Lankapuvath is the official news agency of Sri Lanka. Based in Colombo, the agency works with national dailies and broadcast media.
Media assets
News agency: LankaPuvath
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Lankapuvath operates as a limited liability company jointly owned by the four state-owned media companies in Sri Lanka, namely SLBC, SLRC, ANCL and ITN. The Board of Directors of the agency consists of the Chairmen of these four companies (all of whom are appointed by the government in their own companies).
Source of funding and budget
According to local experts and journalists interviewed for this report in March 2023 and June 2024, Lankapuvath is largely funded by a subsidy it receives from the government. The agency doesn’t publish information about its financial performance.
Editorial independence
Although it covers a wide range of topics, as a government-controlled company, Lankapuvath has an editorial policy that does not allow any criticism of the government, according to local experts and journalists interviewed for this report in March 2023 and June 2024.
No national statute or independent evaluation or oversight mechanism was identified to validate Lankapuvath’s editorial independence.
September 2024