Lusa News Agency

Agência Lusa is the main news agency in Portugal, operating with a newsroom of around 200 journalists and a network of approximately 80 freelancers.

Media assets

News agency: Lusa

State Media Matrix Typology

Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)

Ownership and governance

For many years, the state owned 50.1% of Lusa, with the remaining stake controlled by private media companies, including Impresa and Global Media Group. However, significant changes to its ownership structure have taken place. In July 2024, the Portuguese government acquired 45.71% of the shares held by Global Media and Páginas Civilizadas for a total of €2.49 million. This transaction increased the government’s stake to 95.86%.

In a subsequent move, Lusa’s then-president, Joaquim Carreira, announced that the agency was set to become 100% state-owned by March 2024, with the finalization of the purchase of shares held by Público, NP, RTP, and Empresa do Diário do Minho. As of February 2025, the Portuguese state acquired the shares held by Público, RTP, and Empresa do Diário do Minho. However, the acquisition of NP – Notícias de Portugal’s stake (2.72%) was still in negotiation.

Lusa operates with a contract with the Portuguese state to provide public interest news. The main governing body at Lusa consists of a Board of Directors, which can have three, five, seven, or nine members appointed by the general shareholders’ meeting. The current CEO is Paulo Varela.

Source of funding & budget

In 2021, Lusa operated with a budget of €16.8 million, which increased to €17.2 million in 2022. According to the agency’s annual report, almost three-quarters of its income comes from the state budget.

Editorial independence

The government does not impose any provisions on Lusa’s editorial policy. There is no evidence of direct government control over Lusa’s content. Ad hoc content analysis conducted by Media and Journalism Research Center in May 2023 and March 2024 found that the news content is balanced, with no preferential coverage of state bodies.

Lusa ensures its editorial independence through an ethical code, requiring journalists to follow specific editorial rules. As of the latest research round between June and August 2025, no independent assessment or oversight mechanism to validate Lusa’s editorial independence has been identified.

August 2025