Portugal

Portugal ranked 10th of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index, scoring 83.71. The index assesses the national environment for journalism, rather than either outlet individually.

SMM covers RTP and Lusa. RTP, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, S.A., remains classified Independent Public (IP). Wholly owned by the state, it has operated in its combined radio and television form since 2007. Its six-member Independent General Council selects the three executive members of the Board of Directors. The government nominates two Council members, RTP’s Opinion Council nominates two, and those four co-opt the remaining two. The selected Board members undergo a parliamentary hearing before the state shareholder formally invests them. Selection of the financial Board member requires a prior binding opinion from the finance minister.

Lusa remains classified Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM), provisionally. The state completed its acquisition of the agency in November 2025. Following a EUR 5 million capital increase, it held all 4,129,690 shares, representing EUR 10,324,225 in share capital at 31 December 2025.

Lusa’s revised statutes were approved by written shareholder resolution on 29 December 2025 and announced in January 2026. They provide for a three-member executive Board serving four-year terms and a 13-member Advisory Council. The Council is charged with monitoring the public-service contract and the independence and quality of Lusa’s news work. It may issue prior, non-binding opinions on Board elections and the appointment of the director of information; it has no management or editorial direction powers. Joaquim Carreira chairs the current Board. At RTP, the Independent General Council elected Ana Margarida Carvalho as chair on 20 January 2026. Former chair Alberto Arons de Carvalho disputed the calculation of his mandate’s end. ERC archived his complaint in March, leaving the legality of the calculation and replacement to the courts; its decision should not be described as upholding the replacement.

RTP receives the audiovisual contribution (CAV), collected through electricity bills under a statutory framework, alongside commercial income. The 2026 State Budget suspended the contribution’s statutory update for that year. RTP reported EUR 236.9 million in 2025 turnover, including EUR 195.7 million from the CAV, or approximately 82.6 per cent, and a EUR 3.97 million net loss. Turnover should not be conflated with its broader measure of total income.

Lusa receives compensation under its 2022 to 2027 public-interest news contract and earns customer revenue. Its 2025 accounts report EUR 19.78 million in turnover, including EUR 15.85 million in net contract compensation — approximately 80.1 per cent — and a EUR 335,622 net profit. The shareholder approved the 2025 accounts on 30 March 2026, but did not then approve the proposed 2026 Activity Plan and Budget.

RTP’s statutes place responsibility for news content directly and exclusively with its news directors and exclude editorial matters from management guidance. Its public-service concession, statutory ombudsmen for viewers and listeners, and ERC’s external oversight provide further safeguards.

Lusa publishes the Portuguese journalists’ deontological code and its own style book. Its revised statutes assign the Advisory Council an independence-monitoring role, although its appointment opinions are non-binding and its assessment of the incumbent Board did not occur. ERC’s September decision and the editorial council’s later allegations warrant review of how the safeguards work in practice. The allegations alone do not establish political direction of Lusa’s output.

RTP remains IP. Its mixed Council appointment structure, statutory newsroom autonomy and external oversight support that assessment, while the state’s ownership, financial role, contribution-rate decisions and contested Council succession remain relevant channels of influence.

Lusa remains ISFM provisionally. State ownership, government selection of its Board and public-contract compensation accounting for about four-fifths of 2025 turnover establish extensive state involvement. Its professional rules and regulatory oversight remain relevant, but shortcomings in the new governance framework have been identified.

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