National News Agency (NNA)
Established in 1961, the National News Agency (NNA) serves as Lebanon’s official state wire service and the country’s primary source of government-sanctioned news. As the oldest and most prominent news agency in Lebanon, NNA plays a central role in disseminating official statements and providing coverage across political, cultural, and economic domains.
Media assets
News agency: NNA
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
NNA functions as a directorate within the Ministry of Information, with all key decisions—ranging from editorial direction to personnel appointments—made by the Ministry itself. It is not governed by an independent board nor does it enjoy any legal or structural autonomy from the state.
In essence, NNA operates as a branch of the Lebanese state apparatus, its governance reflecting the broader top-down control that characterizes Lebanon’s public media institutions.
Despite intermittent proposals over the years to reform or restructure public media governance in Lebanon, no steps have been taken to alter the status of NNA or grant it institutional independence.
Source of funding and budget
NNA is entirely state-funded, with its budget provided as a line item within the government’s annual appropriations. According to local media experts and journalists affiliated with the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC), the agency has no independent revenue streams and relies solely on public subsidies to cover operational expenses.
Budgetary details remain opaque. The agency does not publish financial reports or expenditure statements, and no audit or public oversight mechanism exists to ensure accountability.
NNA’s financial situation has reportedly deteriorated in line with Lebanon’s broader fiscal collapse. As of mid-2025, journalists working for the agency have continued to experience salary delays and chronic underpayment, echoing patterns observed across Lebanon’s state-run media sector.
Editorial independence
NNA’s editorial policy is tightly aligned with the government narrative, given its status as a directorate within a government ministry. There is no formal statutory guarantee for its editorial independence, and no external body monitors its compliance with journalistic standards.
The agency’s lack of editorial autonomy has been clearly demonstrated during key political flashpoints. In October 2019, NNA’s Director General was abruptly removed after the agency attempted to provide independent coverage of the mass anti-government protests sweeping the country at the time. The coverage, seen as diverging from the government’s preferred framing, was swiftly curbed.
Since then, NNA has returned to a more restrained posture, publishing largely uncritical reports and avoiding topics that could place it at odds with the political establishment.
July 2025