Emirates News Agency (WAM)
Founded in 1976, the Emirates News Agency—known by its Arabic acronym WAM (Wakalat Anba’a al Emarat)—serves as the official state news outlet of the United Arab Emirates. Over the decades, WAM has cemented its role as the principal conduit for government-approved news, both domestically and in its international dispatches. It provides content in Arabic, English, and several other languages, including French, Russian, and Chinese, as part of the UAE’s broader public diplomacy strategy.
Media assets
News agency: WAM
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
WAM functions under the umbrella of the UAE’s National Media Council (NMC), the federal body that oversees media regulation in the country. As of mid-2024, the NMC’s board remains predominantly composed of government officials, reflecting the centralized nature of media governance in the UAE. The Council holds sweeping regulatory powers: from licensing media outlets—across print, broadcast, and digital—to granting press credentials and issuing photography permits.
Formally a government entity, WAM’s remit is not limited to news production; it is also a tool of soft power, used to shape international perceptions of the UAE’s leadership, foreign policy, and development model.
Source of funding and budget
While WAM generates limited revenue from licensing and the syndication of content, the majority of its funding comes directly from the state budget. Precise figures remain undisclosed, as the agency does not publish financial statements. According to journalists and UAE media observers interviewed in May 2024, state subsidies remain critical to sustaining the agency’s operations.
In 2024, WAM expanded its multimedia capabilities and foreign bureaus, part of a broader government effort to bolster the UAE’s international media presence ahead of Expo 2025 and in line with Abu Dhabi’s long-term soft power strategy.
Editorial independence
WAM’s editorial output closely mirrors the interests and messaging priorities of the Emirati state. As a government agency under the direct influence of the NMC, its reporting is neither autonomous nor independently overseen.
A targeted content analysis conducted for this report—sampling WAM’s output across three separate periods (1–10 December 2023; 1–22 February 2024; and 1–15 March 2024)—revealed a consistent pattern: coverage was heavily weighted toward reporting on government initiatives, royal decrees, and official state visits, with minimal space allocated to dissenting voices, civil society perspectives, or investigative reporting.
As of June 2025, no statutory framework, external audit mechanism, or independent editorial oversight body exists to safeguard WAM’s journalistic independence or to hold it to account. Its editorial line remains closely aligned with government narratives, making it an exemplar of state-run media in a tightly regulated environment.
July 2025