Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) is the national state broadcaster in Afghanistan, operating a radio and a television station.
Media assets
Television: National Television Afghanistan
Radio: Radio Afghanistan
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
RTA is a government-owned broadcaster whose main governing body, the RTA Commission, is comprised of members appointed by the High Media Council, according to data from the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC). Council representatives are drawn from government, parliament, the judiciary, civil society, and journalism. As per MJRC research, the government exerts control over RTA through the commission. RTA is accountable to the Ministry of Information and Culture.
Source of funding and budget
The most recent data indicates that RTA had a budget of AFN 404m (US$ 5.9m) for the fiscal year ending in 2017. Additionally, the broadcaster generated approximately AFN 220m (US$ 3.2m) from advertising sales in the same year. However, this funding is entirely controlled by the Ministry of Finance.
Following the fall of the country to the Taliban regime in August 2021, RTA has encountered significant financial challenges due to the government’s budgetary constraints, as reported by local journalists interviewed for this report in May 2023.
Editorial independence
Despite persistent government interference in the editorial affairs of the RTA, the broadcaster has demonstrated resilience in maintaining editorial independence in recent years. In particular, the appointment of Ismail Miakhail as Director General of RTA introduced new assurances regarding the station’s autonomy, given Miakhail’s extensive experience with the BBC.
However, following the fall of the country to the Taliban, the broadcaster has been entirely stripped of its independence. In 2023, Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesperson for the Taliban, was appointed director of the RTA. There is substantial evidence that Taliban fighters have beaten and threatened journalists employed by the station. Furthermore, since the Taliban returned to power, the number of female journalists working with the station has been significantly reduced. Local journalists have also reported that the Taliban have imposed strict control over the broadcaster’s programming.
The media law sets out a series of provisions designed to guarantee the editorial independence of RTA. However, these provisions are no longer being respected.
There is currently no independent oversight mechanism in place to validate the independence of RTA.
September 2024