In 2008, Televisión Nacional de Honduras (TNH) was established with the purpose of disseminating information about government policies. Prior to its establishment, the only media outlets in the country were privately owned and closely aligned with the military government. President Manuel Zelaya issued a decree in 2008, enabling the government to operate its own national television network, TNH. The new channel took over the frequency of Canal 8, which was previously used by the privately owned Teleunsa broadcaster. After a lengthy legal battle between the state and Teleunsa, a court ruling in 2014 permitted the state to maintain control of the channel.
Media assets
Television: TNH
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
TNH is a state-owned broadcasting channel, operating under the direct authority of the Honduran government, specifically the Office of the Presidency, which exercises complete administrative control.
The appointment of TNH’s General Director falls under the purview of the Minister from the Office for Strategy and Communication. Notably, the station lacks a board of directors and functions without a competitive selection process for its management and staff, with all recruitment decisions residing squarely in the government’s hands.
Source of funding and budget
The Honduran Presidential Secretariat earmarks a portion of its budget for TNH, a state-operated entity wholly reliant on government funding to remain operational. As advertising is prohibited on state-run outlets, including TNH and Radio Nacional de Honduras (RNH), the station teeters on a financial tightrope.
There is a lack of concrete information regarding TNH’s budget in recent years, and persistent financial hardships have often resulted in delayed salary payments for its staff.
Editorial independence
The Office of Communication and Strategy within the presidency governs the content and editorial agenda of TNH. This station was launched in 2008 as a vehicle to promote President Manuel Zelaya’s policies, activities, and the ‘Cuarta Urna’ (Fourth Urn) initiative—a political campaign widely criticized as a backdoor attempt to facilitate his indefinite re-election. Not long after its inception, a coup ousted President Zelaya, leading TNH to pivot and align itself as a propaganda arm for the succeeding government— a role it continues to carry out to this day.
TNH operates in accordance with the Presidential House’s Code of Ethics and the Labor Code of Honduras. Nevertheless, recent research uncovered no existing domestic legislation that would enshrine the station’s editorial independence.
Furthermore, no independent oversight body or evaluation mechanism has been identified to verify TNH’s editorial impartiality thus far. Its policies remain firmly under the control of the Office of Communication and Presidential Strategy.
April 2025