Radio Télévision Nationale d’Haïti (RTNH) is the state broadcasting company in Haiti that emerged through the merger between Télévision Nationale d’Haïti and Radio Nationale in 1987. Télévision Nationale d’Haïti (TNH) was founded 1956.
Media assets
Television: Tele Haiti
Radio: Radio Nationale
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
RTNH was previously managed as a state institution under the Ministry of Information and Coordination. In 1995, control of the broadcaster was transferred to the Ministry of Culture, which currently oversees its operations, management, and internal decision-making processes, as confirmed by local journalists and media experts interviewed for this report in May 2024.
Source of funding and budget
According to government data, RTNH is fully funded. In the fiscal year 2018-2019, the broadcaster operated with a budget of HTG 220m (US$ 3.4m), all coming from the government, according to the latest available data.
Editorial independence
The RTNH is no longer the government propaganda channel that it was in the early 2000s. However, it is still editorially controlled by the government. Local journalists and media experts interviewed for this report in May 2024 confirmed that all decisions regarding the broadcaster’s editorial agenda are made by the government.
No domestic statute or independent assessment and oversight mechanism to validate RTNH’s editorial independence has been identified.
August 2024