. This strategy enables the portal to expand its audience and secure additional funding.
Fresh News has made significant compromises, including regular acceptance of government orders regarding publication content. In many instances, Fresh News has assisted the government in reinforcing its perspective or disseminating misinformation about its opponents. This has led some observers to characterize Fresh News as a purveyor of misinformation. In recent media reports, the portal has been described as “government-aligned.”
No evidence of statutes that would protect the independence of the journalists working for Fresh News has been identified. Furthermore, there is no independent assessment or oversight mechanism in place to validate the editorial independence of Fresh News.
August 2024