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Entity Type: Domestic State-Affiliated Media

Granma

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Granma is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, established on October 3, 1965, through the merger of two previous papers — Revolución (the organ of the 26th of July Movement) and Hoy (the voice of the People’s Socialist Party). The newspaper’s first issue was published October 4, 1965, and it takes its name from the yacht Granma that carried Fidel Castro and 81 other rebels from Mexico to Cuba in 1956, launching the Cuban Revolution. Headquartered in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, the newspaper publishes daily editions in Spanish along with weekly international editions in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Italian, also printed in Argentina, Brazil, and Canada. Granma became the first Cuban media organization to establish a website in August 1996. Yailin Orta Rivera has served as editor-in-chief since December 2017, appointed by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. The newspaper explicitly functions as the party’s communication channel, stating it is “loyal to the Party’s policy, its ethical principles” in covering Cuban society and international relations. Deputy editor-in-chief Leidys María participated in the February 2026 Belt and Road Media Cooperation Forum journalist delegation touring Chinese industrial facilities.

SOPECAM

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SOPECAM (Société de Presse et d’Éditions du Cameroun/Cameroon News and Publishing Corporation) is Cameroon’s state-owned media corporation established in 1974. The corporation publishes multiple media outlets, including its flagship Cameroon Tribune bilingual daily newspaper, Cameroon Business Today, Cameroon Insider (an English-language publication launched in 2019), and magazines Nyanga and Weekend Sports et Loisirs. SOPECAM operates through regional agencies across Cameroon’s ten regions and has modernized its operations with digital platforms and online subscriptions. Led by General Manager Marie-Claire Nnana since 2002, the corporation transformed from a government enterprise to a public capital company in 2017. Beyond publishing, SOPECAM organizes initiatives like the CBT Champions Awards to promote youth entrepreneurship and “Made in Cameroon” products.

Xalq Qazeti

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Xalq Qəzeti (People’s Newspaper) is a government-owned socio-political daily newspaper published in Baku, Azerbaijan. The publication operates from Bülbül Avenue and publishes editions in Azerbaijani, Russian, and English languages. As one of Azerbaijan’s most widely read newspapers, Xalq Qəzeti covers politics, economics, society, culture, and sports within a media landscape characterized by severe state control. Azerbaijan’s mass media sector operates under significant national authority constraints, with journalism not enjoying full independence according to media monitoring organizations. The newspaper functions within this system as a government outlet providing coverage of domestic and international affairs. Yousuf Sharifzadeh serves as international relations director and participated in the February 2026 Belt and Road Media Cooperation Forum journalist delegation touring Chinese industrial facilities.

El Diario Nacional S.A. de C.V.

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El Diario Nacional S.A. de C.V. (國家日報股份有限公司) is a Salvadoran commercial corporation established on March 3, 2020, to serve as the legal and administrative vehicle for the state-run newspaper, Diario El Salvador. The company was incorporated by subsidiaries of the Rio Lempa Executive Hydroelectric Commission (CEL), specifically Perforadora Santa Bárbara (99 percent shareholder) and the Compañía de Luz Eléctrica de Ahuachapán (1 percent shareholder). By utilizing a private corporate structure under the umbrella of state-owned energy entities, the firm operates with the commercial flexibility of a private business while being sustained by public resources and government advertising contracts. It is headquartered within the CEL facilities in San Salvador and serves as the primary entity for formalizing international media partnerships, including content-sharing frameworks with the PRC’s Xinhua News Agency.

Cameroon National Radio and Television

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Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), established in 1987, is Cameroon’s government-controlled national broadcasting service. The company resulted from the merger of Cameroon Television (CTV) and the national radio service, with broadcasting roots dating back to 1940 when French authorities established Radio Douala. Today, CRTV maintains comprehensive coverage across all ten regions of Cameroon through one national radio channel, ten regional stations, seven local stations, and three television channels, including CRTV News and CRTV Sports & Entertainment. Under General Manager Charles Ndongo since 2016, the broadcaster operates primarily in French with some English programming, reflecting the country’s bilingual status. As a state-controlled broadcaster, CRTV operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Communication, with the President of the Republic appointing both the General Director and Board Chairperson, firmly anchoring the organization within the state apparatus with limited editorial autonomy.

Bangladesh Television

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Bangladesh Television or BTV ( বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন (বিটিভি)) was established on December 25, 1964, originally as Pakistan Television in East Pakistan before being renamed after Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. The state-owned network operates two main stations – BTV Dhaka and BTV Chittagong, with the Chittagong station established in 1996 – along with fourteen relay stations nationwide and BTV News. The network relies on revenue from license fees imposed on all households, though this has proven insufficient to cover operational costs, requiring significant government financial support. Since private channels emerged in the late 1990s, BTV has experienced declining viewership. Reporters Without Borders has characterized BTV as functioning as a “government propaganda outlet” with no editorial independence.

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha

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Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the country’s national news agency, was launched on January 1, 1972. The Dhaka bureau of the Associated Press of Pakistan was turned into the national news agency of the new country following the Bangladesh Liberation War. Beginning with a small staff in the head office in Dhaka and a bureau in Chittagong, BSS now has bureaus in Rajshahi, Rangpur, Bagura, Khulna, Barishal, Rangamati, and Sylhet, with correspondents in all 64 administrative districts. The agency functions almost around the clock to disseminate national, international, political, economic, development, and other news to nearly 50 subscribers across the country. BSS subscribes to international wire services AFP and exchanges news with Press Trust of India, Associated Press of Pakistan, Xinhua, Bernama of Malaysia, and TransData of Australia, and introduced a Bangla news service in 1999.

Khabar Agency

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Khabar Agency (哈巴爾通訊社) is a state-owned media corporation in Kazakhstan, established on October 23, 1995, as the National Television News Agency — “Khabar” meaning “news” in Kazakh. It is wholly owned by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information and operates as one of the country’s largest broadcasters, delivering programming in Kazakh, Russian, and English. The agency operates the flagship socio-political channel Khabar and the 24-hour news channel 24KZ. According to the State Media Monitor, Khabar Agency carries out the informational directives of the Kazakh government, and no domestic legal framework or independent oversight mechanism has been identified to safeguard its editorial autonomy. According to the agency’s own sales portal, it maintained 22 active memorandums of understanding with foreign companies as of 2026, including with entities in China and Macau, and described itself as “rightfully considered the leader of Kazakhstan’s media landscape.” In June 2026, the agency signed a memorandum of understanding with the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong (香港報業公會) and the Hong Kong News Executives’ Association (新職行政人員協會) during a visit to Astana by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

Zambia News and Information Services

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The Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) is described by the agency itself as a “public relations wing of Government” under the Ministry of Information and Media, established in 2005 following the merger of the Zambia News Agency (ZANA), founded in 1969, and the Zambia Information Services (ZIS). Its stated mandate is to interpret government policies and provide information to the public to solicit support for national development programs, with journalists stationed across all districts of the country. Its editorial output is supplied to national outlets including the Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail, and ZNBC. ZANIS signed a news exchange and cooperation agreement with Xinhua News Agency on August 25, 2023, renewing a relationship that dates to a 1984 memorandum of understanding originally concluded with ZIS. The agreement covers news exchange, journalist visits, and training.