The Croatian News Agency (HINA) was established in 1990 as Croatia’s official news agency.
Media assets
News agency: HINA
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
HINA was established through the HINA Law adopted in 1990. Initially, the agency was government-owned. In 2001, a new HINA law transformed the agency from a state-owned to an independent public media institution.
The main governing body at HINA is the governing board, composed of a President, a Vice President, and three members, all appointed by parliament. One of HINA’s board members must be an agency employee, another should be a media expert, and the remaining three members are appointed from other fields such as finance, law, and IT.
In its work presentations, editorial and financial performance, and other activities, HINA is accountable to the Ministry of Culture, which is tasked with approving the agency’s activity reports.
Source of funding and budget
HINA receives funding from both the state and commercial sources. The state funding mechanism is designed to prevent authorities from interfering with the agency’s operations. As of 2004, HINA and the Ministry of Culture have signed annual framework agreements for collective subscription to HINA’s news and information content. This content is intended for use by public administration authorities and other entities financed by the state budget. On the other hand, HINA also sells its content to private users and offers advertising.
In 2022, HINA had a total revenue of HRK 28.5m (US$3.7 m), with nearly 60% generated through the collective subscription agreement, as reported in the company’s financial report. Additionally, 34% of the revenue came from subscription sales to private users, while the remaining 6% resulted from the agency’s commercial sales.
In 2023, HINA’s total revenue was €3.7m, of which €2.26 came from the collective subscription contract.
Editorial independence
Despite the provisions aimed at ensuring HINA’s independence as stated by the HINA Law, in practice, the agency is not independent of the government. Local journalists and experts in Zagreb, the Croatian capital city, interviewed for this report in May 2024, refer to HINA as a government propaganda tool.
HINA has a domestic statute with several provisions aimed at ensuring the agency’s editorial independence. However, in recent years, there has been evidence that its editorial independence is not respected, according to local journalists and experts interviewed for this report in May 2024.
HINA does not have an assessment/oversight mechanism that would validate its independence.
August 2024