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Entity Type: Domestic Media Company

The Dawn

The Dawn, an English-language daily newspaper founded in 2016 and based in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, is described as “largely perceived as a pro-government newspaper” by media analysts. The publication, led by editor-in-chief Emmanuel Monychol Akop (艾曼努爾·蒙尼喬·阿科普), regularly features content from Chinese state media sources, particularly Xinhua News Agency (新華社). Recent examples include Xinhua’s December 15, 2024 commentary titled “China’s pro-growth policies deliver comfort in turbulent world,” which reported China’s transition to “moderately loose” monetary policy. Another featured piece, “CEWC a blueprint for China’s sustainable and inclusive growth in 2025,” described the Central Economic Work Conference as setting “the economic tone for 2025 amidst global uncertainties.” Sports columnist Akuot Goor contributes regularly to the newspaper. In December 2024, the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Emmanuel Monychol Akop was detained by suspected National Security Service officers, raising concerns about press freedom in the country.

Berliner Zeitung

Berliner Zeitung is a daily German newspaper first published on May 21, 1945, as the first post-World War II daily in Berlin. Initially established under Soviet control in East Berlin, it became the largest newspaper in the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War era. After German reunification, ownership changed multiple times through Gruner+Jahr and Robert Maxwell (1990), Holtzbrinck (2002), Mecom Group (2005), DuMont (2009), and finally to entrepreneurs Silke and Holger Friedrich in September 2019. The paper faced controversy when Holger Friedrich acknowledged working as an informant for the Stasi under the codename “Peter Bernstein” from December 1987 to February 1989. In 2023, Friedrich further violated journalistic source protection by informing Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner about leaked information from Julian Reichelt. In October 2024, the newspaper entered into a cooperation agreement with China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), launching “The Chinese Perspective” column featuring content from Chinese state media correspondents.

Hanoi Radio and Television

Hanoi Radio-Television (Đài Phát thanh – Truyền hình Hà Nội), was established on October 14, 1954, as the official broadcast network of Vietnam’s capital city. According to Vietnamese government sources, regional television stations operate in major Vietnamese cities, including Hanoi, with each of Vietnam’s 61 provinces maintaining its own television channel under state oversight. The station initially operated as a fixed radio station with basic technical facilities. The network operates within Vietnam’s state media system, which is overseen by the Ministry of Information and Communication, and serves to disseminate officially approved information. Currently operating three television channels and multiple radio channels, the network represents one of Vietnam’s regional television stations within the broader state broadcasting infrastructure.

Bangkok Post

The Bangkok Post, founded on August 1, 1946, is Thailand’s oldest English-language newspaper still in publication. Published in broadsheet and digital formats, it maintains a daily circulation of 110,000 copies with 80 percent distributed in Bangkok. The newspaper was established by former OSS officer Alexander MacDonald and Thai associate Prasit Lulitanond (ประสิทธิ์ ลุลิตานนท์), initially selling for one baht per four-page issue. Now owned by Bangkok Post Public Company Limited (SET: POST), whose major shareholders include the Chirathivat family, South China Morning Post, and GMM Grammy, the publication employs journalists, including foreign nationals. The Bangkok Post is widely considered Thailand’s newspaper of record and portrays itself as comparatively free in a country where media censorship is common, though critics have noted instances of self-censorship on sensitive topics. The South China Morning Post, founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai (謝纘泰) and Alfred Cunningham, was acquired by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group (阿里巴巴集團) in 2015 for $266 million.

Independent Media

Independent Media is a South African multi-platform media company that publishes several influential newspapers, including the daily newspapers Cape Times, Cape Argus, The Star, Pretoria News, and Isolezwe, and operates the news website Independent Online. The company has substantial Chinese state investment through Interacom Investment Holding Limited, which represents China International Television Corporation (中國國際電視總公司), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Central Television that distributes television content, and the China-Africa Development Fund (中非發展基金), an state-run PRC investment fund established in 2007. Founded initially as the Argus Publishing Group with the launch of the Cape Argus in 1857, the company was purchased by the Sekunjalo Independent Media Consortium in August 2013 for 175 US million dollars. The ownership structure includes Sagarmatha Technologies Limited, a subsidiary of the Sekunjalo Group, which holds 55 percent; the Public Investment Corporation, which owns 25 percent; and the Chinese entities, which together have the remaining 20 percent through Interacom.

Chongqing Jiazuo Film and Culture Media

Established in Chongqing, Jiazuo Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd., specializes in film production, distribution, digital cultural creative activities, and broadcast media services. The company is headquartered in Building 7 of Jingyu International Cultural and Creative Park in Jiulongpo District. With a registered capital of 5 million yuan, the firm is majority-owned by CEO Zuo Yue (左越), with 80 percent, and Yin Boyu (尹博宇) as a minority shareholder with 20 percent. While there is no evidence of direct state involvement in Jiazuo Film and Television Culture Media, the company has been involved in international content distribution with explicit governmental involvement. The company has participated in the “China Time Slot” initiative in Peru and Colombia, facilitating the distribution of Chinese visual content abroad. The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) pushed these initiatives “under the auspices of the National Radio and Television Administration and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government.” The NRTA, a ministry-level agency controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, has promoted international cooperation and exchange in radio, television, and online audio-visual content. In November 2024, Jiazuo signed a trilateral cooperation agreement with Peru’s Willax TV and Classic Media China International Ltd. to expand Chongqing’s film and television industry in the Latin American market.

Apsara Media Services

Apsara Media Services (AMS) is a Cambodian multimedia television organization that operates Apsara TV11 and describes itself as a “newly formed” multimedia channel aimed at establishing itself in the online media industry. The company is headquartered in Phnom Penh and operates from the Khemrany Building on Fine Arts Street. AMS states its mission is to “provide high-quality content” to audiences across Cambodia and internationally, with a vision to “become the leading innovative broadcasting platform” that produces quality content. The organization produces content in the form of videos, articles, and programs for educational and entertainment purposes, operating specialized divisions including AMS Central for news, AMS Sports, and AMS Khmer Civilization, focusing on cultural programming.

Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT)

Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão or SBT, owned by Brazilian TV host Silvio Santos, began its broadcasts on August 19, 1981, by airing its own license signing ceremony from the Ministry of Communications in Brasília. Operating as Brazil’s third-largest commercial television network according to recent audience data, SBT stepped into the place of the defunct Tupi network, which operated from 1950 until bankruptcy in 1980. Santos gained licenses to former Tupi channels in São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, and Belém, having already owned TVS Rio de Janeiro channel 11 since 1976. The network broadcasts entertainment programming, including Mexican telenovelas from Televisa, children’s shows through a Disney partnership that ended in August 2018, and news programs. While historically second in Brazilian ratings, SBT now ranks third behind Globo and Record TV, operating eight owned stations and over 90 affiliates nationwide.