Khabar Agency is a media company in Kazakhstan founded in 1995. It broadcasts in Russian and Kazakh. The company also operates Kazakh TV, a satellite channel available in English, Kazakh and Russian throughout Europe and Asia, and the El-Arna television channel.
Media assets
Television: Khabar TV, Kazakh TV, El-Arna
News portal: 24.kz
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Khabar Agency is a company fully owned by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan. In September 2023, Kemelbek Oishybayev was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Khabar Agency, according to the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan.
Source of funding and budget
Khabar is the second largest recipient of state funds in Kazakhstan. In 2017, it received a state subsidy of KZT 14bn (US$ 42.3m), which covered most of the company’s costs, according to publicly available data.
Editorial independence
Khabar Agency is a state-owned company that implements the information policy of the Kazakh state. During the final round of research for this report, no domestic statute was identified that would establish Khabar’s editorial independence.
No independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of the Khabar Agency was identified during the final round of research for this report.
September 2024